Bangles - All Over the Place

In 1984, the Bangles were just another club band from Los Angeles's Paisley Underground scene. Though their peers would disband after mere college radio success, the Bangles would parlay the Underground into superstardom. The curiosity factor then afforded to an all-girl band and their later recording of Prince's "Manic Monday" were certainly instrumental to their rise, but All Over the Place proves that the Bangles were nobody's contrivance. "Hero Takes a Fall," "James," and "Tell Me" showcase Vicki Peterson and Susanna Hoffs's knack for hooks; and covers of the Merry-Go-Round's "Live" and Katrina and the Waves' "Going Down to Liverpool" give props to their heroes. All Over the Place never approached the sales figures of the band's subsequent albums, but the Bangles would never make a finer record. --Bill Crandall Amazon.com

Better than Van Halen

Pop quiz: Name the L.A. area band with sibling guitarist and drummer, a bassist named Michael, and pouty prima dona lead singer. If you said Van Halen, you win, and were probably rockin' out to "Jump" the same year that our quiz's other correct answer, The Bangles, released their gem of a debut.

Whether you call their music "paisley underground" (ugh), pop, power pop, girl group, or just rock & roll, The Bangles delivered a wonderful album of up-tempo, jangly rock that sounded like the Go-Go's covering the Byrds (or the Pandoras with a lot less paisley). "All Over The Place" was their purest album, before they overtly sought fame and fortune on their next two albums by mainstreaming their sound.

Bonus hypothesis: while I can't prove it, I think the Smithereens were singing about Michael Steele in "Behind The Wall of Sleep":

"She had hair like Jeanie Shrimpton back in 1965.
She had legs that never ended; I was halfway paralyzed.
She was tall and cool and pretty and she dressed as black as coal.
...
Well, she held a bass guitar and she was playing in a band.
And she stood just like Bill Wyman. Now I am her biggest fan."

Now I ask you, who else could it be?

A great album from the most recent hurrah of power pop, the early 1980's. Five stars. February 14, 2008

+1/2 -- Major label airbrush of the paisley underground

Those who began following the Bangles as The Bangs, first hearing them on their self-released single ("Getting Out of Hand" b/w "Call on Me") and follow-up eponymous EP on Faulty, couldn't help but find this major label debut a mixed bag. The layered harmonies that had made the EP so captivating were still there, but the garage-folk edge was mostly smoothed away by David Kahne's production. The music didn't feel as urgent as the earlier tracks, and the vocals feel arranged rather than organic. Worse, the original songs didn't compare to the gloriousness of "The Real World" or "I'm in Line," leaving the album's highlights to be covers of The Merry-Go-Round's "Live," and Katrina and the Waves' "Going Down to Liverpool." If you hadn't heard the earlier releases (and given their limited distribution, most listeners probably hadn't), this LP would have sounded fresh and original. But in the shadow of their earlier work, this sounds like a second helping. As they say, you have 20 years to write your first record and a year or two to write your second. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com] October 6, 2007

Decent Debut but Overated

All of the reviews for this album seem to say the exactly the same thing: That "All Over the Place" is the Bangles best album, presumably before they "sold out". Well, that's just plain wrong. The Bangles, not unlike their namesakes, The Beatles, evolved. They got better with each successive album. "Different Light" was a vast improvement on this, their debut, and "Everything" topped them both. This evolution continues to this day. "Doll Revolution" is better than all three of the 80's albums combined.

The Bangles are one of my all-time favorite groups. I loved seeing Susanna Hoffs on the Tonight Show with Joan Rivers. Joan asked Susanna what her musical influences were. Susanna had the all-time greatest answer! She said: "The Three B's. Beatles, Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield!" GREAT ANSWER! Joan seemed completely baffled! I think Joan had heard of the Beatles but you could tell she had no idea who the other two groups were!

Funny. February 23, 2005

The Forgotten Bangles Effort - also the Best Effort!

Before their breakup in the late 80s, the Bangles released 3 albums. "All Over the Place" was the debut album of "The Bangles". This represents the pre-"Manic Monday" work by the Bangles. "All Over the Place" didn't have any Top 40 hits. In fact, this album is overshadowed by the hugely commercial "Different Light" and "Everything" albums, however this album should not be overlooked. This album represents as solid a debut album as anything and greatly benefits from the lack of commercialism on it. These tracks have some very nice lyrics and are complimented with superb instrumentation.

