Released 2002 Recorded 2001 Length 4:14 (album version) | Format CD single Genre Electronic
synthpop Label Interscope | |
"Making Out" is a song recorded by American band No Doubt. It was made available as a promotional single from their fifth studio album, Rock Steady (2001). The release occurred exclusively in the Philippines, where it was paired on a CD single with a remix of the single "Running" (2003). The recording was written by Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, and Tom Dumont, while production was handled by musician William Orbit and No Doubt itself.
Contents
An electronic and synthpop song, its lyrics describe Stefani's impatience in a long distance romance, which she finds lustful. Upon its release, "Making Out" was viewed negatively by contemporary music critics, with several of them pointing out the track for its awkward lyrics, while others criticized its production and for sounding like Stefani's solo work.
Background and composition
"Making Out" was written by Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal and Tom Dumont, with William Orbit and the band contributing to its production. An electronic and synthpop song, it is written in the key of B minor and is set in time signature of common time with a moderately fast dance beat consisting of 125 beats per minute. The track was recorded using the digital audio workstation program Pro Tools; this allowed the group to easily work with other producers in Jamaica and London. In 2002, "Making Out" was exclusively released as a CD single in the Philippines, where it was paired with the previously unreleased Sharam Jey remix of the 2003 single "Running".
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing, Stefani's vocals range from E3 to D5, leading an instrumentation of piano, guitar, and backup singers. An acoustic guitar is featured during the track's interlude, which is accompanied by a repetitive drum beat. NME's Alex Needham compared the song's composition to Orbit's contributions on Madonna's seventh studio album, Ray of Light (1998). Lyrically, Stefani sings about being impatient in a lustful romance, which additionally serves as a "central theme" on Rock Steady. The singer turns down acts of kindness in a relationship: "The flowers arrive to my surprise / But that just ain't good enough". It also mentions the recording's protagonist feeling a sort of lovesickness during a long-distance relationship, where she predicts: "I anticipate us making out".
Critical reception
"Making Out" was not well received by contemporary music critics. Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone was disappointed by the track, calling its ending result "lame". Joe Costa, a reviewer for Sputnikmusic, highly disliked the song's "overproduc[tion]" and stated it "unfortunately sounds like a Gwen Stefani solo b-side". Regarding the lyrical structure, The A.V. Club's Stephen Thompson criticized Stefani for not being "involved" nor "profound". Lisa Oliver from LAUNCHcast declared the recording to be "lyrically dreadful" and found small comparisons between it and American singer Rockwell's 1984 single "Somebody's Watching Me". Eden Miller, writing for PopMatters, found Orbit's collaboration with the group to be influenced by Stefani's solo work, which she favored for it sounding "all personal".
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Rock Steady.