The Bangles - Ritz Theater, New York City, 9-28-1984

I posted an unreleased Bangles concert from 1986 just a couple of days ago. Yet here I am, posting another one, this time from 1984. The reason is that, when it comes to the Bangles, I like their earliest stuff the best. My favorite music of theirs of all is their 1982 E.P. and other songs released before their first album in 1984. The reason is because they were more raw and rocking early on, and gradually got slicker until they broke up in 1989, and I generally don't like slick.

So, after posting the 1986 concert, I got to thinking about listening to another concert by them from an earlier year. The problem was, I'd investigated that previously and decided that the sound quality for all known concert in 1985 or before were a little bit lacking. But then it occurred to me that with the advances in audio editing technology in recent years, maybe something could be done about that.

I picked the best sounding of the early concerts, which is this one. It's the best because it was professionally recorded and broadcast live on the radio. However, there still were issues. The biggest one was that there was a lot of crowd noise, even during the songs. But that's something that can be fixed these days. So I used the audio editing program MVSEP and removed the cheering and hollering during the songs, while keeping it between the songs. But I also lowered in some during the banter, because it was quite high there too. Next, I boosted the volume of the vocals relative to the instruments using the UVR5 audio editing program. So all the songs got adjusted twice.

The end result makes this sound significantly better than ever before, on part with the two 1986 Bangles concerts I've posted. The songs are dominated by songs from the band's 1984 album "All Over the Place," which is my favorite from them (although their 1986 album "Different Light" is a close second). But there are a few cover versions added that didn't make any of their albums at the time: "Where Were You When I Needed You," "I'm Not Talkin'," "Going Home," and "7 and 7 Is." Those especially show how rocking the band could get.

This album is 56 minutes long.

01 talk (Bangles)
02 Silent Treatment (Bangles)
03 The Real World (Bangles)
04 talk (Bangles)
05 Restless (Bangles)
06 Mary Street (Bangles)
07 talk (Bangles)
08 Live (Bangles)
09 talk (Bangles)
10 All about You (Bangles)
11 James (Bangles)
12 talk (Bangles)
13 Where Were You When I Needed You (Bangles)
14 talk (Bangles)
15 I'm in Line (Bangles)
16 He's Got a Secret (Bangles)
17 talk (Bangles)
18 Going Down to Liverpool (Bangles)
19 talk (Bangles)
20 Tell Me (Bangles)
21 talk (Bangles)
22 I Want You (Bangles)
23 Hero Takes the Fall (Bangles)
24 I'm Not Talkin' (Bangles)
25 talk (Bangles)
26 Going Home (Bangles)
27 7 and 7 Is (Bangles)
28 Dover Beach (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16509110/TBANGLS1984RtzThtrNwYrkCty__9-28-1984_atse.zip.html

 The cover photo is from a Bangles concert at Les Bains Douches, in Paris, France, on February 19, 1985.

The Bangles - Catch a Rising Star, New York City, 10-22-1986

I really like the Bangles. I still think it's strange that they never released an official live album. I tried to fill that gap by posting a 1986 concert bootleg, which you can find here:

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-bangles-loft-berlin-germany-2-10.html

I thought that was the best live recording of the band from their 1980s heyday, but now I think this one is. This bootleg had a big flaw in that the vocals were low in the mix. But nowadays, we have the technology to fix that, and I did. I used the UVR5 audio editing program on all the songs.

Both shows are very good, and if you're a fan, you'll want both. There are some song selection differences. For instance, that one includes the cover "I'm Not Talking" and the great early track "I Want You," while this one includes the cover "Pushin' Too Hard" and the non-album track "I Got Nothing." That one had some holes I had to fill in with bits from another 1986 concert, whereas this one is complete. This one is also somewhat longer.

The reason this one sounds so good is because it was broadcast live on the radio. In the banter between songs, they kept referring to the concert as a "soundcheck." I'm guessing what they mean is it was a relatively short concert for the radio, and they played a longer concert later in the evening in the same city. Also, one nice thing about it is they played at a small club (with the unusual name "Catch a Rising Star"), despite the fact that they already had two huge hits earlier in the year with "Manic Monday" and "Walk like an Egyptian." I'm guessing that was done specially to help with the sound quality for the radio broadcast.