The Bangles aren't a band that just sings. The four female members each play an integral part to the music of the album. All four members do vocals and three members (Debbi Peterson, Vicki Peterson, Susanna Hoffs) actually do lead vocals (Michael Steele does background vocals). The members also play their own instruments: Hoffs and Vicki Peterson play guitars, Michael Steele plays Bass, and Debbi Peterson is the drummer. All songs except the Katrina and the Waves "Going Down to Liverpool" were written by the members of the band. While there is a perception that Susanna Hoffs is the lead vocalist, this really isn't the case on "All Over the Place". Vicki and Debbi do an outstanding job at lead vocals as well. Susanna is the lead vocalist on 4 tracks ("Hero Takes A Fall", "James", "Dover Beach", "He's Got a Secret"), Vicki is the lead vocalist on "All About You", "Restless", "Silent Treatment", Susanna and Vicki share leads on ("Tell Me") while Debbi and Vicki share lead vocals on "More Than Meets the Eye". The real surprise is that Debbi Peterson is the lead vocalist on the two strongest tracks on the album - "Live" and "Going Down to Liverpool". I think Debbi's contributions are as solid as any of the other members of the band.

This CD contains 11 tracks but the 11 tracks total only about 31+ minutes of music. Eight of the 11 songs are under three minutes while "Dover Beach" is the longest track at 3:48. This is kind of a double-edged sword on the collection. The quartet does a great job at making the most of the short song - you won't feel there is any wasted time. But you also get the feeling that some of the songs could have been longer. Many of the songs have an "underground" feel to it - they are catchy songs and songs that you hear in a coffee house. Although they have an 80s feel, they clearly lack the "pop" element and commercialism of songs you would hear on "80s Hit" radio. Most of the songs are up-tempo and have a fast beat - only the finale "More than Meets the Eye" (which is the weakest track) would really qualify as a slow song.

The Bangles strength is some of the great harmonies and background vocals produced by the quartet. This will also be the strength of this collection. "Live" is the best example of this. While Debbi does a great job at cranking out the lead vocals, the harmonic background vocals are solid as any. "Going Down to Liverpool", "Silent Treatment", "All About You", "Hero Takes a Fall", and "Dover Beach" are other highlights at some of the great background vocals. For the fans of Susanna Hoffs, you'll hear some of the trademark vocals you when she sings lines such as "look out - hear it comes again" on "Hero Takes a Fall". When I hear her sing that, I can almost envision the famous eye motion she did in the video for a later song they did - "Walk Like An Egyptian". Speaking of "Walk Like an Egyptian", the song "Silent Treatment" has some chords in it that remind me of the song (but I wouldn't say it sounds a lot like it).

The liner notes are disappointing with one exception. The good thing about the liner notes is that it tells who is the lead singer on each of the tracks. The bad news is that the lyrics aren't included (at least in the version I have). The songwriting credits are on the actual disc itself. A photo collage is included of the members of the band. This CD also shows the members of the band on the cover sitting in a living room type warehouse room. The CD also lists Miles Copeland (who worked and produced the Police) as part of the management team for the band.

One interesting personal note. I met the Bangles in Las Vegas and actually had a chance to talk with them. I mentioned how much I liked "All Over the Place" and all of the members were greatly appreciative for pointing out what is probably their least known album and noted to me how proud they were of this piece of work. They should be proud of it - this is a winner. June 11, 2004

Rainy Day Music Indeed!

The reason why this album is so clever is that though recorded in the 80's it sounds nothing like the 1980's. If you remember that back then the airwaves abounded with Culture CLub, Duran Duran, Human League, Eurythmics, the Police you can see why the Bangles had nothing to do with the 80's. Except that they were women in a rock band. Since the Bangles, how many female rock bands (not pop vocal groups like the Spice Girls) have hit the Top Ten? How many have had the same success as the Bangles?This album has everything that was great about 60's music - though now written from a woman's point of view. Their harmonies (such as Live and Dover Beach) were immaculate, their lyrics sharp and witty (unfortunately their later original songs all lacked the punch and attitude of the songs here), their playing not great but adequate. They were a garage band after all, not supposed to be virtouso material. They harken back to the mid 60's in America and Britain when young people - however untalented - believed they could pick up a guitar and play and hundreds of garage bands were formed. Totally unpretentious, bursting with energy. In a world of MTV, million dollar videos and the great corporate machines that handle talent today, it's refreshing to hear the Bangles and think of a time when songs were this hip and this good. "Silent Treatment," "James", "Hero Takes a Fall" all written by Vicki Peterson and Sue Hoffs are some of the best tracks. It's a shame that their later "hits" were all covers because Peterson especially can write really good, well-crafted songs. The Bangles were aware that the power chord, the three guitar and drums combo, were the basic backbone of rock and because of this, like the Ramones, they could continue playing their music for decades since they weren't bound to a particular trend or sound. This is a must-have album! August 8, 2003

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