''Doll Revolution'' is the fourth studio album by American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band

The Bangles The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...

. It was released in March 2003 in Europe and Japan, and in September of that year in the United States. It is the first album by the group since their 1998 reunion. It is also the final album to feature bassist and vocalist Michael Steele, who left the band following the promotional tour and was subsequently replaced by

Annette Zilinskas Annette Celia Genevieve Zilinskas (born November 6, 1962) is an American musician. She is a founding member of The Bangles and returned to the band in 2018 after an absence of 35 years. Biography A native of Southern California, Zilinskas ...

, the group's original bassist whom Steele had replaced.

Background

The Bangles initially disbanded in 1989 following the disappointing sales of their album ''

Everything Everything, every-thing, or every thing, is all that exists; it is an antithesis of ''nothing'', or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to . The uni ...

''. They reunited in 1998 and released the song "Get the Girl" on the '' Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' soundtrack, the success of which enabled them to return to touring for the next four years to finance their next record. The group self-released ''Doll Revolution'' through their independent label Down Kiddie Records, which had been largely defunct after releasing their debut single "

Getting Out of Hand "Getting Out of Hand" is the debut single by American female band the Bangles, produced by the band themselves and released in 1981. The group was named at the time the Bangs, and its line-up consisted of Susanna Hoffs, Debbi Peterson and Vicki ...

" in 1981. ''Doll Revolution'' was first released on CD in Europe and Japan in March 2003, and distributed through deals with the

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

subsidiary

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

and Victor. The record came out in the US in September of that year, on

Koch Records MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

. It was also released on

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

in Thailand and Indonesia, and on CD in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Taiwan. ''Doll Revolution'' contains 15 songs and is the group's lengthiest album. All tracks were composed or co-written by members of the Bangles, with the exception of "Tear Off Your Own Head," written by

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

and debuting on his 2002 album '' When I Was Cruel''. Previous versions of some of the songs were released and performed by band members with other groups they worked with: "Mixed Messages" by

Vicki Peterson Victoria Anne Theresa Peterson Cowsill (born January 11, 1958) is an American rock musician and songwriter. She has been the lead guitarist for the Bangles since their founding in 1981. After their first disbandment in 1989, she has returned ...

and "The Rain Song," written by Vicki and

Susan Cowsill Susan Claire Cowsill (born May 20, 1959) is a musician, vocalist and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the family band The Cowsills. After touring with Dwight Twilley for quite some time in the 1980s, she co-formed the band Con ...

, both appeared on

Continental Drifters The Continental Drifters are an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991 and dissolved in New Orleans, Louisiana, about a decade later, before reuniting in the years since. Though the line-up changed several times, at one p ...

albums; while "Ask Me No Questions," written by

Debbi Peterson Deborah Mary Peterson (born on August 22, 1961) is an American musician and the drummer of the band The Bangles. She sang lead vocals on two of the band's released singles, "Going Down to Liverpool" (1984) and " Be with You" (1989). She is the y ...

, was released by her band Kindred Spirit. "Nickel Romeo" and "Between The Two", while never released, had been debuted by

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) f ...

with her band, Crash Wisdom, in live shows starting in 1994. The album spawned three singles. The lead single, "Something That You Said", reached No. 38 in the UK, and was a minor hit elsewhere in Europe. "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" and "I Will Take Care of You" were next released as singles, the latter reaching No. 79 in the UK. All three songs had lead vocals by

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. With Debbi Peterson and Vicki Peterson, she founded the Bangles in 1981. Their debut album, ''All Over the Place (The Bangles album), All Over ...

. In the US, a bonus DVD was included with one version of the album, containing interviews, a photo gallery and the "Something That You Said" video. The Japanese CD in 2003 included as bonus tracks both songs from the Bangs'/Bangles' 1981 debut 7-inch single, "Getting Out of Hand" and "Call on Me" (the first time they had been released on CD), as well as an alternate mix of "Something That You Said." All of these tracks are featured on the audio player on the US bonus DVD as well. In 2020 and 2021, the album was reissued in a 2-LP format in the US on four different colored vinyl editions by Real Gone Music.

Track listing

Personnel

* Produced by Brad Wood & the Bangles

The Bangles

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals *

– drums, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocals *

– guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, vocals *

– bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals

Additional musicians

* Dillon O'Brian – acoustic & electric guitars,

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

* Bangle Boys Choir (

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

, John Crooke & Chick Wolverton) – background vocals * Greg Hilfman & Chick Wolverton – keyboards *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...

– lap & pedal steel *

Peter Holsapple Peter Livingston Holsapple (born February 19, 1956) is an American musician who, along with Chris Stamey, formed the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, ...

– mandolin, accordion & keyboards * Tim Russell – acoustic guitar and background vocals on "Here Right Now" * R. Walt Vincent – harmonium * David Campbell – strings arranger on "I Will Take Care of You" * Leah Katz – viola on "I Will Take Care of You" * Melissa Reiner & Michael Nicholson – violin on "I Will Take Care of You" * Guenevere Measham – cello on "I Will Take Care of You"

Charts

References

External links

{{Authority control 2003 albums The Bangles albums Albums produced by Brad Wood Liberty Records albums Victor Entertainment albums