Bangles redux. Much better band than they got credit for.

[tigereye]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G3CajBt4Wg&feature=related



Great Elvis cover, another version on tv show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEfH-TZBD-g&NR=1

[driver8]

1. I saw the Bangles at the House of Blues in Hollywood about ten years ago..

Michael Steel was still playing bass for them. They were absolutely amazing! The band was tight, and their harmonies were incredible -- one of the best shows I have ever seen.

[tigereye]

2. have never seen them live- I wasn't into giant shows

back then. Always loved their harmonies and power-pop sound. Glad they were getting back in the game, don't know what they are doing now.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. I had no idea she left

Her lead vocal on Alex Chilton's "September Gurls" was easily one of the band's career highlights.

Live @ House of Blues, LA, 2000: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otx4-esLsBs

:toast:

[driver8]

4. I think this was from the show the night before I saw them.

I don't remember them filming the show that I was at.

We were about fifteen feet from the stage and I was right in front of Vicki Peterson -- it was awesome!!

Michael Steele left not too long after the House of Blues shows. I have seen them since without her and her harmonies are definitely missed.

[Locrian]

19. Michael

Michael has an amazing voice. Some cool stuff here if you're interested:

http://www.mickisteele.net/cw_interview.html

[mix]

5. I saw the first incarnation of the Bangles open for the English Beat, many moons ago.

They had yet to get all glammed-up, as they did later when they hit it big, and were still punk(ish) chicks in thrift store threads.

[Tikki]

6. The Bangs, eh?

I know we saw them then..in Silver Lake...maybe with the Pandoras at the On Club '82 ish.

Part of the Paisley Underground..like Salvation Army, The Unclaimed, Green on Red...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTsT1WLG5_4
"She'll Never Come"....The Unclaimed

The Tikkis

[mix]

8. I barely remember the show, but I was surprised

when they went mainstream and changed their look...I thought, were those the same women?

LA.

[tigereye]

11. would have been fun to see them in a less produced form

Always liked Green on Red. Great sound.

[tigereye]

10. so they were more raw in the beginning? That is good to

know. Their look was a bit slick later on, but I always liked the tunes.

[EOTE]

7. I've always respected the Bangles.

And thought that Susanna Hoffs had a nice, distinctive voice. I'm not afraid to admit I liked a lot of their stuff. A while back, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs did an album of covers together (Under the Covers). I LOVE Matthew Sweet and a collaboration between the two seemed like a sure thing. I found that while I liked a few of their covers, Hoffs' voice is simply too unusual to make a lot of the songs work. It's still an interesting album and would recommend it to anyone interested in classic rock covers.

[tigereye]

9. yeah, Sweet is pretty unique, too, I did hear some of that

collab. and it was pretty good.

[dbt]

12. Nice to see The Bangles finally getting some DU props.

Whether you prefer 'em punked out or glammed up, they've always been a really good band. Lotta people couldn't get past their good looks long enough to give their musicianship its due, which is a pity. Another pity is that they've always been relegated to "girl group" status; leave gender out of it and you've still got a really good band.

For my (little) money, nobody could touch their vocals when Sad-Eyed Michael was with them. They kicked ass on The Beach Boys and The Mamas And The Papas; their version of "Hazy Shade Of Winter" was angelic and punk-snarly at the same time.

In a perfect world, "Doll Revolution" would have gone multi-platinum, and I just wish they had seen fit to cut "Paperback Writer" before Michael left. It woulda been all ya could stand!

:loveya:

[driver8]

20. I have seen them with and without Michael -- her voice is definitely missed! n/t

[Orrex]

13. I hope that Michael Steele gets another chance to lead the RNC

Following is a terrific song. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was so starkly different from any other 80s pop that in retrospect I can hardly believe that it was on the album.

Additionally, Susanna Hoffs was totally obsessed with me throughout the latter half of that decade.

[Aristus]

14. You beat me to "Following". I was going to mention that song as an example

Of The Bangles musicianship, and their greater depth that the usual '80's pop bands.

Terrific song. Works from a guy's perspective, too, if you change "good girl" to "nice guy."

[MorningGlow]

15. They were horribly misused and underserved

I watched a bio of the band a few years back--Behind the Music or something similar--and was appalled at how the male-centric music industry forced them to become a bunch of cupcakes (and pushed Susanna Hoffs to the forefront) when they actually wanted to be the next Beatles (and could have made some seriously hardcore rock music).

[Locrian]

16. awesome band

The Bangles were a truly awesome band - sad that the 80's mentality of their management got to them. Regardless, they put out some amazing music.

If you can, check out some of their concert "bootlegs" - they were an even more incredible band LIVE! There's stuff out there that goes all the way back to '83.

Also, there's a HUGE Michael Steele site (no, NOT the "other" Michael Steele). Michael was the seasoned veteran of the group - there's some amazing stuff that she did before and after the band.

www.mickisteele.net



"...there was no doubting the tempered sass of bassist Michael Steele. She played it like this pop music thing was just a lark..."

[vi5]

17. Their first album was a critical success...

They were originally part of the whole L.A. Paisley Underground thing along with bands like the Dream Syndicate and I remember that first album was on a lot of year end critic's best-of lists when it was released.

[Locrian]

18. Paisley Underground

Very true. They covered a lot of great stuff in their live shows: The Seeds "Pushing Too Hard", Yardbirds "I'm Not Talking", Ramones "7 and 7 Is", etc.

They sure had a different look back in the day.... (this is from 1984)