O.C. Record Reviews : No Doubt Tries to Find Its Way on ‘Beacon Street’

** 1/2, No Doubt, “The Beacon Street Collection”, Beacon Street Records

No Doubt has had a rocky path from its debut album in 1992 to its sophomore release. And actually, the band from Anaheim still isn’t there.

“The Beacon Street Collection” is not coming out under No Doubt’s record deal with Trauma/Interscope. It is an informal, interim release on the band’s own label, intended for local fans who have grown impatient with the long delay between records. No Doubt’s second national album, “Tragic Kingdom,” is almost finished and is tentatively set for release in mid-July.

“Beacon Street” compiles 10 tracks that No Doubt cut between mid-1993 and early 1995 while trying to hone its style and its songwriting. Since the band and/or its label deemed them unsuitable for wider release, the collection should be taken as an inside look at musicians doing their woodshedding, rather than presenting the sum of their artistry to the world.

What’s present throughout the CD is strong musicianship. With the core of the band having played together since 1989, No Doubt’s playing is sharp and cohesive even as the band roams stylistically through ska, Latin rhythms, funk and hard-edged guitar rock--with several contrasting currents typically emerging in each song.

What’s largely missing is a knack for the focused structures and strong melodic hooks that can give a song shape and staying power. The vocal melodies tend to be long, flowing vehicles for Gwen Stefani’s thin-voiced, theatrical acting-out in scenarios of romantic splendor and woe; her delivery provides plenty of energy, but the parts she gets to play lack pop pith.

Even so, about half the songs succeed. “Open the Gate” is high-kicking funk-pop powered by bright, piercing horns. Stefani implores an emotionally withdrawn lover to let her in, and the overall enthusiasm of No Doubt’s delivery implies the high stakes and high hopes of her mission, along with the joyful possibilities should she succeed. The expansive track departs from No Doubt’s original ska sound and offers something akin to the funky jam-pop of the Dave Matthews Band.

Ska and reggae rhythms turn up on several tracks, including “Total Hate ‘95,” a reworking of one of the band’s ‘80s-vintage ska-punk numbers. Sublime’s singer, Brad Nowell, takes a guest turn, repaying Stefani for her appearance last year on Sublime’s “Robbin’ the Hood” CD.

“Stricken” nicely evokes love at its most extreme stage of starry-eyed bliss, juxtaposing sunny, horn-driven pop passages that could fit in a Chicago song with trenchant, dark-hued reggae sections that paint the deeper mysteries of romantic ardor.

It’s followed by a good bookend song, “Greener Pastures,” in which Stefani portrays a woman searching for balance after love goes bad. Here, No Doubt weaves together contrasting colors to evoke a progression of moods as the narrator sorts through her troubled feelings; at the end, guitar heraldry out of early David Bowie, and light, coursing organ and guitar reminiscent of the Stax studio band and Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry,” suggest that she’ll come out all right.

Other songs, though well-played, lack the full-bodied dimension and depth of feeling of these highlights. “Beacon Street Collection” chronicles a talented band trying to find its way to a mature style, but it’s more like a series of quizzes than a final exam. The album yet to come will tell more about where No Doubt stands.

(Available from Beacon Street Records, P.O. Box 8899, Anaheim, CA 92812.)

Albums are rated on a scale of * (poor) to **** (excellent), with *** denoting a solid recommendation.