Note that there are conflicting dates about when this concert took place, with May and August being cited. But I looked into it and I'm convinced this is the correct date.

This album is an hour and eight minutes long.

01 talk (Bangles)
02 Intro (Bangles)
03 Let It Go (Bangles)
04 talk (Bangles)
05 Restless (Bangles)
06 talk (Bangles)
07 Live (Bangles)
08 Walking Down Your Street (Bangles)
09 James (Bangles)
10 I Got Nothing (Bangles)
11 talk (Bangles)
12 He's Got the Secret (Bangles)
13 talk (Bangles)
14 September Gurls (Bangles)
15 If She Knew What She Wants (Bangles)
16 talk (Bangles)
17 Return Post (Bangles)
18 In a Different Light (Bangles)
19 Going Down to Liverpool (Bangles)
20 Angel Don't Fall in Love (Bangles)
21 Hero Takes a Fall (Bangles)
22 talk (Bangles)
23 Manic Monday (Bangles)
24 talk (Bangles)
25 Walk like an Egyptian (Bangles)
26 talk (Bangles)
27 Dover Beach (Bangles)
28 Pushin' Too Hard (Bangles)
29 talk (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16505975/TBANGLS1986cCtchaRsingStrNwYrkC__10-22-1986_atse.zip.html

I had a surprisingly difficult time finding a good color photo of the band in concert in 1986. I do like this one and it is in color, but I'm not sure when or where it's from exactly. But I'd guess that it's from 1986 or thereabouts.
 

Susanna Hoffs - Riverbend, Cincinnati, OH, 7-23-1991

Susanna Hoffs, some time member of the Bangles, put out a new studio album last week (as I write this in early June 2023), called "The Deep End." Like her last album, it consists entirely of covers. But unlike her previous covers, about half of the songs are relatively new, from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish. I give the album a thumbs up. It's neat how she makes the new songs fit in with the older ones.

To celebrate her album, I decided to post another album from her. This concert dates back to the start of her solo career, just a couple of years after the Bangles broke up for the first time. She had just released her first solo album, "When You're a Boy," and was on her first concert tour as a solo artist. I'm not a fan of that album. Clearly, the record company tried to push her into a slick, "adult contemporary" mode, similar to what happened to Belinda Carslile of the Go-Go's with her solo album. But the main problem was production, and the songs fare much better here. It helps that they're mixed with Bangles hits.

It also helps that this concert sounds great. I've posted two Hoffs solo concerts, but those are both audience bootlegs. Unusually good sounding ones, but audience boots nonetheless. However, this is a soundboard. I'm pretty sure it's the only soundboard of a Hoffs solo concert that's publicly available at this point. I didn't have to make any adjustments at all. The only downside is that it's a rather short concert, since she was the opening act for Don Henley on this tour.

Of particular note is her cover of the Bad Company classic "Feel like Makin' Love." You definitely need to watch the YouTube video of this if you haven't already, which comes from this exact concert. (I believe I've mentioned it in a previous blog post.) Not only is she sexy as hell in the video, I think she would have had a hit if this version had been released as a single. Apparently, some of her songs and some of Henley's songs from this concert were shown on TV.

01 A Hazy Shade of Winter (Susanna Hoffs)
02 This Time (Susanna Hoffs)
03 Wishing on Telstar (Susanna Hoffs)
04 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
05 Manic Monday (Susanna Hoffs)
06 Unconditional Love (Susanna Hoffs)
07 Only Love (Susanna Hoffs)
08 My Side of the Bed (Susanna Hoffs)
09 Eternal Flame (Susanna Hoffs)
10 Feel like Makin' Love (Susanna Hoffs)
11 It's Lonely Out Here (Susanna Hoffs)
12 Walk like an Egyptian (Susanna Hoffs)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15309531/SusannaH_1991_RiverbndCncinntiOH__7-23-1991_atse.zip.html

The cover photo comes from this 1991 tour. It might even be from this exact concert, since she was wearing a white shirt here and in the "Feel like Makin' Love" video from this night.

