Previous to the discharge of No Doubt’s fourth studio album, Return Of Saturn, the band was flying excessive. Its 1995 file Tragic Kingdom had given it a significant mainstream breakthrough, topping the Billboard 200 chart and dominating the airwaves within the US and past with singles like “Don’t Speak” and “Just A Girl.” Because of the acclaim and fervent curiosity the album garnered, No Doubt’s tour in assist of Tragic Kingdom was large – each within the measurement of the venues it was performing in and the size of time it was on the street for.
When the band returned to every day life, it set to work on the eagerly-anticipated follow-up file, which might change into Return Of Saturn. Regardless of the success No Doubt had skilled, between tales of recent love, this recent batch of songs was marked by emotions of tension and insecurity. “Bathwater,” the fourth and remaining single from the album, was no exception. “Wanted and adored by attractive women/Bountiful selection at your discretion,” Gwen Stefani noticed of a brand new paramour, involved about how she fared in opposition to the pack. “I know I’m diving into my own destruction.”
The music was written in simply 10 minutes and, talking to Advanced in 2012, guitarist Tom Dumont recalled the way it got here collectively. “‘Bathwater’ is another one I remember writing at Glen Ballard’s house, and that one came really quick,” he stated. “It was easy to write.” In an MTV look after Return Of Saturn’s launch in 2000, Stefani shared her personal ideas on the only. “That song was just a mistake,” she started. “It was just me and Tony [Kanal, bassist] sitting on the couch, and then it kinda came out, and who would have thought?”
What began out as a “mistake” swiftly grew to become an infectious and ingenious piece of the band’s fourth album. Its intro merged New Orleans funeral brass with the beatbox abilities of drummer Adrian Younger earlier than shifting right into a swing-time ska piece. Its music video – helmed by “Don’t Speak” director Sophie Muller – stored that playful spirit going, with Younger showing in drag as Stefani.
Though “Bathwater” was one other radio winner for No Doubt, the only didn’t enter the Billboard Scorching 100, reflecting a sea change in music tendencies on the time. Chart placements have had no bearing on the music’s legacy, although, with it remaining considered one of Return Of Saturn’s most recognizable tracks. Its dancehall-inspired vitality additionally offered a stepping stone for the band to lean additional into Jamaican sounds on its double platinum 2001 album Rock Regular.
Purchase No Doubt’s “Bathwater” on vinyl now.
