Thirteen years on since the Bangles broke up... while on
top of the charts and top of the world... here comes a reunion album that makes
it seem like not a minute has passed since they went away. The group's
jangly-Byrdsy pop-rock feels every bit as palatable today as it did in their
glory days. Right now the band is in negotiations for this piece of prime
musicianship to be released in the US. While waiting for the album to get
a US release date, it's totally worth tracking down as an import.
Unlike so many comeback
albums, Doll Revolution deserves a place in the band's history with their
classic platters All Over the Place and Different Light. The
wonderful strength of the band is that they have four very different yet
complimentary lead singers and songwriters in guitarists Susanna Hoffs and Vicki
Peterson, bassist Michael Steele and drummer Debbi Peterson.
The album
starts off with a smoking cover of Elvis Costello's recent single "Tear Off Your
Head (It's A Doll Revolution.)" While that is an auspicious
lead-off, the originals that follow are even better. Hoffs' song
"Something That You Said" is an irresistibly catchy song which could be a huge
hit if it ever gets heard, as would her gorgeous ballad "I Will Take Care Of
You" (which is a little reminiscent of Hoffs' classic power ballad "Eternal
Flame.")
The band has a wonderfully 60s vibe on Debbi Peterson's "Ask Me
No Questions." "The Rain Song" is a lovely song that Vicki Peterson has
resurrected from her side-project The Continental Drifters (with Susan Cowsill.)
Micki Steele, long the band's somewhat overlooked secret weapon, contributes the
sweetly nostalgic "Nickel Romeo." Doll Revolution is both
up-to-date and wonderfully timeless. The Bangles have been missed.
Thank goodness they're back. (5/03)
