The Bangles Songs Ranked
The Bangles are an American pop rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including “Manic Monday” (1986), “Walk Like an Egyptian” (1986), “Hazy Shade of Winter” (1987), “In Your Room” (1989), and “Eternal Flame” (1989). The band’s classic lineup consisted of founding members Susanna Hoffs (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Debbi Peterson (drums and vocals), and Vicki Peterson (lead guitar and vocals), together with Michael Steele (bass and vocals). As of June 2018, the band consisted of Hoffs, Debbi and Vicki Peterson, and founding bassist Annette Zilinskas. Here are all of The Bangles songs ranked.
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15. Following (Different Light, 1986)
“Following is definitely the most bizarre song as it is so haunting which goes completely against the flow of the rest of the album. It catchy but it just seems like an odd song to place here and it would have served better as a closer.”
14. Something that You Said (Doll Revolution, 2003)
“The Bangles here deliver on their trademark cute guitar pop with competence, adding a handful of memorable tunes to their catalog.”
13. I’ll Set You Free (Everything, 1988)
“I LOVE this version of I’ll Set You Free even more than the studio version. It just sounds so redefined and Hoffs’s voice somehow sounds even sweeter and I did not think that was even possible. Watching the Sky has to be The Bangles heaviest song and I love it. I like the remix to Walking Down Your Street but let’s be honest, the music video version is the best. You get the visuals too.”
12. Dover Beach (All Over the Place, 1984)
“The melancholy ‘Dover Beach’, on the other hand, is one of The Bangles best songs and should have been the ‘A’ side. It is a really good example of the sloppy, infectious 60’s pop sound that they excelled at before the management companies and record company handlers got hold of them.”
See more: The Bangles Albums Ranked
11. In Your Room (Everything, 1988)
“In Your Room” shows the band’s 60’s psychedelic influences and how they fail to live up to them. The druggy parts of the verses sound promising enough but then come some especially cheesy-sounding keyboards. Overly commercial production mars this release even more than usual for The Bangles.”
10. Hazy Shade of Winter (Less Than Zero, 1987)
“Hazy Shade of Winter was a single for the motion picture Less Than Zero in 1987. (To add another reason for this movie to be a must-watch for me, Robert Downey, Jr. is starring in it!) And it was one of the first songs that I listened to when I introduced myself to The Bangles. Susanna’s hair was so big in the video!”
9. Be with You (Everything, 1988)
“Debbi Peterson sings lead for the song requiring the deepest voice which allows the others to harmonize in a higher pitch. She also is the drummer which is still unbelievable to me how drummers from bands could possibly sing lead and play the drums at the same time! This is likely why she only has one song as the lead singer.”
8. Walking Down Your Street (Different Light, 1986)
“I think a couple of other songs from the album could’ve been the fourth single rather than this one. (How about one of the ones without Susannah Hoffs on lead vocals, to help keep the band together?) As it is, this one was fine but forgettable.”
7. Eternal Flame (Everything, 1988)
“Eternal Flame” tries really hard to be a progressive soft rock ballad: the song is full of fairly intricate chord progressions for the genre. Unfortunately, because of the constant shifts, the song never quite settles into a proper melodic groove.”
6. Hero Takes a Fall (All Over the Place, 1984)
“At this stage of their career, they were still borrowing a few ideas from the musical Underground. There are Goth Rock touches in the verses, though the vocals are pure candy floss. But really, this just music that a lot of other groups were doing better.
See more: Alkaline Trio Albums Ranked
5. Walk Like an Egyptian (Different Light, 1986)
“Can’t deny this song is pretty catchy, if you’re not hooked at the beginning that bridge will hook you in with the line, and sinker. I don’t know if I used that correctly. I remember the music video’s pretty goofy, and maybe a tad offensive.”
4. I’m In Line (Collection Gold, 1992)
“The melody of this ballad is really haunting. However I would have been rated it higher with better arrangements. With this kind of tune we could expect higher expectations.”
3. Going Down to Liverpool (All Over the Place, 1984)
“If pop music of the 1970s is loathed for its mellow, middle of the road blandness, the pop music of the 1980s is more often disliked for its crass commerciality. The Bangles seem to exemplify some of the excesses of the decade, as their traded in their somewhat bohemian early gestures for pop stardom. Yet really even at this early stage, there were never more than lightweights. “Going Down to Liverpool” is just a pretty pop tune.”
2. If She Knew What She Wants (Different Light, 1986)
“The Bangles in familiar territory – jangly pop-rock with lots of backing vocals. Nice choice of a cover version, too, with Susannah sounding observant, critical, and a bit of “enh, whatcha gonna do” all at once.”
1. Manic Monday (Different Light, 1986)
“One of the slighter songs Prince gave away to other artists in his prolific md-80’s heyday, this was probably the most successful of them all commercially. Allegedly donated to the Bangles in the hope that Susannah Hoffs would join his purple harem, it’s a beguiling, poppy little number, written around a mazy little piano line and featuring the politest description of sex he would ever commit to record.”