(Pencil Storm learned of the passing of The New York Dolls’ Sylvain Sylvain too late to do justice to his memory in this week’s Saturday Night Special. Next Saturday evening Ricki C. - who witnessed The Dolls live in 1974 at Veteran’s Memorial in Columbus, Ohio; among other times - will handle that assignment.)
The Bangles are a well-known pop-rock band from the 80s Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene that most people remember from their biggest hits “Eternal Flame” and “Walk Like an Egyptian,” or maybe the Prince-penned “Manic Monday.” If that stuff wasn’t in the cassette deck of your Dodge Omni, maybe you had a crush on one of them after their videos played nonstop on MTV.
I refuse to reduce it to looks, but Susanna Hoffs’ left-to-right doey-eyed scan and smile was physically impossible for a 16-year old boy to ignore. Vicki Peterson was my Bangle though, as much or more for her garage-rock riffs and Carvin guitar endorsement and ads in Circus magazine as her California hair and surfer-girl smile. Her songs were always the edgiest on the records and often my favorites.
It was more than looks for sure. Hipster author Chuck Klosterman cites them as an ‘80’s pop band that was okay for metalheads to like in his Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural Nörth Daköta book, a couple paragraphs that particularly resonated with this kid, let me tell ya. Their cover of the Simon and Garfunkel deep-cut “Hazy Shade of Winter” is a rare mainstay on “cover songs that are better than the original” lists. I saw them in Milwaukee in `87 and Detroit in `89 and had just listened to their record before wrapping my parents’ car around a tree in Marquette, Michigan in July `86 on my way to a beach party with an Old Milwaukee between my legs. Not to glorify the accident, but it was one of those life events you associate with a certain album or band forever. Yep, they’ve been in my boom-box for about 37 years.
What I find a lot of people don’t know is that The Bangles are a hell of a band. Their discography is diverse and consistent, rife with hooks and melody, peaks of fuzzy, rockin’ guitars and groundbreaking, landmark pop hits. They also covered Big Star, The Grass Roots, and The La De Da’s. They had some writing partners, but they wrote most of their best songs themselves. They weren’t just a girl band, they were a damn good band in every sense, and they’re due at least as much respect as some of their contemporaries who are subjects of high-profile documentaries and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ahead of them. And they’re still putting out fantastic music, 40 years after their formation.
Here’s a rundown of their discography, in order from best to not-best, or more accurately, most favorite to least favorite - but still awesome. They’re one of my favorite bands, sure, but there are some things about their catalog that I genuinely struggle with, and I’m not sugar-coating it. I’ve learned through this exercise that few bands have such a consistent catalog with way more hits than misses, and something to embrace from the earliest demos to the hugest hit ballad.
1. All Over the Place (1984) My favorite Bangles record. It captures the band young and hungry, with the lessons from their debut EP behind them and the ill effects of ambitious record-executives and over-zealous producers a couple years off still. It’s not a punk record – the pop hooks and harmonies are in full-effect, but it feels live and relevant, exciting and energetic. “Going Down to Liverpool” was the single, originally an early Katrina and the Waves song. The video, starring Leonard Nimoy as an annoyed chauffeur, was how many people, myself included, first heard of The Bangles. It wasn’t a big commercial success, but it is the bar by which all other Bangles albums are ranked.
2. Different Light (1986) The second full-length, and easily their most successful, is probably their second most consistent album front to back. It contained 5 charting singles and reached #2 in the US and Australia. The songwriting is at its peak here, with track-after-track deep with hooks and pop-energy. The title track “In a Different Light” is 60’s garage-pop-rock with a great groove and guitar riff. Songs like “If She Knew What She Wants,” “Manic Monday,” and “Let it Go” are pop diamonds, and their cover of Big Star’s “September Gurls” was a noble, worthwhile tribute. I remember telling a friend right after a 1986 Replacements concert in Ann Arbor that I couldn’t believe they’d covered a Bangles song. That was the moment I first learned of Big Star and Alex Chilton.
“Walk Like an Egyptian” was their first #1, and Billboard’s #1 song of 1987, no small feat, but the schticky tune (first offered to and turned down by Toni Basil) with its drum-machine-loop bed and computerized whistles, held little interest to early fans of the rock group they’d fallen in love with on All Over the Place. It catapulted The Bangles into super-stardom and they weren’t my little band anymore, a recurring theme in my life.
“Egyptian” aside, the Achilles’ heel of this otherwise great album is the most-dated sounding production in their discography. A glossy sheen of ‘80’s reverb and processing strips the beautiful rawness from All Over the Place almost to the point that Different Light could be demoted to a lower rank, but in the end, consistency of material wins over production. To have a modern, “raw” remix without the effects would be amazing. The songs and performances are there, I just find myself working for them a little harder that I should have to.
3. Doll Revolution (2003) The Bangles came back in 1999 with a song for the Austin Powers 2 movie and spent the next 4 years gearing up for this record. The production is more organic and “real” than their late-80s output. The strong material on Doll Revolution is really strong. “Stealing Rosemary,” “Nickel Romeo,” “Single by Choice,” and “Song for a Good Son” are right up there with their best. It’s a bit heavy on the ballads, and songs like “Something That You Said” or “I Will Take Care of You” were strong vocally, but unnecessary throwbacks to “Eternal Flame” and diminish the consistency of Doll Revolution. At 15 songs, the album would have been well served to come in around 11. Still, it’s a fantastic comeback record and ranks near the top on the back of excellent production and the standout tracks.
