I don't AODRE this album as much as I LOVE Tragic Kingdom, but it is still a great little album. I find some songs are filler, while others make the entire album come together. I love Simple Kinda Life as one of the most touching tracks.

I had order this cd and it was quoted to arrive in 5-7 business days. When the arrival date came and pasted and called and complained. After some resistance from th customer care agent he finally agreed to send me my cd's by expedited FedEx. The first set of cd's didn't arrive until another week later. I advise to never have something like that to arrive my US Mail. It is a nightmare.

I really like this CD. This group has a different kind of vibe to their music and I am happy that they are sharing it with the world.

Return of Saturn by No Doubt is considered their most mature but least-selling album. This album is good but not brilliant, there are a lot of slow songs with heavy lyrics which are nice but depressing. Bathwater, Dark Blue, New, A Simple Kind of Life, and Magic's in the Makeup are standouts but the rest of the album gets boring pretty fast. This is a mixed bag but I like it better than Tragic Kingdom.

IF you like No Doubt before they hit the main stream, then you should get this one

Pros: Great songs with a unique feel to them and the sad themes never become too mellow-dramatic, they're balanced well.

Cons: A few songs need a bit more energy...

The Bottom Line: Pretty good CD.

I must confess, I'd never been familiar with No Doubt as a band before hearing Return of Saturn. I'd only heard some of their singles (I'm Just a Girl, Don't Speak, Hey Baby, Underneath it all, etc.) I also stumbled upon "Comforting Lie" and was blown away. Wow! That song alone is amazing - the heightened beat, drums, and Gwen's voice all come together perfectly. So I bought Return of Saturn just to hear the rest of the album. I wasn't sure what to expect. By the time I was done the CD I was satisfied.

One thing No Doubt does best is create catchy melodies; but changes things up a bit. "Ex-Girlfriend" for example, is a great song you want to get up and dance to. On the other hand, a "Simple Kind of Life" is more relaxing; whereas "Six Feet Underground" recalls a more retro (maybe 80s) feel to it and "Home Now" has a very sweet nostalgic feel about it. Most of the songs have their own unique feel to them, making each one a nice surprise. This is wonderful because if I find a song is predictable, it gets disappointing.

Lyrical content is quite surprising as well. This is considering that some of the songs could potentially be immature. Most artists are unable to capture the emotional impact of the message without sounding like they're whining. No Doubt manages to avoid both pit-falls. Even on the break-up songs, ie. "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Bathwater", the lyrics are sung with a sense of maturity about them. Gwen Stefani (lead singer) allows the listener to feel the emotions through her singing; but at the same time creates a more pensive atmosphere to the songs. She sings about the issues people think about daily (Being jealous of others, wearing a mask, the repetitiveness of life, lying for love, etc). Yet, Gwen allows a sense that you're taking a journey through a person's mind. She's not trying to belt out a message, but merely allowing their listeners to interpret and apply what they see in a song, what's presented, to their own lives. It's a different approach and it works very well.

So why only 4 stars? Well, I find it just falls short of a 5 star album. I believe it's because there are a few songs, in listening to the whole CD at once, that seem a tad mellow compared to the others (ie. New). Now, these songs aren't bad, but I feel they just need a bit of an extra push to them to allow me to get more into the song.

In conclusion, the CD shines for the most part. I'm not disappointed, so I would say if you're looking for a new band to check out, No Doubt would be it.

Recommended: Yes. Return of Saturn will be worth your time and money.

This album has always been a personal favorite and grabbed my heart at the time and didn't let go for a while. No Doubt are a fun pop band, but they rolled up their sleeves for this, and it shows. Lyrically, Gwen is an open book and she doesn't care what she says or how she says it; as long as she says it. Musically, No Doubt is one of the most talented bands in music. This is a great follow-up to an album that almost garuanted a "sophomore slump" (though it was hardly their second album), and while it may have been just that commercially, artistically it was anything but.

www.mypoproks.com

This is my favorite album of theirs. For more resons than one. It was the very first cd I bought with my own money (ha I was so proud of myself!) The lyrics are just beautifully written. Each song speaks to me and gets stuck in my head. Completely takes over my body and just makes me hypnotyized... Wonderful Album. p.s. The pink hair was amazing, I remeber I bought pink hair dyeand tried to dye my hair like hers...lol, what a disater!

It's so pretty and true and the lyrix kouldn't be better. The only song I skip is Staring Problem....EEEEWW

not as good as tragic kingdom

this album is the most beautifully written thing I've heard. It's a lot about Gwen's insecurities during this phase of her life. Comforting lie and bathwater are my favorites. ND rocks, especially live, everyone should buy all 4 of their albums.

I really enjoy this album! I don't see why people say she's whining; like *you* never wanted an ideal life? or *you* never felt heart broken, and just layed down and yammered on to a friend? Gwen Tony Tom and Adrian are real; and they make wonderful music and get paid a cool amount to do so. So, they have no worries..they're amazing and thats that.

