Album Essentials: The Bangles "Everything" (1988)
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
The Bangles were, in many ways, a textbook example of a great rock and roll band who got sucked into the corporate system and drained of all that made them so special.
Following the death of John Lennon in December of 1980, guitarist Vicki Peterson became fast friends with guitarist Susanna Hoffs, bonding over their love of all things Beatles, Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield—and pop music of the 1960s in general. Vicki's sister Debbie played drums, and the trio began working on songs and, in short order, headed into the recording studio to record their debut single in 1981. A lawsuit prompted the name change to the Bangles as the trio added bassist Annette Zilinskas. After some heavy local airplay, they signed with I.R.S./Faulty Products—at the time home to everyone from R.E.M. to Dead Kennedys.
A five-song EP was issued, which introduced them to the world outside Los Angeles. It caught on quickly, capturing fans with their mixture of pop, folk, and garage rock—all with beautiful Mamas (no Papas) harmonies full of sunshine. Columbia Records came calling and signed the band, releasing their debut album, All Over the Place, in the spring of 1984. College radio was highly supportive, and soon MTV caught on. By the time they headed back in to record album number two, Columbia considered there could be more here for the masses.
By this time, the Bangles had also gained a big fan in Prince, who took notice and wrote them a song. Manic Mondaywas a huge hit, narrowly missing the top of the charts. The follow-up, Walk Like an Egyptian, would hit that coveted spot and propel that album, Different Light, into big numbers. The problem—if you wish to consider it one—was that neither of those songs were band compositions and were produced in a generic, radio-friendly style. I'm not putting down success, but they had little or nothing to do with what the band was all about. Their image was also altered, and the media focused on the beauty of Miss Hoffs.
Time for album number three, and the label wants more of the same—high-gloss, shiny pop songs, power ballads, direct from that ’80s pop plan. Prior to the new LP, the band released a single from the Less Than Zero soundtrack: a cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic Hazy Shade of Winter, which not only made it to #2, but it rocked! The guitars were loud, the harmonies were front and center. This was a good sign!
Released in the fall of 1988, Everything was a mishmash of the band trying to break through from under the cellophane while still satisfying the powers that were. The first single, In My Room, had a vague ’60s vibe under its ’80s blanket, while the number-one hit Eternal Flame was a pure “lighters-in-the-air, swaying-side-to-side” power ballad. Most of the album was co-written by band members with outside writers—everyone from former Kiss member Vinnie Vincent to Stiff Records alum (and Akron native) Rachel Sweet.
That's not to say it’s all bad—there are some genuinely good songs here. Complicated Girl, written by bassist Michael Steele, is a jangly gem despite its gloss, while Bell Jar, written by the Peterson sisters, is a great rocker! Hoffs’ I’ll Set You Free is a good folk/pop tune, slightly hampered somewhat by the production. Vicki and Susanna team up for the all-out rocker Watching the Sky, a surprise with its Led Zep-styled riff at the center of the song. Some Dreams Come True, from Debbi Peterson, is a driving pop song, while the Rachel Sweet–aided Crash and Burn recaptures a bit of their garage roots.
The highlight here has to be Glitter Years, another from Steele. Guitars chime as she sings about lost days on the Sunset Strip in the mid-’70s, with references to the original glitter era, Rodney’s English Disco, Bowie, and so on. This is where they should have been. It’s a killer! I guess what this tells me—and my ears—after all these years is, the ladies didn’t need outside help. They were doing just fine. Of course, the hits bring in the money, pay the bills—and I’m all for that—but it’s a high price to pay for one’s identity.
Ultimately, Everything shows a band trying to find their identity in an era where it was all getting lost in corporate sludge. Of course, it’s far worse now and has been for years, but the Bangles were truly special—and as a fan, it was sad to see them get swallowed up by the machine, then spat out when they no longer “fit the suit” (Johnny Bravo reference). It may have been a step up artistically from Different Light, but not good enough for the suits, as it “only” made number 15.
It reminds me of that quote—often mistakenly credited to Hunter S. Thompson: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”