A decade and a half after their most un-amicable implosion – the cumulative result of years of tricky management, clashes of egos, mis- and mal-communications, and record studio soap operas (see the “Behind the Music” special for Debbi Peterson’s bitter “it was our biggest hit and I didn’t even play on it” soliloquy); after so much ugliness, The Bangles want us to forget Everything. By Everything, I don’t mean all things. I mean their 1988 studio album, a useless hunk of bland, late 80s radio pop whose signature single “Eternal Flame” – one of their biggest hit songs, but also one of their most divisive – essentially ended the band, and paved the way for Susanna Hoff’s decidedly underwhelming solo career in the 90’s.

Forget all that. The Bangles want you to remember a version of themselves most of us never really knew. They want you to remember those four barely legal girls who appear in a grainy black-and-white photograph on the back of an obscure LP released on the small independent label Faulty Products in 1982. They want you to remember that before “Manic Monday” and “Walk Like an Egyptian”, long before they were “Susanna Hoffs and those three other chicks”, they were first and foremost a band. They were four girls who just wanted to rock, four girls who could each sing alone or within lush harmonies, four girls who labored under the (naïve) belief that good hooks will always trump good looks .

“Doll Revolution” is that reminder. Opening with a deliciously raw, brilliantly plucky cover of Elvis Costello’s “Tear Off Your Own Head (Doll Revolution)” (from last year’s “When I Was Cruel” album) that immediately creams the original, the Bangles – Debbi Peterson (drums), Vicki Peterson (bass), Michael Steele (lead guitar) and Susanna Hoffs (guitar) - have returned to the stage with a score to settle, and they’ve delivered their most consistently enjoyable album since their 1984 major label debut “All Over the Place”.

But the most heartening thing about “Doll Revolution” is that it seems to really be the first Bangles record that’s really their own. In their 80s heyday, the Bangles were never really known for their songwriting. Most of their biggest singles came from outside sources (“Manic Monday” from Prince, “If She Knew What She Wants” from Jules Shear, “Walk Like an Egyptian” and “Eternal Flame” by hitwriter-for-hire Billy Steinberg); and their albums were loaded up with session players.

But aside from the title track, the Bangles had a hand in writing every one of this album’s 15 songs. They also co-produced the album with Brad Wood. In many ways, this album feels refreshingly like a debut rather than a reunion.

Their songs are melodic and sunny, jangly guitar pop inspired by the 60s San Francisco pop sound of bands like the Grass Roots, the Mamas and the Papas and the Lovin’ Spoonful. Songs like the gorgeous “Stealing Rosemary” and “Ask Me No Questions” combine folky harmonies with a tough power-pop attack. And even if some of the songs don’t quite hit their mark (“Single By Choice” is a little embarrassing actually – methinks Vickie doth protest too much!), they are saved by the band’s energetic performances.
”The Rain Song”, written by Vickie Peterson with Susan Cowsill, reprises a song they recorded in 1998 as members of the Continental Drifters. (Fellow Drifter and former dB Peter Holsapple lends some session help as well.)

Surprisingly though, some of the best tracks on “Doll Revolution” are the ballads. Most notable is the lovely Susanna Hoffs-sung single “Something That You Said” which boasts a melody as irresistibly youthful and inviting as anything Vanessa Carlton or Michelle Branch have put out so far. Not bad for a bunch of fortysomethings. Even better is the wistful and reassuring near-country song "I Will Take Care of You" - a song whose complex harmonies and gentle melody actually kinda choke me up a little when I hear them.

Whether “Doll Revolution” marks the beginning of a more promising second phase in the Bangles’ saga, or if it’s just a one-off reunion gig remains to be seen. But if this is the last we ever hear of this band (I hope not!), at least they will have gone out with a bang instead of the offensively commercial whimper that was “Everything”. Just shy of an hour, “Doll Revolution” could have used some trimming, but this is a small complaint, given that this album’s highlights often surpass the songs that made this band famous – in terms of energy, personality and sheer joy.

This year’s most surprising and rewarding comeback.

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This album comes with a limited edition DVD featuring the video for “Something That You Said”, and (very) brief documentary called “A Day in the Life of the Bangles”, along with photos and lyrics.

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“Doll Revolution” by the Bangles
Down Kiddie! / Koch Records
Released 9/23/03

Produced by Brad Wood & the Bangles
60 min.

SONGS: Tear Off Your Own Head (Doll Revolution) – Stealing Rosemary - Something That You Said - Ask Me No Questions – The Rain Song – Nickel Romeo – Ride the Ride – I Will Take Care of You – Here Right Now – Single By Choice – Lost at Sea – Song for a Good Son – Mixed Messages – Between the Two - Grateful


Recommended: Yes