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Different Light

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For other uses, see A Different Light.
Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB[2]
The Phoenix[3]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Slant Magazine[6]
The Sydney Morning Herald(favorable)[7]

Different Light is the second studio album by the American pop rock band the Bangles, released in January 1986. It is their best-known album, with four charting singles (five in the UK) including a Top 5 hit and a number one. The album's Top 40 sound was a departure from their earlier 1960s-style rock'n'roll sound. It is the first album in which bassist Michael Steele sings lead vocals on some tracks.

Three of the five singles were written by someone other than the Bangles: "Manic Monday" (written by Prince under the pseudonym Christopher),[8] "If She Knew What She Wants" (by Jules Shear), and "Walk Like an Egyptian" (by Liam Sternberg). The other two singles were "Following" and "Walking Down Your Street".

The 2008 reissue CD on the Wounded Bird Records label (WOU 4039) adds a bonus track: "Walk Like An Egyptian (Extended Dance Mix)".

Slant Magazine listed the album at #78 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Manic Monday""Christopher" (Prince)3:06
2."In a Different Light"Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson2:52
3."Walking Down Your Street"Louis Gutierrez, Hoffs, David Kahne3:04
4."Walk Like an Egyptian"Liam Sternberg3:24
5."Standing in the Hallway"Hoffs, Kahne, Debbi Peterson, V. Peterson2:56
6."Return Post"Hoffs, V. Peterson4:22
7."If She Knew What She Wants" (cover of Jules Shear, 1985)Jules Shear3:49
8."Let It Go"Hoffs, D. Peterson, V. Peterson, Michael Steele2:32
9."September Gurls" (cover of Big Star, 1974)Alex Chilton2:45
10."Angels Don't Fall in Love"Hoffs, V. Peterson3:23
11."Following"Steele3:21
12."Not Like You"Hoffs, Kahne, D. Peterson3:06

Singles

Name Released Writer Producer Chart Position
"Manic Monday" 1986 "Christopher" (Prince) David Kahne
  • #2 US (April 1986)[10]
  • #2 UK (February 1986)[11]
"Manic Monday" was the first hit single from Different Light by the girl group the Bangles. It was written by Prince in 1984 as a duet for the Apollonia 6 album.
"If She Knew What She Wants" 1986 Jules Shear David Kahne
  • #29 US (July 1986)[10]
  • #20 CH (July 13, 1986)[12]
  • #31 UK (April 1986)[11]
"If She Knew What She Wants" was the second single from Different Light and was originally recorded by Jules Shear on his 1985 Eternal Return album. The song was originally written in the first person, however the Bangles rewrote the lyrics in the third person as they considered it more appropriate.
"Walk Like an Egyptian" 1986 Liam Sternberg David Kahne
  • #1 (4 weeks) US (December 20, 1986)[10]
  • #1 DE (December 1986)[13]
  • #1 (5 weeks) NL (December 6, 1986)[14]
  • #3 UK (September 1986)[11]
"Walk Like an Egyptian" was one of the most successful singles by the Bangles. The song was written by Liam Sternberg after seeing people on a ferry walking awkwardly to keep their balance as figures do in Ancient Egyptian reliefs.
"Walking Down Your Street" 1987 Louis Gutierrez,
Susanna Hoffs,
David Kahne 		David Kahne
  • #11 US (April 1987)[10]
  • #16 UK (January 1987)[11]
"Walking Down Your Street" is the fourth single from Different Light.

Personnel

The Bangles

  • Susanna Hoffs: lead vocals on 1, 3, 4, 7 and 8, guitars, backing vocals
  • Vicki Peterson: lead vocals on 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, guitars, backing vocals
  • Michael Steele: lead vocals on 4, 8, 9 and 11, guitars, bass, backing vocals
  • Debbi Peterson: lead vocals on 5, 8 and 12, drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional musicians

Production

  • Produced by David Kahne
  • Engineers: Tchad Blake, David Leonard, Peggy McLeonard
  • Assistant engineers: Dave Glover, Mike Kloster
  • Mixing: David Leonard

Charts

Country Date Peak position Certification Comments
United States 1986 2[15] 3x Platinum  
United Kingdom October 1986 3[11] Platinum[16] Originally peaked at 30 on March 1986
Norway March 1986 4[17]    
Switzerland May 4, 1986 16[18]    
Netherlands 1986 24    
Australia 1986 2[19]   Peaked in April 1987

Album cover variations

The covers of the most of the album's US cassette pressings and the sheet music songbook only show 12 (out of 16) of the "different" snapshots, eliminating the third column to best fit the rectanglular layout of cassette cases and book.

The back cover of European-made CDs replicates the back cover of the vinyl LP edition, with all 16 snapshots and the track index at the top. The back cover of the US version, however, only shows the first column of four snapshots, with the track index list occupying the rest of the space – a rare deviation for Columbia's CD issues during the 1980s.

References

  1. ^ Deming, Mark. Different Light at AllMusic. Retrieved 4 April 2007.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: The Bangles". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  3. ^ Moses, Mark (February 16, 1986). "Off the record". The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Fissinger, Laura (March 13, 1986). "The Bangles: Different Light : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. No. 469. Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2007.
  5. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "The Bangles". The Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 43–44. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  6. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (September 23, 2003). "The Bangles: Different Light". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 23 October 2007. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Harrison, John (9 June 1986). "Second shot miss the spots". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  8. ^ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 Nr. 1 hits uit de Top 40, Page 234, 9023009444
  9. ^ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_3
  10. ^ a b c d Billboard.com The Bangles singles chart history Accessed: November 4, 2006
  11. ^ a b c d e Everyhit.co.uk UK Top 40 database Accessed: November 4, 2006
  12. ^ SwissCharts.com "If She Knew What She Wants" page. Accessed: November 4, 2006
  13. ^ Infinity charts German Top 20 - The Chart Of December 1986 Accessed: November 2, 2006
  14. ^ Top4000.nl Chart week 49, 1986 Accessed: November 2, 2006
  15. ^ Billboard.com The Bangles album chart history Accessed: November 4, 2006
  16. ^ BPI.co.uk Certification Different Light Accessed: November 4, 2006
  17. ^ NorwegianCharts.com Different Light page. Accessed: October 29, 2006
  18. ^ SwissCharts.com Different Light page. Accessed: November 4, 2006
  19. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 26. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 19 June 1988.

Additional sources used:

  • www.aurealm.com/bangdisc.htm (No longer online)
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