Susanna Hoffs - McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA, 4-28-2012

I've already posted a Susanna Hoffs live concert that took place at McCabe's Guitar Shop near Los Angeles. But that one took place in 1994, and this is from 2012, eighteen years later.

Hoffs has generally prioritized her music career with the Bangles over her own solo career. However, one important exception is her 2012 solo album "Someday." It's an excellent album, easily her best solo album in my opinion, so if you like her music with the Bangles you should check it out. This concert took place shortly before that album was released, but still contains a bunch of songs from it. Matthew Sweet, who collaborated with Hoffs on three "Under the Covers" albums, also plays and sings on a few songs near the end.

Note that this bootleg recording is not a soundboard, which is my usual standard. But it's an excellent sounding audience recording. McCabe's is a very small club to begin with, so the sound is pretty good from that fact alone. I'm guessing there were less than 100 people there. There are no soundboards of her concerts from around this era, and this is the best sounding one that I've found.

Generally speaking, Hoffs played songs from her solo career plus Bangles hits. But she also threw in a few covers, such as "Teacher, Teacher" by Rockpile, and "All I've Got to Do" by the Beatles, and "Different Drum" by the Stone Poneys with Linda Ronstadt. There are more covers near the end with Sweet that appeared on their "Under the Covers" album.

By the way, she played two concerts this evening. This is the late show. Both shows were bootlegged, and the set lists were almost exactly the same. However, she and Sweet played "Rain" by the Beatles as one of the encores for the early show. So I added that in as the last song. They made a couple of big flubs where they hesitated before going into the next verses. So I edited those mistakes out, which is why "[Edit]" is included in the song title.

01 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
02 Raining (Susanna Hoffs)
03 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
04 November Sun (Susanna Hoffs)
05 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
06 Always Enough (Susanna Hoffs)
07 Different Drum (Susanna Hoffs)
08 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
09 Picture Me (Susanna Hoffs)
10 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
11 All I've Got to Do (Susanna Hoffs)
12 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
13 One Day (Susanna Hoffs)
14 Eternal Flame (Susanna Hoffs)
15 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
16 All I Want (Susanna Hoffs)
17 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
18 Manic Monday - 1999 - Sunday Morning - Femme Fatale (Susanna Hoffs)
19 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
20 In Your Room (Susanna Hoffs)
21 Hero Takes a Fall (Susanna Hoffs)
22 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
23 Holding My Breath (Susanna Hoffs)
24 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
25 Teacher, Teacher (Susanna Hoffs)
26 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
27 Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Susanna Hoffs with Matthew Sweet)
28 talk (Susanna Hoffs with Matthew Sweet)
29 To Sir with Love (Susanna Hoffs)
30 talk (Susanna Hoffs with Matthew Sweet)
31 King Midas in Reverse (Susanna Hoffs with John Wicks)
32 Cinnamon Girl (Susanna Hoffs with Matthew Sweet)
33 Rain [Edit] (Susanna Hoffs with Matthew Sweet)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15292656/SusannaH_2012_McCabeGuitrShopSntaMonicaCA__4-28-2012_atse.zip.html

Despite the smallness of the venue, posters were made and sold for this exact show. So for the album cover, I just used one of the posters. I had to crop the rectangular shape to a square one, but all of Hoffs was just barely able to fit. Also, only the word "Susanna" was in big letters in the middle, so I added "Hoffs" in the same font. There was more info at the bottom of the poster, but I only included a portion of that that mentioned the location and the date.

Susanna Hoffs - McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA, 7-15-1994

Here's a nice Susanna Hoffs acoustic concert. Hoffs hasn't had nearly the success with her solo career as she's had being a member of the Bangles. I also don't think she's put that much work into it, judging by the limited number of solo albums and concerts. Furthermore, she often was dragged down by bad production. But this concert gets past any production problems due to its simple acoustic nature, with just Hoffs and a second guitarist. It revealed she had lots of very good songs in the early 1990s, as well as excellent taste in covers.

I suspect this is an audience recording, not a soundboard. But the fact that I'm not sure shows it doesn't matter much. This is very listenable. Sometimes, her comments between songs were too quiet, but I've boosted the volume on those.

