Live in the Tragic Kingdom
| Live in the Tragic Kingdom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Video by No Doubt | ||||
| Released |
November 11, 1997 (VHS) November 25, 2003 (DVD, as part of Boom Box) June 13, 2006 (separate DVD) | |||
| Recorded | May 31–June 1, 1997 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 92 minutes | |||
| Label | Interscope | |||
| Director | Sophie Muller | |||
| Producer | No Doubt | |||
| No Doubt chronology | ||||
| ||||
Live in the Tragic Kingdom is a video release by the American third wave ska band No Doubt, consisting of a filmed concert at The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California on May 31, and June 1, 1997.[1] It supported their commercially successful third studio album, Tragic Kingdom. It was released on November 11, 1997 on Interscope Records on VHS; November 25, 2003 on DVD as part of No Doubt's box set album Boom Box; and as a separate DVD on June 13, 2006. A laserdisc version was also released in Hong Kong.[2]
Background
No Doubt released their debut album, No Doubt, in 1992, one year after being signed to Interscope Records. No Doubt were a commercial flop, selling only 30,000 copies.[3][4] Interscope did not trust that the band would fund a second album, and paired them with producer Matthew Wilder. Keyboardist Eric Stefani was distressed by the band's lack of success, and the fact that he had to give up creative control to someone outside the band; and soon left the band in late 1994 to pursue an animation career on the popular TV series The Simpsons.[5] No Doubt released and recorded their second studio album, The Beacon Street Collection, independently.[4] Despite its limited availability, it sold over 100,000 copies within a year of its release,[4] and convinced Interscope that they would fund a successful third album.[6]
No Doubt's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, was released on October 10, 1995 and spawned seven singles, including "Just a Girl"; "Spiderwebs"; "Excuse Me Mr."; "Sunday Morning"; and "Don't Speak", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for sixteen weeks, a record at the time[7] which was later broken by the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris". The album sold sixteen million copies worldwide.[8] Because of the success of Tragic Kingdom, No Doubt decided to embark on a tour in support of the album.
Tour
No Doubt embarked on a tour called the "Tragic Kingdom World Tour", beginning in 1997, two years after the release of Tragic Kingdom. They expected to tour for two months, but the tour ended up lasting two and a half years.[8]
The band chose Project X, headed by Luc Lafortune and Michael Keeling, to design the stage for the series of concerts. The band suggested decorating the stage like a clearing in a forest. Project X created three anthropomorphic trees with glowing oranges, as a reference to the music video of "Don't Speak". The show included clear and mylar confetti designed to look like rain. Lighting design was difficult because there were only four rehearsals, so the show was arranged to be flexible to allow for what Lafortune referred to as "a very kinetic performance."[9]
Concert setlist
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tragic Kingdom" | |
| 2. | "Excuse Me Mr." | |
| 3. | "Different People" | |
| 4. | "Happy Now?" | |
| 5. | "D.J.'s" (Sublime cover) | |
| 6. | "End It on This" | |
| 7. | "Just a Girl" | |
| 8. | "The Climb" | |
| 9. | "Total Hate" | |
| 10. | "Hey You" | |
| 11. | "The Imperial March" (From The Empire Strikes Back) | |
| 12. | "Move On / Ghost Town" (The Specials cover) | |
| 13. | "Don't Speak" | |
| 14. | "Sunday Morning" | |
| 15. | "Spiderwebs" | |
| 16. | "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (The Beatles cover) |
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [10] |
Because Live in the Tragic Kingdom was not one of No Doubt's studio albums, it lacked much attention from critics. However, Tracie Cooper of Allmovie enjoyed the mix of songs between fan favorites, lesser-known songs, and covers.[1] Allmusic gave the album three stars out of five, although not giving a review.[11] A Rotten Tomatoes review noted lead singer Gwen Stefani's "danc[ing], bounc[ing], and sing[ing] ... to the infectious pop-punk-ska of her bandmates" and said "it's impossible not to feel like dancing (or smiling, at least)."[12]
Bonus material
Several "extras" and easter eggs were included on the 2006 DVD release of Live in the Tragic Kingdom, including a three-song video clip of a concert in Den Haag, Netherlands during the Tragic Kingdom Tour, an alternate version of "Don't Speak", a photo gallery, and trailers for No Doubt's two previous DVD releases, The Videos 1992–2003 and Rock Steady Live.
External links
References
- 1 2 Tracie Cooper. "(((No Doubt: Live in the Tragic Kingdom > Overview)))". Allmovie. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/No-Doubt-Live-In-The-Tragic-Kingdom/release/2843593. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (February 26, 1998). "Tunes and 'Toons". OC Weekly. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- 1 2 3 "Timeline". No Doubt official website. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- ↑ "No Doubt". Behind the Music. VH1.April 9, 2000.
- ↑ Hermanson, Wendy (November 17, 1995). "Just a Girl". BAM. San Francisco. ISSN 0194-5793. OCLC 4855429. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
- ↑ "No Doubt". Rock on the Net. Retrieved November 7, 2008.
- 1 2 Van Meter, Jonathan (April 2004). "The First Lady of Rock". Vogue. New York: Condé Nast Publications. 194 (4). ISSN 0042-8000. OCLC 1769261.
- ↑ McHugh, Catherine (August–September 1997). "Keys to the Kingdom". Theatre Crafts International. New York: Theatre Crafts Associates. 31 (7). ISSN 1063-9497. OCLC 26180112.
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ "(((Live in the Tragic Kingdom > Overview)))". Allmusic. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
- ↑ "Live in the Tragic Kingdom Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 6, 2008.