Critical Reception
"4 in the Morning" was generally well received by contemporary pop music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it "coolly sensual", and Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters referred to it as one of the "few real compositions" from the album. Alex Miller from the NME described the song as "an expertly conceived tear-jerker", stating that "t feels like the kind of song a teenage Stefani, miming along to Talk Talk, would have dreamt of singing one day." Pitchfork Media's Mark Pytlik, however, disapproved of the song, commenting that it destroyed "the mallpop cred that Stefani accrued with L.A.M.B.'s impeccable 'Cool'." Billboard editor Chuck Taylor compared the song to the soundtrack to the 1983 film Flashdance and wrote that "we truly respect Stefani in the 'Morning.'" Bill Lamb from About.com cited "4 in the Morning" as the best song from The Sweet Escape, calling it "beautifully performed and produced" and noting that Stefani "allows her signature vocals to sensually float and glide through the lyrical content."
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