Tragic Kingdom - Production

Production

Tragic Kingdom was recorded in eleven different studios in Los Angeles, starting in March 1993 and finally being released two-and-a-half years later in October 1995. During one of these recording sessions, the band was introduced to Paul Palmer, who had previously worked with Bush and was interested in working on No Doubt's new album. After mixing the first single, "Just a Girl", Palmer went on to do the same to the rest of the record. He wanted to release the album on his own label, Trauma Records, which was already associated with Interscope, and succeeded in getting the contract.

The album is named after the nickname Dumont's 7th grade teacher had for Disneyland, which is in Anaheim, California, where the band members grew up. It is a pun on the popular nickname for Disneyland—"The Magic Kingdom". The album photography and portraits were taken by photographer fine artist Daniel Arsenault. Gwen is featured in the foreground while the rest of the band members are standing in an orange grove in the background. Gwen pushed for Eric to be included on the album cover—a source of tension for the band—reasoning that although he had left the band, he had still contributed substantially to the album. Eric is seen near the back of the picture, looking away from the camera. The pictures on the cover and in the liner notes were taken on city streets in their native Orange County (namely Anaheim and City of Orange) and in orange groves. The red dress Gwen wears on the cover was loaned to the Hard Rock Cafe and was later displayed at the Fullerton Museum Center in an exhibit titled "The Orange Groove: Orange County's Rock n' Roll History". The dress, appraised as high as US$5,000, was stolen from the exhibit in January 2005.