Everything

I love Susannah Hoffs - heck, I even went to see her film The Allnighter (sadly, I was the only person in the theater), and many folks probably think she was the lead singer of the band. After all, most of the band's hits featured Hoffs on lead vocals. I think it is important to note, however, that all four members of The Bangles made an equal contribution to each album. All four also played their own instruments, which was still something of a rarity among girl groups in the mid-1980s. Hoffs sang lead on four songs on Everything, including Eternal Flame and In Your Room. Eternal Flame was a big hit indeed, and this is probably the group's most familiar song, but I'm more partial to In Your Room and its spirited, up-tempo sound. Hoff's I'll Set You Free is easily the third best song on the album, while Waiting for You closes out the album in fine style.

Debbi and Vicki Peterson made up half of the band and led the way on five of this album's thirteen tracks. They are perfectly good singers capable of delivering solid vocals, but neither of them seems able to inject their songs with the kind of spirit and emotional depth of Hoffs or Michael Steele. I have always thought Steele's contributions to The Bangles were never given their proper due. While Hoff's voice is bubbly and incredibly sexy, Steele's vocals are oftentimes deep and somber. There's usually no trouble identifying Steele's songs because they stand out noticeably from the rest. Complicated Girl seems to misfire a little bit, but Glitter Years is an excellent track, and Something to Believe In gives us Steele at her best.

If you ask me, the essence of The Bangles is still to be found in Different Light, the group's previous album. Everything (referring to this album) seems to wander a little off-course, displacing The Bangles' initial folk rock tendencies with electric guitar and other studio-engendered trappings. This is still a very good album, but a number of these songs really don't connect with me in a way that makes them memorable. I enjoy listening to them, and there isn't a bad song in the bunch, but Everything seems to be missing a little something, when all is said and done.

There were three original albums, but it is the second (Different light) and the third (this one) that really matter. Of course, their best songs have been released on several compilations down the years.

This album yielded Eternal flame, their only British number one. An excellent ballad, it has more recently been revived by Atomic kitten, who also had a big UK hit with it. That didn’t do the Bangles any harm at all. Yet another hits compilation was released to capitalise on the situation, reminding everybody whose song it really was.

Nothing else here was anywhere near as successful as Eternal flame, but there are many other fine songs including the lesser hits, I’ll set you free, Be with you and the rousing up-tempo opener to the album, In your room. Despite that opener and the closing Crash and burn, most of the songs here are ballads.