Gwen Stefani has given free rein to her pop instincts and assembled an amazing cast list of collaborators to help her pay homage to the 1980s pop she grew up with. All concerned sound as if they are having the time of their lives.

The conundrums on her solo debut are legion. Real Thing, a pitch-perfect New Order pastiche, features Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, yet it was written by Stefani and the A-list pop songsmith Linda Perry. Janet Jackson’s team, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, produce the one track on the album in which Stefani least sounds like Jackson. The R&B producer Dallas Austin gives Stefani a rock track called Danger Zone, while Dr Dre constructs a ragga version of I f I Were a Rich Man. Elsewhere, Andre 3000 appears as Johnny Vulture, a character he created for one of his own videos.

The album seems so determinedly unhinged it is as if Stefani hasn’t bothered considering her listeners. Yet this very sense of freedom from all constraints is what makes it work. Like the title itself, Love Angel Music Baby makes no sense at all, but it sounds utterly fabulous.

Angus Batey

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