It was recently brought to my attention that the N=D post about The Bangles has been one of the most viewed posts. It reminded me that based on my rediscovery, I decided to dig a little deeper and obtained a copy of their first self-titled EP (which i didn't know existed at the time) on IRS records.
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It's a short EP and features bassist Annette Zalinkas. The thing about the Bangles is that they were so steeped in the 60's and that really came across in their songwriting and in their choice of covers. Was it a result of sounding similar to their influences or do they really just own other groups songs? It's hard to tell but not having heard many of the original versions it's often difficult for me to identify which songs they wrote and which they didn't.
The Real World & Mary Street are the highlights. I know they always had issues with Susanna Hoffs being considered the lead vocalist but they're really at their best with her up on the microphone. Her voice cuts through with originality whereas the other 3 had more plain jane voices. They should've just dealt with it because Susanna's voice gave them an identity. Their rambunctious take on "How is the Air Up There" is pretty great as well. Very raw and indie pop with good sense of melodies. Much like their major label follow up album "All Over the Place". At times you can see how they would benefit from the helping hand of a producer or outside writers but they were a really fantastic jangly pop band. And you can't really review the Bangles without mentioning their superb use of vocal harmonies. So there you have it, vocal harmonies. Lyrically I have to ignore what's being said because the corniness makes me queasy and the production on the album is a little off (ie the mix seems all wrong) but they achieve what many indie bands that came after them tried so hard to attain. And once again I leave a big......too bad about all that major label fuckery that followed.
It's a short EP and features bassist Annette Zalinkas. The thing about the Bangles is that they were so steeped in the 60's and that really came across in their songwriting and in their choice of covers. Was it a result of sounding similar to their influences or do they really just own other groups songs? It's hard to tell but not having heard many of the original versions it's often difficult for me to identify which songs they wrote and which they didn't.
The Real World & Mary Street are the highlights. I know they always had issues with Susanna Hoffs being considered the lead vocalist but they're really at their best with her up on the microphone. Her voice cuts through with originality whereas the other 3 had more plain jane voices. They should've just dealt with it because Susanna's voice gave them an identity. Their rambunctious take on "How is the Air Up There" is pretty great as well. Very raw and indie pop with good sense of melodies. Much like their major label follow up album "All Over the Place". At times you can see how they would benefit from the helping hand of a producer or outside writers but they were a really fantastic jangly pop band. And you can't really review the Bangles without mentioning their superb use of vocal harmonies. So there you have it, vocal harmonies. Lyrically I have to ignore what's being said because the corniness makes me queasy and the production on the album is a little off (ie the mix seems all wrong) but they achieve what many indie bands that came after them tried so hard to attain. And once again I leave a big......too bad about all that major label fuckery that followed.
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