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.