Music Notes: The Bangles, Different Light

January 10th, 2007

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This collection of Bangles tunes is lovely fun in the sun, with a bit of love gone wrong near the end. Part of Different Light’s charm is that it’s relatively short and sweet (twelve songs), with a nice variety of tempos, situations, and moods. Each Bangle is featured, and the secret weapon of Michael Steele has two stellar songs. There’s a generally tasteful mix of harmonies, guitars, and mid-80s synthesizers and drum machines, resulting in five songs I consider “perfect.”

The weaknesses are that the best songs are written by other people (Prince, Alex Chilton, Jules Shear, Liam Sternberg), lending the Bangles a perhaps undeserved reputation as the ultimate cover band (the other hit single Hazy Shade of Winter does nothing to help this). Second, a song like Walk Like An Egyptian enters a realm of so insanely pop-friendly and overplayed it’s not even a song anymore - more a punchline to a joke or a bad memory of 80s hair.

Manic Monday

= 5 stars

Written by “Christopher” (actually, Prince), featuring a shiny lead vocal by Susanna. Especially notable is the harpsichord which gets especially busy near the end, symbolizing the pressures of a busy day. Late for work on a Monday is a good song idea; something anybody with a job can relate to. But it isn’t until the bridge that we discover exactly this lady is late. The operatic vocal cascade leading into the gossipy-sung line “time it goes so fast when you’re having fun” is possibly the most polite melodic metaphor for a good time as I think exists.

In A Different Light

= 3 stars

Not a huge fan of this song, but it has some nice harmonies and an airy, spacious feeling.

Walking Down Your Street

= 4 stars

This is one of those tunes that sounds great on first listen but fades after the sugar rush is over. The synthy bass, harmonica, over a sort of jittery beat all add up to something inconsequential since it’s just a song about a girl who has the hots for a guy. The video seems to recognize the song’s paucity and stuffs it full of fun visual ridiculousness.

Walk Like An Egyptian

= 5 stars

From the first shaker sounds, this novelty song is immediately recognizable. Its structure serves to familiarize the listener with the band, if they’re so inclined. The first verse is sung by Michael, the second Vicki, and the last Susanna (after an abrupt key change to set things up for Susanna’s higher voice and eye wandering). But the song also featured some uniquely surreal lyrics and a bevy of instruments that were unfamiliar to 80s listeners.

Standing In The Hallway

= 2 stars

A little too much organ for my taste, over some obvious chords. A high note on “misery” recalls the Beatles’ song of the same name. Add nice background harmonies by Susanna and Michael, behind drummer Debbie Peterson’s vocals, but it’s not enough.

Return Post

= 2 stars

This song goes on much too long. This song’s main notable aspect is how it changes from a swing rhythm to a straight-ahead beat during its coda.

If She Knew What She Wants

= 5 stars

This song was written by Jules Shear and it’s a gorgeous one, showcasing the harmonies and guitar playing - there are some choice licks and a nice Byrds-y chiming guitar solo. It’s a song about a girl who doesn’t know what she wants and so never finds love. Maybe it’s an inversion of She Loves You with Susanna doling out advice in third person.

Let It Go

= 3 stars

Quite similar to In A Different Light, there’s a lounge piano at the center. And some nice harmonies. Its ending is similar to that of With A Little Help From My Friends.

September Gurls

= 5 stars

In comparison to the original Big Star version by Alex Chilton, the Bangles’ take has an obvious dose of polish, but several crucial differences have me prefer this version. One, the harmonies leading out of the bridge basically realize what Alex was going for but didn’t quite reach. Two, the divine, sped up guitar solo is similar to the keyboard solo of In My Life. Three, similarly to Manic Monday, the bridge features some sex play with another rising harmony sequence. And four, there is one descending guitar lick off of a suspended fourth chord at the end of the guitar solo and the last verse, that isn’t in the original Big Star song. Each time I listen to the Big Star version, I miss it.

Angels Don’t Fall In Love

= 1 star

This song is more biting in tone, similar to the “love me or I’ll leave” Bangles of All Over The Place. It warns how a new girl isn’t going to give Vicki’s former lover what he wants. Sadly, I don’t really care for the delivery of the chorus or the chords culminating into the song’s title.

Following

= 5 stars

This is a pretty scary song about a woman trying to shake off an ethereal stalker as if he’s a ghost. Pretty much Michael alone with a guitar, it’s not at all a sentimental song like Yesterday. This is more like Elvis Costello’s I Want You. But its darkness and contrast with the rest of the album are simply transcendent.

Not Like You

= 4 stars

After the darkness of Following, we burst into a happy, girl on a swing type ode, sung by Debbie, sounding appropriate for the Brady Kids or The Partridge Family. It’s a neat way to end the album on a high note.