The Bangles – Return to Banglelonia

The Bangles – Return to Banglelonia / 2007 Shout Factory / 95 Minutes /

The Bangles were very influential, with The Runaways, in creating a lot of the female punk music that took over during the nineties and today. This video captures a later version of The Bangles, being that of a live show from 2000 at the House of Blues in Hollywood. Every one of the band’s biggest hits are present on this video, whether it be “Walk Like An Egyptian”, “Manic Monday”, or “Hazy Shade of Winter”.

Other songs that did not achieve such critical or commercial success are present as well, like “Eternal Flame”, as well as are present on the extras section. The extras section is so much more than is present on other band DVDs; the acoustic renditions of the aforementioned “Manic Monday” (originally a Prince tune) and “Ride The Ride” are worth the cost of the DVD alone. Throw in an interview and a photo gallery, and the video has something for everyone. Despite the fact that the video on this DVD is nearly a decade old, the care and ability given the disc is enough that it easily matches up with the current DVD releases by other bands. Shout Factory continues their trend of unearthing and making popular lost, forgotten, or otherwise neglected releases. While individuals might have become burnt out with The Bangles when they were still rocketing up the charts, a maturity and intensity is present in each of these tracks that was not present with the studio releases of the same songs. For those completists of everything Bangles, this DVD also includes what only can be called “demo” recordings of tracks that would rear their heads on their 2003 album, “Doll Revolution”.

It’s a coin flip to which of the versions (live or studio) are better here, but individuals can hear a slightly different style and approach taken to these earlier versions and gain more of an appreciation for the band. The diversity of songs here makes it a strong candidate for new fans, as well. The fact that all of their hits are present plus some then-new forays into music makes this a stellar disc to pick up for individuals that want to see exactly what the allure of The Bangles were all those years ago. With a price at this point (comparable to other music DVDs), “Return to Bangleonia” is a must-have music disc. Check this out and you may even become a bigger Bangles fan.

 

Rating: 7.0/10