Gwen Stefani: 'Early Winter'

Released on Saturday, Dec 29 2007

Published Friday, Dec 28 2007, 09:48 GMT | By Nick Levine | 2 comments

'The Sweet Escape' LP

No, your eyes do not deceive you: Gwen Stefani has decided to release a fifth single from her Sweet Escape album. Wait… come back! Against all odds, 'Early Winter', a co-write with Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley, is probably the best one yet. Why? Because, like all Stefani's most likeable songs, it sounds like a forgotten classic from an eighties movie soundtrack.

A sleek, surging soft rock ballad, full of longing, heartache and regret, it's the most affecting moment of Stefani's solo career to date. "I always was one for crying," she purrs, sounding genuinely heartbroken. "I always was one for tears." Sit yourself by a frosty window; pop 'Early Winter' onto the CD player, and allow your thoughts to drift towards the one that got away. There, it's not just Gwen who likes a sob, is it?

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Ian, Newcastle Upon Tyne, on January 17th, 2008
I don't normally like 'pop' records, as a rule (but I'm starting to slide that way, given the new Kylie song too..) but when I heard this track on radio 2, I had no idea it was Gwen Stefani, thinking (as the review mentioned) that it was an old forgotten song from the 80s. With baited breath I waited for the presenter to tell me who had written it, and was a little taken aback that a) it was a new song and b) it was Gwen Stefani. Good effort!

Sarah, South London, on December 29th, 2007
OMG I love Gwen Stefani, and this song by her is absolutely amazing!