In the early 1990s, Hoffs' record company wanted to push her as a pop star based on her beautiful looks and wasn't that interested in her musical talent. She mostly went their way with her 1991 album "When I Was a Boy," so it wasn't that good. She tried to go in a different direction with a 1994 album, but her record company rejected it and dropped her from the label. Ironically, this concert seems to be promoting that album that didn't actually exist. 

She wouldn't release another album until 1996, the simply titled "Susanna Hoffs." It would use a few of the songs here, like "Enormous Wings," "Happy Place," and "Darling One." But others - "Go," "Ghost of His Smile," "Right by You," and "You Lost My Mind" - fell by the wayside and remain officially unreleased by her to this day. ("You Lost My Mind" was written by Sam Phillips.) The rest of the songs are Bangles hits or covers of famous songs.

The last song, "Manic Monday," was almost certainly performed in this concert because it was her closing song for all her concerts that year. But it wasn't included in the bootleg recording. I've found a version from a different concert as a substitute. The sound quality isn't as good, but it gets the job done for just one song.

This album is an hour and nine minutes long.

01 Walking on a Wire (Susanna Hoffs)
02 Enormous Wings (Susanna Hoffs)
03 Go (Susanna Hoffs)
04 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
05 A Hazy Shade of Winter (Susanna Hoffs)
06 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
07 Happy Place (Susanna Hoffs)
08 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
09 Ghost of His Smile (Susanna Hoffs)
10 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
11 Catch the Wind (Susanna Hoffs)
12 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
13 Right by You (Susanna Hoffs)
14 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
15 If She Knew Want She Wants (Susanna Hoffs)
16 Darling One (Susanna Hoffs)
17 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
18 Turning Over (Susanna Hoffs)
19 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
20 Walk like an Egyptian (Susanna Hoffs)
21 Hero Takes a Fall (Susanna Hoffs)
22 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
23 To Sir with Love (Susanna Hoffs)
24 Eternal Flame (Susanna Hoffs)
25 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
26 You Lost My Mind (Susanna Hoffs)
27 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
28 Stop (Susanna Hoffs)
29 talk (Susanna Hoffs)
30 Manic Monday (Susanna Hoffs)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15292652/SusannaH_1994_McCabeGuitarShpSantaMonicaCA__7-15-1994_atse.zip.html

I couldn't find any photos of Hoffs in concert in 1994 or around that time. So I used a photo of her at a movie premiere in January 1994.

The Bangles - Kaaboo Festival, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA, 9-15-2019

There seems to be some kind of curse when it comes to live recordings from the Bangles. The band has never released an official live album, and when it comes to bootlegs, nearly all of them sound middling to bad. But the Bangles are known for their harmony vocals, and you need excellent sound to be able to fully appreciate that. 

Happily, I've finally found a Bangles bootleg with truly excellent sound. I've taken it from a high-quality video file (not YouTube), so I don't think it's ever circulated as audio files before.

When it comes to music by the Bangles, I like their earliest stuff the best. My favorite album from them is their first one (1984's "All Over the Place") and I like their EP from 1982 even better. This concert is from MUCH later, 2019. But in terms of the music, it's almost like it's from the early 1980s instead. For most of the 2010s, the Bangles were just a three-piece band. But in 2018, their original bassist, Annetta Zalinskas, who quit the band after that first EP, rejoined the band. Maybe because of that, their set list leaned heavily on their early stuff, with them playing four out of the five songs from that EP, and more from that first album. The latest song they played was "Eternal Flame" from 1989, which they probably felt obliged to play since it was a number one hit.

When it comes to sound quality, as I said above, this is truly excellent. That's because it was professionally recorded for a live Internet broadcast. There were no problems whatsoever. The audience is relatively low in the mix, but that enables one to hear the band that much more clearly.

The only downside is I wish the concert was longer. This is only 51 minutes long. But they were part of a big music festival with dozens of acts, so they had to cut their usual set short. Still, when considering sound quality, performance, and song selection, if I had to pick just one live recording of that band to play to someone, I would pick this one.

