Rarities #36: No Doubt - Hits From Orange County Box Set (1997)

This is a mega rare No Doubt box set and I believe it was only issued in Singapore and perhaps Korea. It's a 3CD+VCD set containing some very fine live and acoustic tracks.

Of course, the VCD remains solely an Asian phenomenon and many countries outside of Asia have never heard of the format VCD. For the uninitiated, VCD stands for Video Compact Disc, which is the transitional format between VHS/LaserDiscs and DVD. It's VHS quality video on a compact disc, so the audio and video quality isn't that great.

The VCD contains four music videos and I actually really like the Sunday Morning video. It shows the band in a food fight and I love their innocence back then. In fact, Sunday Morning is my favourite No Doubt song, because it's so fun to play and sing to. I think the drumming on the track is superb.

No Doubt are going on tour this summer and they will reconvene in the studio after that to record their long-overdue album. Their last album, Rock Steady, was released 8 years ago. During that time, Gwen went solo and released two albums, and also tied the knot with Gavin Rossdale from Bush and gave birth to two boys.

While I quite liked Love.Angel.Music.Baby., I didn't really dig The Sweet Escape that much, so I'm glad that they're back together again. I really hope their next album will be great and tour Singapore again. That gig remains my favourite concert of all time. And I have seen quite a few concerts, so that really means something.

Bring it on, No Doubt!