Tragic Kingdom is still one my all time favorite albums... minus Don't Speak (didn't like the song when it came out, still don't like it to this day), so in my mind, Return of Saturn had a lot to follow up to. And while ...Saturn is a good album, I don't like it quite as much as ...Kingdom. It's tied with their s/t album, in my eyes. Both very different types of music, but both not No Doubt's best work.

Not the best, not the worst. Not quite as good as their "Tragic Kingdom" but not quite as annoying as their debut.

I think that this CD is really good. I like No Doubt a lot. I agree with some people when they say that this album is somewhat more for girls, all the ballads and mid-tempo songs contribute to that. Tragic Kingdom and Beacon Street Collection were two of my fav. albums of all time, so this one was slightly disapointing. Everybody says that the sound on this album is so much different than the other CDs, but a lot of the songs are still Alt-Ska-Punk. Overall, the album is really good, especially on the up-tempo songs like "New", "Ex-Girlfriend", "Bathwater", "Six Feet Under", and "Staring Problem", to name a few.

I liked “Tragic Kingdom” a lot, and I think “Return of Saturn” is OK, but it lacks the energy and originality No Doubt showed on their first effort. I’ve listened to it a couple times this week, and I found myself fast forwarding through some of the songs, like the one where Gwen whines “Marry me…” I have a feeling that this CD is just a sophomore slump and that the next one is going to be a lot better.

i didnt' think it was possible but this album is better than TRAGIC KINGDOM - i love every song on this album. at first i hated MARRY ME and i would skip it every time but now it's my favourtie. on every track gwen seems to be so insecure but i don't understnad why. she is beautiful and has a great voice. she doesn't need gavin if he's gonna do is cheat on her. HER PINK HAIR IS SOOOO COOL

No Doubt Rules! GWEN RULES!

The only album I gave 5 stars in the last year was David Gray’s “White Ladder”. But this one is pretty close. I love Gwen's voice!!

It's really good for a no doubt cd although Gwens voice has been known to drive poeple insane if listened to for long periods of time but i find myself drawn to "bathwater" and " ex-girlfriend"

I like this CD because Gwen Stefani is now giving up some of her anger and is now singing to the broken heart rather than an angry heart.

After No Doubt coming out with such quality work, I felt this one was garbage. They really didn't know what they were doing.

This is a great CD. My favorite track is, "Bathwater." It's a great CD to chill with your friends and just dance crazy to in your living room. It's got great lyrics as well as an up and jumpy beat.

Whatever happened! Their CD is great! Why aren't they being played on the airwaves yo. "Simple Kind of Life," is an awesome song. Gwen is still hella hot, what's the dilly you? I'm tired of all the teeny bop, wantabe rock. The alternative era needs to return.

No Doubt's new album sucks. It lost all its ska influence and their music no longer has any substance. They still have technical skills, that's why I gave them a 2 instead of a 1.

No Doubt's first CD, when it came out, I absolutely loved-punk was also big at the time. But this CD, all she does is friging whine! Whining about how she wants to be a mom and how she wants this "ideal" life, it's very annoying and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody!

Like it a hell of alot better than Tragic Kingdom. I like the new sound and presentation. It is as if the band has grown up. Better than most the pop shlock out there. Probably why they aren't on TRL. Good for them!

I found this CD to be a surprising sophmore success to their first album, "Tragic Kingdom." Although they really changed their sound, I found the songs to still be full of meaning, yet fun to dance to at the same time. My favorite song on the CD is "Bathwater," because I really relate to it and I love the way it still has a fun tune with the horns in the beginning. The song is filled with meaningful phrases like, "The bags are much too heavy in my insecure condition, my pregnant mind is fat full with envy."

Great lyrics and awesome music. The songs are full of meaning and each track is unique in sound. This is a type of CD that you don't skip songs. All of the songs are great.

This album is more for the ladies. Reviews of this album that I've read say Gwen's grown up from her last CD and that the tunes are more worked on. I've noticed that there is more emotion in it. CD's great!

Even though the style is toned down away from their original punk sound, it still holds up as No Doubt music. The sound is still catchy and Gwen Stefani is still doing her thing. Another appeal lies in the honesty of the lyrics.

I was disappointed with No Doubt's effort with this album. It seems like an overly chick power alternative album. What has Gwen become? It really is not the feel good album that fans have become accustomed to. The other album was a must have, but this one seems like a "should I borrow?" OK, but not really.

A good album and a good comeback as artists. No Doubt has tracks that don't make them seem like a one hit wonder. They keep reinventing themselves.

No Doubt is an original band, with plenty of style and flavor. They are cutting edge of original and make good music.

This band has come a long way from where they started, and this CD definitely illustrates that. A Simple Kind Of Life is one of the best on the album, and Gwen Stefani is a TOTAL babe.

Although I like some of the songs, I don't like the whole album. Many of the songs sound similar and talk about the same topic-getting older. I really enjoy No Doubt's, Tragic Kingdom album; however, this one is definately not as good as the previous.

I did not like the songs from the last No Doubt record, and I just recently saw a VH1 Behind the Music about the band, and some of their news stuff that they previewed actually sounded OK.