01 talk (Bangles)
02 A Hazy Shade of Winter (Bangles)
03 I Want You (Bangles)
04 talk (Bangles)
05 Manic Monday (Bangles)
06 talk (Bangles)
07 Mary Street (Bangles)
08 I'm in Line (Bangles)
09 The Real World (Bangles)
10 talk (Bangles)
11 Going Down to Liverpool (Bangles)
12 talk (Bangles)
13 September Gurls (Bangles)
14 He's Got a Secret (Bangles)
15 talk (Bangles)
16 If She Knew What She Wants (Bangles)
17 Dover Beach (Bangles)
18 In Your Room (Bangles)
19 Hero Takes a Fall (Bangles)
20 talk (Bangles)
21 Walk like an Egyptian (Bangles)
22 talk (Bangles)
23 Eternal Flame (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15277984/TBangls_2019_KaabooFestvalDelMarFairgrounds__9-15-2019_atse.zip.html

The cover art is was made by PJ of his "Albums I Wish Existed" blog. For the band name, he used the exact lettering from the band's 1982 EP, which I find very fitting, since many of the songs come from that. The picture is a screenshot taken from the exact concert in question. It may not be the best photo, but I asked if he could use one of all four band members, and that was a tough ask, since they were standing far apart from each other.

The Bangles - The Loft, Berlin, Germany, 2-10-1986

The Bangles have never released an official live album. I find this surprising, because the band has been very good live, and a live recording allows one to hear them without the sometimes overly slick production of the studio versions.

When it comes to 1980s Bangles, I prefer their earliest stuff the most, because they were more raw and rocking then. They got very slick and overproduced by the time they broke up in 1988. Unfortunately, the sound quality on live recordings is pretty rough for their first years, until 1986. 1986 was when they hit ir really big with "Manic Monday" and "Walk like an Egyptian," so several of their concerts were recorded for live broadcast by radio stations.

I've listened to parts of those, and the other alleged best recordings from 1986, and I came to the conclusion that the sound quality for a show at The Loft in Berlin, Germany sounds the best. In my opinion, it's about as good as what you'd expect for an official 1980s live album. That's why I'm posting it here.

There's one other 1986 concert that also sounds very good, in my opinion - the Syria Mosque Ballroom Arena (Pittsburgh, PA, 10-29-1986). The Loft recording missed the opening song, plus part of the start of the next song. So I've used the Syria Mosque recording to fill in the missing song, as well as patching in the first half of a minute of the second song. Furthermore, some really great songs were played there that weren't played in Berlin, especially "I Want You" (which would have been a number one hit in my ideal alternate universe) and "Walk like an Egyptian." So I've added three songs to the end. That makes the album an hour and three minutes long.

In terms of fixes, there were a few occasions where there was a burst of unwanted feedback during a song. I mostly managed to patch those up, using bits from the Syria Mosque concert. But if there are any I missed, let me know and I'll fix those too.

01 In a Different Light (Bangles)
02 talk (Bangles)
03 Live (Bangles)
04 Restless (Bangles)
05 talk (Bangles)
06 Walking Down Your Street (Bangles)
07 James (Bangles)
08 Manic Monday (Bangles)
09 talk (Bangles)
10 I'm in Line (Bangles)
11 He's Got a Secret (Bangles)
12 talk (Bangles)
13 If She Knew What She Wants (Bangles)
14 Return Post (Bangles)
15 Let It Go (Bangles)
16 Going Down to Liverpool (Bangles)
17 talk (Bangles)
18 Angels Don't Fall in Love (Bangles)
19 I'm Not Talking (Bangles)
20 Hero Takes a Fall (Bangles)
21 Dover Beach (Bangles)
22 talk (Bangles)
23 September Gurls (Bangles)
24 I Want You (Bangles)
25 Walk like an Egyptian (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15535013/TBangls_1986_TheLoftBerlinGrmany__2-10-1986_atse.zip.html

The cover art photo comes from a New Year's Eve concert at the end of 1986.

The Bangles - You Were On My Mind - Various Acoustic Songs (2000-2011)

I've finished posting all the Bangles' stray tracks album I've made. But I consider this as essential to any Bangles fan. It's them performing many of their best songs in the studio in a semi-acoustic style.

