Maps of Music

All Over the Place (1984)

Where the lyrics of All Over the Place take you, and where it was really made.

A debut that peaked at number 80 on the Billboard 200 still brought the band to Prince, who wrote their first hit.

Key places

Crystal Sound and Soundcastle, Hollywood (1984)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — The album was recorded at this Hollywood studio. The point sits at Hollywood city-center coordinates, not at the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Skyline Recording, Topanga (1984)

Recording site The Garage — The album was recorded at this Topanga studio. The point sits at Topanga city-center coordinates, not at the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• All Over the Place: debut studio album by American pop rock band the Bangles
• Released in May 1984 by Columbia Records
• Peaked at number 80 on the Billboard 200 albums chart
• Sold respectably, mostly through steady airplay on college radio stations
• Two singles: "Hero Takes a Fall" and "Going Down to Liverpool"

Background

• Gave the band the chance to open for Cyndi Lauper and Huey Lewis and the News
• Brought the group to the attention of Prince, who would write "Manic Monday", their first hit
• "Hero Takes a Fall" peaked outside the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart
• "Going Down to Liverpool" was written by Kimberley Rew of Katrina and the Waves
• The video for "Going Down to Liverpool" features Leonard Nimoy as the band's chauffeur

Recording

• Producer and engineer: David Kahne
• Additional engineering by Andrew Berliner, mixing by Joe Chiccarelli
• Mastered by Jack Skinner at Sterling Sound in New York
• Jimmie Haskell arranged the strings on "More Than Meets the Eye"

Cover

• Art direction by Nancy Donald and Tony Lane
• Inner sleeve collage design by Pete Lamson
• Collage photography credited to several photographers, including Ed Colver and Bob Seidemann

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · ko.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 as an all-female pop rock band.
• Susanna Hoffs and sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson came together in December 1980 after responding to classified ads in The Recycler.
• Annette Zilinskas joined on bass as the original fourth member.
• Began as part of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene, influenced by 1960s rock and psychedelic music.
• Early work blended jangly guitar melodies with power-pop sensibilities.
• Renamed themselves the Bangs shortly after forming, later becoming the Bangles.

Members

• Susanna Hoffs: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano.
• Vicki Peterson: lead guitar, backing vocals.
• Debbi Peterson: drums, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocals.
• Annette Zilinskas: original bassist (1981–1983), rejoined in 2018.
• Michael Steele: bassist and vocalist from 1983 to 1989 and 1998 to 2005, formerly of the Runaways.

Career

• Debut album All Over the Place (1984) on Columbia Records received critical acclaim.
• Prince gave them "Manic Monday," originally written for his group Apollonia 6, which reached number two in the US, UK and Germany.
• Different Light (1986) reached number two on the Billboard 200, driven by the worldwide number-one hit "Walk Like an Egyptian."
• Cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "A Hazy Shade of Winter" (1987) from the film Less than Zero reached number two in February 1988.
• Everything (1988) included the top-five hit "In Your Room" and their biggest-selling single "Eternal Flame."
• "Eternal Flame" became the biggest single by an all-female band in history.
• Disbanded in 1989 after internal friction; reunited in 1998 to record for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
• Released Doll Revolution (2003) and Sweetheart of the Sun (2011).
• Reunited with founding bassist Annette Zilinskas in 2018, the first time the original four members had played together since 1983.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Village Voice: Robert Christgau reviewed the album in October 1984 and found the songs "thoroughly realized in both the writing and playing"
• Christgau noted the familiar, heart-stopping harmonies in the songs
• Cashbox: praised the lyrical intelligence of the debut single
• Cashbox: said the sound appealed to both album-oriented and hit radio formats

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Mark Deming, in retrospect, deemed the album "easily their best and most satisfying LP"
• Deming noted that the album most openly embraces the folk-rock and garage rock influences behind the band's earliest music
• Deming said the round-robin lead vocals, stellar harmonies, and tight, concise arrangements make the band sound like a real rock band

Records

• Billboard 200: peaked at number 80 in November 1984
• Spent 30 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the US
• Not a major commercial success, but sold respectably through college radio airplay

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The 2008 reissue on Wounded Bird Records (WOU 9220) added a bonus track, "Hero Takes a Fall" (Single Remix).
• In 2010, UK label Cherry Pop re-released the album with one bonus track, a cover of the Grass Roots' "Where Were You When I Needed You".
• That bonus track was originally the B-side to "Hero Takes a Fall".
• Leonard Nimoy appears in the "Going Down to Liverpool" video, playing the band's chauffeur.
• Prince wrote "Manic Monday" after noticing the band, and it became their first hit.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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