4. Ladies and Gentlemen… The Bangles! (2014) This is a compilation album, as opposed to a proper studio album, but it deserves a spot on the list because of the important material it includes – namely their debut EP Bangles from 1982. The 5-song EP is killer, with the new band mixing pop, 60’s rock, surf, and just a little bit of punk into a fast-moving, short spurt of pure gold. “Want You” is as fast and rockin’ as the band would ever get (go Vicki!) and remains in the set to this day. The collection also includes their first single “Getting out of Hand” (when they were still The Bangs), some 1981 demos, a couple early live tracks, and some radio bumpers and commercials.
If you’re a fan of All Over the Place then this collection is a must-have. It’s a cohesive, well-presented view of everything that led up to that album, and while it doesn’t quite reach those heights, it’s a lot of fun, with a youthful energy and innocence that only come with, well… youth and innocence. I’m so glad they put this out.
5. Everything (1988) This album saw the band at the peak of their success; a household name, with teenage crowds screaming for “Walk Like an Egyptian” at the end of every show, but also struggling with the creative, emotional, and commercial challenges that come with following up an album with the success of Different Light.
The first single “In Your Room” is a sexy, catchy pop song with a raspy vocal that thankfully left behind some of the polish found on Different Light, but it was the follow-up single “Eternal Flame” that put them back at #1 and kept the momentum of commercial success going. The song, cited as the #1 song by an all-female band ever, with its lone (and really strong) Susanna Hoffs vocal and orchestrated backing track, was as deep into the pop-realm as a rock band could get and stands ironically with their other mega-hit “Egyptian” as my least favorite tracks from their catalog.
The rest of the record, however, shows some effort to move away from the over-production that plagued Different Light. The band’s success and Hoffs’ increased place in the spotlight, along with some other factors, led to their breakup after the tour supporting Everything, but by then it felt like it was probably time – there is an underlying tension and slightly tired-feeling to Everything that wasn’t there before. It’s not a go-to record, but when it’s on it’s always surprisingly strong.
6. Sweetheart of the Sun (2011) I’ve been re-discovering this over the last year and appreciating it more and more. The title and music within are every bit a tribute to the Laurel Canyon scene that spawned The Byrds, Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito brothers and so many more. It’s got a very 60s feel throughout, not a bad thing, and not a surprise either. Matthew Sweet’s production is excellent, and he thankfully continued the path set by Doll Revolution nearly a decade earlier of organic, real sounds and performances. The 3 covers collections he did with Hoffs are super fun, and her vocal performances on Sweetheart feel as loose and raw as they often do on those records.
It doesn’t quite have the emotional or stylistic range or songwriting mastery found on Doll Revolution or Different Light – tempos and feel are less diverse – but that lends a certain cohesiveness that fits in well with the Laurel Canyon theme. A song like “What a Life” could easily fit on any Bangles record. Even the ballads are guitar-based, darker in tone, and a welcome departure from those of the past. “Through Your Eyes” calls to mind Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young but is still true to the Bangles sound without waxing nostalgic for “Eternal Flame.” Sadly, Micki Steele was gone on bass by this point, but the remaining trio wrote most of the songs together or separately and it’s every bit a true Bangles record, perhaps their most cohesive, and worthy of any collection.
Bootlegs, Live Recordings, & Etc.
Live at the Ritz – NYC – September 9th, 1984 This is a great, raw recording taken from an FM broadcast from WLIR FM. It sounds like a smaller club than it actually was. It’s a live representation of what makes All Over the Place a fantastic record. It also includes a couple great covers of Love and The Grass Roots. It takes a couple minutes for the guitars to come up and it’s got some warts, but they’re beautiful warts, and is one of my favorite bootlegs by any band.
The Bangles Live, In Concert (MTV Video) - Live at Syria Mosque – Pittsburgh – December 13, 1986 This never-officially-commercially-released show was shot for and aired by MTV on the Different Light tour. The band was arguably at their peak when it comes to musicianship, songs, and a tight live show. The setlist can’t be topped, and the Different Light songs are stronger live than on record. If you’re looking for a place to start, pull this up on the big-screen and crank it.
And finally, worth mentioning is the Yep-Roc compilation 3x4, a 2LP set of 3 songs each by 4 bands from LA’s Paisley Underground scene. Together with The Three O’Clock, The Dream Syndicate, and Rain Parade, each band provided a side of the set with a track each from the other bands. As much fun as it is to hear The Bangles cover those songs, it’s even more fun to hear those bands take on Bangles songs. This was a surprise find in the Record Store Day bin at Grimey’s in Nashville, and is the most recent release by the band, from 2018. As a bonus, original and current bassist Annette Zillinskas makes her return for the first time after her departure before All Over The Place.
My dream release would be a Different Light box set with a remastered LP, a remixed “raw” version of the album without the dated post-production, a DVD of the Pittsburgh show, and a disc or 2 of demos, rare, and live tracks from the era. Seems perfect for a Record Store Day cash grab. Hey, a fella can dream, can’t he?
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
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Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