The Bangles reformed in 1999 after being broken up for about ten years. Since reuniting, they haven't caught the world on fire like they did the first time around, but they're just as musically talented. Unfortunately, key member Michael Steele left in 2005, turning the foursome into a threesome. But this is from before her departure.

The songs come from 2000 and 2003, but in terms of the music you can't notice the gap of three years. The first four songs are technically recorded in front of an audience, but with the clapping stripped away, you can't tell. The entire thing sounds like an "unplugged" show recorded in a studio, which means their excellent harmonies are on display.

Many of the songs are from their 2003 album "Doll Revolution," but I think those songs sound better here in this stripped-back form. They also do a cover of the 1960s folk rock hit "You Were On My Mind" which doesn't appear on any of their albums.

This album is 57 minutes long.

01 Eternal Flame (Bangles)
02 Ride the Ride (Bangles)
03 You Were on My Mind (Bangles)
04 Manic Monday (Bangles)
05 The Rain Song (Bangles)
06 Something that You Said (Bangles)
07 A Hazy Shade of Winter (Bangles)
08 Here Right Now (Bangles)
09 September Gurls (Bangles)
10 Stealing Rosemary (Bangles)
11 Tear Off Your Own Head [It's a Doll Revolution] (Bangles)
12 Between the Two (Bangles)
13 Through Your Eyes (Bangles)
14 What a Life (Bangles)
15 Anna Lee [Sweetheart of the Sun] (Bangles)
16 Let It Go (Bangles)
17 A Hazy Shade of Winter [Fully Acoustic Version] (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16700530/TBANGLS2000-2011_YouWreonMyMndAcustic_atse.zip.html

I'm not sure where or when the cover art photo comes from, but it seems certain it's from the early 2000s, before Steele left the band.

The Bangles - Light My Way - Non-Album Tracks (1999-2018)

The Bangles essentially have had two careers. The first was their popular heyday, from when they started up in 1981 until when they broke up in 1988. They reformed in 1999 and have been together ever since, but at a less active level. They've only put out two new studio albums since reforming, and clearly the members have other priorities in their lives than being in the Bangles. However, they still have put out consistently excellent work in this second phase.

This album covers nearly all the stray tracks I could find from that second phase. I say "nearly" because I found so many acoustic versions of songs in 2002 and 2003 that I've got an album of that stuff that I'll post later. This is everything else.

Three more songs here are nice covers of Beatles songs ("Good Day Sunshine," "Yes It Is," and "Because.") The remainder consist of three more covers - "Pushin' Too Hard," "Go Where You Wanna Go," and "We Belong" - and four originals.

The last three songs are from 2018. They are from a various artists compilation of bands from the 1980s "Paisley Underground" doing covers of other bands from that same movement. I'm very psyched to see them do a cover of "Jet Fighter" by the Three O'Clock, since that long has been a favorite of mine, a song that should have been a hit in a better world.

This album is 55 minutes long.

01 Get the Girl (Bangles)
02 Across the Universe (Bangles with George Martin)
03 Blackbird (Bangles with George Martin)
04 In My Life (Bangles with George Martin)
05 Pushin' Too Hard (Bangles)
06 Happily Ever Laughter (Bangles)
07 Run Away with Me (Bangles)
08 My Town (Bangles)
09 Good Day Sunshine (Bangles with Matthew Sweet)
10 Light My Way (Bangles)
11 Go Where You Wanna Go (Bangles)
12 We Belong (Bangles)
13 Yes It Is (Bangles)
14 Because (Bangles)
15 Talking in My Sleep (Bangles)
16 Jet Fighter (Bangles)
17 That's What You Always Say (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16700529/TBANGLS1999-2018_LghtMyWay_atse.zip.html

I made the album cover but I don't know where the photo comes from exactly. But it's probably from after 2009, when the band became a three piece.

The Bangles - What I Meant to Say - Non-Album Tracks (1984-1989)

I've posted an album that covers the Bangles' stray tracks from 1981 to 1983. This one carries on to 1989, the year the Bangles broke up (only to reunite about ten years later).

