Doll Revolution

Doll Revolution is the fourth studio album by American pop rock band The Bangles. 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.

Doll Revolution
Studio album by
The Bangles
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2003
RecordedJune 2000–June 2003
GenrePop rock
Length60:22
LabelKoch
ProducerBrad Wood
The Bangles chronology
Greatest Hits
(1990)		 Doll Revolution
(2003)		 The Essential Bangles
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
BBC MusicFavorable[2]
Entertainment.ie[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
The Guardian[5]
Jam!Average[6]
musicOMHPositive[7]
PopMattersPositive[8]
Robert Christgau(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Slant Magazine[11]
Uncut[12]

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" appeared in 1981. Doll Revolution was first released on CD in Europe and Japan in March 2003, and distributed through deals with the EMI subsidiary Liberty Records and Victor. The record came out in the US in September of that year, on Koch Records. It was also released on cassette in Thailand and Indonesia, and on CD in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Taiwan.[13]

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 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 and "The Rain Song," written by Vicki and Susan Cowsill, both appeared on Continental Drifters albums; while "Ask Me No Questions," written by Debbi Peterson, was released by her band Kindred Spirit. "Nickel Romeo" and "Between The Two", while never released, had been debuted by Michael Steele 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,[14] 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.[14] All three songs had lead vocals by Susanna Hoffs.

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.[13]

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.[13]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)"Elvis CostelloHoffs3:57
2."Stealing Rosemary"Susanna Hoffs, Debbi Peterson, Vicki PetersonV. Peterson3:32
3."Something That You Said"Charlotte Caffey, Hoffs, V. PetersonHoffs4:16
4."Ask Me No Questions"Walker Igleheart, D. PetersonD. Peterson3:26
5."The Rain Song"Susan Cowsill, V. PetersonV. Peterson3:41
6."Nickel Romeo"Steve LeGassick, Brian Ray, Michael SteeleSteele4:57
7."Ride the Ride"Hoffs, D. Peterson, V. Peterson, Daniel SchwartzGroup4:48
8."I Will Take Care of You"Hoffs, Dillon O'BrianHoffs3:56
9."Here Right Now"D. Peterson, Peter RafelsonD. Peterson3:24
10."Single by Choice"V. PetersonV. Peterson3:41
11."Lost at Sea"Hoffs, D. PetersonD. Peterson3:55
12."Song for a Good Son"SteeleSteele4:01
13."Mixed Messages"V. PetersonV. Peterson3:19
14."Between the Two"Steele, David WhiteSteele3:42
15."Grateful"Bill Bottrell, Hoffs, Daniel SchwartzHoffs4:59

Personnel
  • Produced by Brad Wood & the Bangles

The Bangles

Additional musicians
  • Dillon O'Brian – acoustic & electric guitars, Wurlitzer electric piano
  • Bangle Boys Choir (Dave Grohl, John Crooke & Chick Wolverton) – background vocals
  • Greg Hilfman & Chick Wolverton – keyboards
  • Greg Leisz – lap & pedal steel
  • Peter Holsapple – 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
Chart performance for Doll Revolution
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 36
European Albums (Music & Media)[16] 97
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 35
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 78
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 80
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 62
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21] 23

References
  1. Sendra, Tim. Doll Revolution at AllMusic
  2. BBC Music review
  3. Entertainment.ie review
  4. Feliciano, Kristina (September 26, 2003). "Doll Revolution Review". Entertainment Weekly. p. 95. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  5. "CD: The Bangles, Doll Revolution". The Guardian. 2003-03-28. Archived from the original on 2018-06-25.
  6. Jam! review
  7. musicOMH review
  8. PopMatters review
  9. Robert Christgau review
  10. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 43. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone the bangles album guide.
  11. Slant review
  12. "The Bangles - Doll Revolution". Uncut. 2003. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  13. "The Bangles - Doll Revolution". Discogs. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  14. "UK Official Charts: Bangles". Official Charts Company. 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  15. "Austriancharts.at – Bangles – Doll Revolution" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  16. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21, no. 12. March 15, 2003. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bangles – Doll Revolution" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Bangles – Doll Revolution". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  21. "The Bangles Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
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