To anyone who ever looked wistfully across the pop landscape and said “I remember when it were all pirates, banshees, and neon-clad nutters round here,” Gwen Stefani’s solo debut was a welcome sight on the musical horizon.
“What You Waitin’ For” was a fabulous blast of eclectically bonkers electro and the dress-up-box costumes, the robotic dance routine and Harajuku girls, were inspired. It was Lene Lovich, Toni Basil and Cindy Lauper rolled into one. For all its good intentions however, “Rich Girl” falls on the embarrassing side of kooky and Dre’s production sounds unfinished and awkward.
While it’s astounding that no gangsta rapper has had a hit sampling Bock & Harnick’s “Fiddler On The Roof” – “Hard Knock Life” style, Gwen has committed the unforgivable sin of singing “na na na na na” at the point where she could and should be singing “deedle deedle dum”. And she never even attempts to “biddy biddy bum”.
Oi vey! Topol would turn in his grave.