This album is a grab bag of all sorts of things. It includes hit songs ("A Hazy Shade of Winter") as well as unreleased live tracks, B-sides, demos, soundtrack songs, and so on. Note that the first five songs plus "I'm Not Talking," "A Hazy Shade of Winter," and "Creeque Alley" are covers. "Happy Man Today" is a band original, but apparently was only ever played in concert.

There are two songs by "Rainy Day," which was a "supergroup" of sorts of members from various Paisley Underground bands coming together for a one-off album of covers of beloved 1960s songs. Bangle Susanna Hoffs sings lead on just two of the songs on that album, so those are the two I've included here.

This album is 44 minutes long.

01 7 and 7 Is (Bangles)
02 Where Were You When I Needed You (Bangles)
03 I'll Keep It with Mine (Susanna Hoffs & Rainy Day)
04 I'll Be Your Mirror (Susanna Hoffs & Rainy Day)
05 Going Home (Bangles)
06 I Got Nothing (Bangles)
07 Walk like an Egyptian [Acapella Mix] (Bangles)
08 I'm Not Talking (Bangles)
09 Happy Man Today (Bangles)
10 A Hazy Shade of Winter (Bangles)
11 Waiting for You [Demo] (Bangles)
12 Everything I Wanted (Bangles)
13 What I Meant to Say (Bangles)
14 Eternal Flame [Demo] (Bangles)
15 Creeque Alley (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15127565/TBangls_1984-1989_WhtIMeanttoSay_atse.zip.html

I made the cover art based on a publicity photo from 1987.

The Bangles - I Want You - Non-Album Tracks (1981-1983)

I've posted some stuff from Susanna Hoffs here, and I plan on posting more. But I've got some from the band she belonged to, the Bangles.

I'm a bit reluctant to post this particular album, because it has a lot of overlap with the official album "Ladies and Gentlemen... The Bangles," which is a 2014 compilation of material from before the band's first album in 1984. But I think there's enough difference here to justify posting it. Plus, it's the first of several stray tracks compilations from them, and it makes a lot of sense to have all of those posted here.

The core of this album is the A- and B-sides of the Bangles' first single in 1981, and their four song EP in 1982. I got turned on to those songs since the 1980s, and I like it better than most of the rest of their music. They were more rocking, and almost punky (somewhat like early music by the Go-Go's). The album is filled out with some demos, live songs, and a couple of other stray tracks, all in the same vein.

It makes for a short album, but in this case, I say less is more. I've added a couple of live songs not on the official "Ladies and Gentlemen" album. But I also left a few off, either because they're demos that are nearly identical to other versions or they're just not very good (such as a thirty second promo that isn't really a song). I've also left off one song because it's from 1984, and this covers only until 1983, so that one will be on the next Bangles album I post here.

If you haven't heard the early Bangles, you really should give 'em a listen. You might be surprised, because this is quite different from "Eternal Flame." I named this "I Want You" after one of the songs on the EP, because it's one of my favorite hidden gems by any band. In a better world, that song would have been a big hit.

By the way, the last two songs are the live ones. They come from an audience tape that's below my usual standards. But it's the only recording of them doing these songs. One of them ("Renaissance Man")  apparently is an original, and the other one ("Find It") might as well be, because it's a cover of a song from the obscure "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" soundtrack. If the sound isn't good enough for you, just remove those two and you'll still have much of the Bangles' best music here. 

The bonus track, "Brian's Coat," appears to be an original, but has really rough sound quality.

This album is 34 minutes long, not including the bonus track.

01 Getting Out of Hand (Bangles)
02 Call on Me (Bangles)
03 Outside Chance [Demo] (Bangles)
04 Steppin' Out [Demo] (Bangles)
05 Bitchen Summer - Speedway (Bangles)
06 The Real World (Bangles)
07 I'm in Line (Bangles)
08 I Want You (Bangles)
09 Mary Street (Bangles)
10 How Is the Air Up There (Bangles)
11 The Rock and Roll Alternative Program Theme Song (Bangles)
12 I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better (Three O'Clock & the Bangles)
13 Renaissance Man (Bangles)
14 Find It (Bangles)

Brian's Coat (Bangles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16700528/TBANGLS1981-1983_IWantYu_atse.zip.html

The cover art is the exact art of the 1982 Bangles EP.