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

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

The Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band 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 ...

. 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.

Background

The Bangles reunited in 1999, released the song "Get the Girl" on the '' Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' soundtrack, and toured over the next four years to finance their next record. To release the album, the group resurrected their label Down Kiddie Records, on which their debut single "

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

" appeared 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 (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

subsidiary

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

and

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

. 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 eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...

. It was also released on

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

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 Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

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 foundation 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; Canton, Ohio) is a musician, vocalist and songwriter. The Cowsills Cowsill began her musical career with the Cowsills in 1967; she is the youngest member of the Cowsills and the only daughter of parent ...

, both appeared on

Continental Drifters The Continental Drifters were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991 and dissolved in New Orleans, Louisiana about a decade later. Though the line-up changed several times, at one point the band comprised a kind of colleg ...

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

Debbi Peterson Deborah Mary Peterson (born 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 you ...

, 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 political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American ...

with her band Crash Wisdom in live shows 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 and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles. Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They re ...

. 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 the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptua ...

* Bangle Boys Choir (

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

, 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, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cu ...

– lap & pedal steel *

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

– 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