By Bryant Gilmore
Now that their comeback has been officially sanctioned by Mother Monster herself, No Doubt should not have a problem reclaiming the top of the charts.
The first single, "Settle Down," from their highly anticipated sixth album, Push and Shove, will be released on July 16 with the album dropping just two short months later, on September 25. To refresh your memory, it's been almost 11 years since the band released their last studio album, Rock Steady, and in the time since, they've released a greatest hits album, lead singer Gwen Stefani was sweetly inescapable as she embarked on a massively successful solo career and bassist Tony Kanal produced hits for artists including Pink, Shontelle and even Gwen. Guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young settled down and had a couple of children, as did Gwen and Tony, but apparently there are only so many times a rocker can watch "The Wiggles" with the kids before the urge to hit the stage takes over.
Now that No Doubt, who first rose to prominence in the '90s, is on the comeback trail, we at MTV News sat down and pondered what other artists and bands from that era we would like to grace us with sweet music once again.
Ace of Base
The Swedish powerhouse foursome ruled the early '90s with hits like "The Sign," "Don't Turn Around" and "All That She Wants" from their smash debut. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry both claim to have been influenced by Ace of Base. They've released four albums since, but after the indefinite departures of sisters Malin and Jenny Berggren, it looks like a reunion may be hard to come by. Sadly, we will just have to settle for humming "Don't Turn Around" when we hear it in the elevator.
Eve 6
The Southern California trio broke through with "Inside Out" from their self-titled platinum debut, and "Here's to the Night" became a staple at proms and high school graduations. They played their last show with the original line-up in 2004 before bassist Jon Siebels left the band to concentrate on other side projects. Lead singer Max Collins and drummer Tony Fagenson took their hiatus to work with Puddle of Mudd and even became an experimental music duo known as Sugi Tap. But they may be next in line in line after No Doubt for a comeback as the original line-up has reunited and are due to release their first album in 8 years, Speak in Code, later this year.
Third Eye Blind
Who didn't know a TEB song? There was the ever-catchy "Semi-Charged Life" and "Never Let You Go," the ode to suicide prevention "Jumper" and the more somber yet still made you scream out loud "How's It Going to Be?" Despite some messy legal business that led two members of the original line-up to split, the guys seem to be primed to rule the airwaves once again as they have reportedly began work on a new album in London.
Blind Melon
Oh, dancing Bee Girl, you and your awkward tap-dancing will always have a place in our hearts. "No Rain" helped propel the band's first album into multi-platinum status and showed us that whistling in song was cool way before Foster the People brought their pumped up kicks around.
Spin Doctors
"Little Miss Can't Be Wrong," "Two Princes," "Jimmy Olsen's Blues," need we to say anymore? After releasing the album Here Comes the Bride, lead singer Chris Barron almost lost his signing voice for good due to a case of acute vocal cord paralysis. Thankfully, he recovered and the band played a comeback show in 2001 at The Wetlands, a noted NYC venue that has since closed. They have stayed largely off the radar, touring here and there, but in 2011, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their mega-successful album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, they released a special edition with bonus material and followed that with a tour through the U.S. and U.K.
Soul Asylum
"Runaway Train" was a top 5, Grammy-winning hit and its video shined a light on abused, missing and neglected children to such a powerful extent that the band was invited to play the inaugaration of President Bill Clinton in 1993 at the height of their success. Sadly, in 2006, the band lost founding member and bass guitarist Karl Mueller to throat cancer. Their latest album, Delayed Reaction, is scheduled for release on July 17.
Marcy Playground
To this day, "Sex and Candy" still inspires an impromptu sing-along. It reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent 15 weeks at #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and pushed the band's self-titled 1997 album to platinum status. The band is releasing a compilation album this year, titled Lunch, Recess, and Detention, and will embark on The Summerland 2012 Tour with other fellow '90s rock bands Gin Blossoms, Lit, Sugar Ray and Everclear.
