December 9, 2008 (360) / December 11, 2008 (PS3)

No Doubt – The Singles 1992-2003 (album) ($20 / 1600 MSP)

1. Just a Girl
2. It’s My Life
3. Hey Baby
4. Bathwater
5. Sunday Morning
6. Hella Good
7. Underneath It All
8. Excuse Me Mr.
9. Running
10. Spiderwebs
11. Simple Kind of Life
12. Don’t Speak
13. Ex-Girlfriend

Videos, difficulty tiers, and more information after the break.

The Singles 1992-2003, as you might’ve guessed, is a compilation album – the first to come to Rock Band (since “The Best of The Who” was hand-picked for the game by The Who). This is only a good thing for players, though. Anyone who cares for just one of an artist’s several albums would either be elated or really disappointed depending on which album made the cut, but this makes everyone happy. Hopefully we’ll see more Greatest Hits albums in the future (if only to minimize whining). Here’s each of the tracks in this week’s album, organized by the original albums they appeared in. Tier information courtesy of IGN.

Tragic Kingdom (1995)

Spiderwebs

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 3
Many players will recognize this song from GH: On Tour or GH: World Tour, and now we’ve finally gotten it in a game worth playing. “Spiderwebs” is Tragic Kingdom’s second single, and shows one of No Doubt’s signatures – the ability to blend a ska/reggae feel with a pop beat. This is one of this week’s big hitters on bass, but the guitar and drums are solid too. Definitely pick this one up, both for the charts and the big-name factor.

Excuse Me Mr.

Full Band: Tier 5
Guitar: Tier 4
Drums: Tier 5
Vocals: Tier 4
Bass: Tier 4
“Excuse Me Mr.” is the difficult song in a pack of otherwise playable pop music. Guitar features lots of rapid strumming, probably with some weird chord changes; drums are just FAST, with lots of rolls; vocals are all over the map; and bass has to try and keep up with the guitar and drums. Take a listen to this song before buying – it’s a bit of a different feel than No Doubt’s big hits, with a lot more punk rock than their big singles. If you wanted a hard song this week, though, definitely pick it up.

Just a Girl

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 1
Tragic Kingdom was what put No Doubt on the map, and this was its leading single – the most famous track of the album behind the legendary “Don’t Speak”. This song is No Doubt’s pop sound at its best, and has enough variance in guitar and drums to keep you interested. If you don’t buy the whole pack, pick this one up as a recognizable song.

Sunday Morning

Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
I’m vaguely surprised that this song is tier 0 bass – take a listen to that hook at the start and tell me that’s tier 0. Bass is one of the highlights in this song, as guitar is mostly a series of ska-influenced chords. Drums, though, has some great fills and interesting patterns. I can see this song being a sleeper hit among those who buy the pack, especially drummers. If you drum, this is a must-buy. Otherwise, see if you like the sound.

Don’t Speak

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 2
Vocals: Tier 0
Bass: Tier 0
If you’re 18 or older and don’t recognize this song, you never listened to the radio in the ’90s. “Don’t Speak” is No Doubt – it’s Tragic Kingdom’s third single and spent a whopping sixteen weeks at the top of the radio charts. Instrumentally, it’s one of many Rock Band songs whose parts will be really fun to play despite being tier 2 or lower (”El Scorcho”, anyone?) The Spanish guitar solo invokes memories of Hotel California and will be incredibly satisfying. Drummers’ main pattern is kind of slow, but that’s made up for by the varied fills. This song is a must-buy this week.

Return of Saturn (2000)

Ex-Girlfriend

Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 0
This song opens Return of Saturn, and immediately shows the changes in the band’s sound. By 2000, the ’90s pop scene was already under many of the influences we see in today’s music world, for better or worse. (One way to think of it? Compare this song to Tragic Kingdom, and then to Gwen Stefani’s solo work.) All in all, it’s very…eccentric. The guitar is fairly bland, but the drums aren’t any worse than Tragic Kingdom’s, just different. Take a listen and see if you like it.

Simple Kind of Life

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 3
Bass: Tier 0
This song starts exposing No Doubt’s mellower side, which is explored more later in the album and on Rock Steady. Drums continue to deliver, but the rest of the song will vary by taste. Personally, I found the vocals in this one a bit more grating than Stefani’s usual. Pass on this one, most likely, unless you’re a drummer.

Bathwater

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 0
Drums: Tier 2
Vocals: Tier 4
Bass: Tier 0
“Bathwater” is yet another new sound for No Doubt, for the most part, and is also fairly famous (though not nearly as much as “Don’t Speak”). This song has a special kind of energy that will appeal to some people much more than others. Nothing here is particularly difficult, and unfortunately the solo is given to the horns and not the guitar. Buying this as a single depends entirely on whether you like the song or not.

Rock Steady (2001)

Hella Good

Full Band: Tier 2
Guitar: Tier 1
Drums: Tier 2
Vocals: Tier 0
Bass: Tier 4
Rock Steady is a divisive album, due entirely to the huge departure it is from the other two big albums. “Hella Good” is the flagship of the new sound, and it shows even more elements of the early 2000s pop scene – electronic samples, a repetitive hip-hop-like chorus, etc. The song got a lot of airplay, so it may be worth buying just for the recognizability. I’m curious to see how various things get charted, as there’s a lot of stuff going on that may or may not be interpreted as guitar. If you liked Rock Steady’s sound, this is the perfect song for you.

Hey Baby

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 2
Drums: Tier 4
Vocals: Tier 2
Bass: Tier 0
This is the other big recognizable part of Rock Steady. Remember this song? Of course you do. I’m not convinced that this guitar part will be very fun, but the drums are promising (and apparently challenging). “Hey Baby” also features the awkward vocal stylings of Bounty Killer, which will certainly be charted and will be really weird to sing alongside Gwen Stefani. This song’s not quite Holla Back Girl, but it’s trying. Pick it up if that’s your thing.

Underneath It All

Full Band: Tier 1
Guitar: Tier 1
Drums: Tier 3
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
“Underneath It All” goes back to the reggae/ska feeling that No Doubt fans knew from the previous two albums, and is one of the laid-back songs this week, alongside “Running” and “Simple Kind of Life”. Nothing special here except a few interesting elements in the drum chart and another guest vocalist. At least this time she’s the same gender as Gwen. As usual, this one will swing on your tastes.

Running

Full Band: Tier 0
Guitar: Tier 1
Drums: Tier 0
Vocals: Tier 1
Bass: Tier 0
This track is the biggest black sheep of this pack, with a “Still Alive”-ish children’s feel to the background noises and drums. Unfortunately, this track’s simplicity will really hurt its playability. It’s got a consistent vocal track, if you dig its vocals; everything else is fairly simple, and will depend heavily on your opinion of it.

Check back next week for information on the upcoming country music pack (ugh). As always, you can stay updated with the Online Master Song List.