There are few people in the world that were as surprised as myself when Anaheim's own No Doubt were vaulted into the stratosphere of pop superstardom. I spent several years in Anaheim myself and was involved in the self-same local scene where the Doubter's cut their teeth. They were a bit of a different band in those days and though everyone liked them okay--they were usually the band that opened for the better acts. I'm not going into the whole story, in case you've already seen the "Behind the Music," suffice it to say that the lovely Miss Stefani didn't used to be the focus of the band.

Ska cum Boingo, New Wave cum Missing Persons and Punk cum The Plasmatics it just wasn't fashionable in those Grundgey Seattle days. They were swimming against the tide, but they survived Grundge and were rewarded with one of the best selling albums of the decade. Tragic Kingdom burned up the charts, but I didn't much care for it--it was a very watered-down version of what I was used to hearing live. But next thing you know these guys who I used to hang around with--were all the sudden hanging out with Courtney Love and Madonna.

When I saw the video for their first single, "Ex-Girlfriend," I just figured we were in for more of the same. Gwen's command of the lyrical hasn't improved much, but at least she's writing about something other than the "You broke my heart so how come we're still in the same band," diatribes that dominated Tragic Kingdom. In fact "Ex-Girlfriend" is about her relationship with Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale. Though Return of Saturn does have its share of track-skipping moments, I was surprised by how much I liked it and impressed by their re-invention. While staying true to their Ska roots, they've taken a few worthy stabs into some new territory for them--stuff that while, certainly derivative, strikes a likable chord for me. There's some genuinely interesting music here.

I love "Suspension Without Suspense," and "Simple Kind of Life," songs which producer Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette) has definitely left his pop signature upon. Yet the album's greatest treat is one of those hidden tracks that pop up well after you thought the CD was over. It's a heartbreakingly superb piano reprise with orchestra, that I guarantee will tap into your deepest emotions. Like a dream it melds Chopin, Jarrett and Gershwin. No doubt it removes you from everything else on the album, but it's a palette cleanser--which is what a lot of Return Of Saturn serves to do. I've never particularly been a fan, but I feel good about recommending their newest incarnation--it's their best yet, and will no doubt extend their longevity.