The Bangles... especially Susannah...

the Bangles were in the public eye alot before the Prince hit ... they had gained alot of Critics respect with the "hero takes a fall" cd ...

i hope my comments didn't spearhead the "defend the bangles" movement within this thread...



im fully aware that prince did not create, manage or propel the bangels. he just gave them their first hit.

sosgemini said:

One must always strive to "defend the Bangles". They are an endangered species.

June7 said:

So which one is Susannah? I don't remember The Bangle names anymore....

The one on the left... here's a another pic:

sosgemini said:

Thanks, SOS. Just in case we didn't get enough Hoffs/Melvoin confusion in the mid-80s . . .

And another...

June7 said:

I jokingly call them "The Bungles".

If Prince isn't involved (and there seem to be no plans to include him), imagine if they were able to get Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to produce a few of the tracks! Get Jerome and St. Paul to make a few phone calls and see what they can throw on the skillet.

June7 said:

Now I remember....

madhouseman said:

Oh god no! NOOOOO!

madhouseman said:

I think the Family should produce themselves. Paul is very accomplished, working as Donny Osmond's musical director (among other things), and Jellybean is a producer. I would like to hear what they come up with just sounding like The Family, without outside interference. I don't think they should try to be pure funk, since they have so many other influences between them.

Just my 2cents!

Jeff

June7 said:

Exactly. In the whole history of the Bangles, which is actually pretty interesting, Prince's involvement is just a little blip.

ANYWAY, this is supposed to be about The Family .

For those of us who closely followed the Paisley machine around the time of Parade, The Family was one of the best things that materialized. So what if Prince isn't involved this time around - I think it could be far more interesting without him. HOWEVER, I would love to see them do select dates with Prince, like the Time did on the Musicology tour.

Jeff

Wait, isn't that reason enough to NOT let him produce for The Family?

Thanks for the update BC

BananaCologne said:

Thanks for the official word.

Personally, I think this is all very good news. I think pretty much all of the former Prince associates have done their best work developing their own sounds. The last two W&L albums, for example, are worlds away from that they did with Prince, and should be -- they've had two decades to grow and evolve as musicians. I know that Susannah's songwriting has really taken on a flavor of its own that is worlds away from her Prince years; I personally hope that The Family can be a vehicle for that. I'd also love to see more of what Eric Leeds can do after all these years; he's always been one of the more independent of the bunch, and The Family, Madhouse and his own albums have whet my appetite for more.

I think the best music is likely to come of this collaboration if all these musicians bring their 20 new years' experience to the table. My expectation is that Prince would hinder rather than help that process, so I don't see a lack of Prince involvement as a problem.

obsessed said:

co-sign.

and I may be seeing The Family in the very near future!

St. Paul's newsletter will have information regarding the upcoming LA appearance. You can sign up for it at www.stpaulmusic.com.

Paul is an amazing producer and has a full studio of his own. I think with all the talent in the 5 group members, this project doesn't need any other influence or involvement. They'll do just fine on their own!

Can't wait for the "classics" from the first album, can't wait for the new stuff.

I just saw Paul with the Truth this past Saturday at Bunkers and they did a LOT of Family stuff (they usually do). Jellybean, Eric and St. Paul were all present and they were off the hook! High Fashion/Mutiny was amazing. The dance floor was packed all night and they did 3 long sets. I can't wait to hear it all with The Family together as a tight 5!

I love me some Prince, BUT I really want to hear what they do on their own!

I was in MN in August and my friend said The Truth was performing at Traccado's(sp?) on Thursday night. So I was soooo pumped up for this,and we pull up to the club/restaurant and I said to my friend there arn't many cars outside the club. So I had a really bad feeling already, we went inside and my friend had the wrong information. They had been performing on Thursday's but that ended like a month ago. There went all my hopes and dreams of seeing Paul and the rest of the musicians. That was supposed to be the highlight of my vacation.

madartista said:

You are the family

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

hey u! we can see them together!

This is fantastic news! "The Family" is one of my all-time cherished albums and it is high-quality with timeless songs (e.g., NC2U, Mutiny, Screams of Passion). Just love, love this album and it was a nice addition to Paisley Park's musical history (not to mention Prince's compositions and musical direction) at a time when we were saddened to learn The Time had disbanded. St. Paul's vocals are some of the most soulful and funky I've heard from a whiteboy (smile) anywhere. Who knew, back then, that the boy was so talented!! Love this guy. Susannah was beautiful and sultry (and screamed well), Jerome, Eric, Jellybean where in a word....chocolate.

Hope this prospect really does comes true.

Peace my peoples.

BananaCologne said:

All of this will be announced first on their myspace page www.myspace.com/allthewayvogue. We broke this story last Friday and we'll continue to be the place to be for all things Family.

EverlastingNow said:

let me know before folks start pissing on the carpet to mark their territory.

Paul's newsletter is out and the info is on his blog on www.myspace.com/stpaulpeterson and his news page on his website at www.stpaulmusic.com

Great news! A Pre-Grammy Party!

BTW-- St. Paul's website points you to the "allthewayvogue" myspace as does his newsletter etc.

I just got Paul's email but it didn't list any dates.

Very excited about this!

They rocked at the Famiy Jamm!!

PAUL: PLEASE COME TO NYC TOO!!!!

and PS How can we get your 1st album on CD? I lost my cassette from back then!

GaryMF said:

There is indeed a date listed. Here is a copy of that info:

"Questlove, drummer and producer for the highly respected hip hop group "The Roots," has invited us to kick off this project with the opportunity to play at the biggest pre-Grammy Party of the year in LA Feb 10th. "

It's a private gig, but still a great start!

My Family Reunion wishlist

a tour!

an album of songs written and produced by Prince with orchestration by Clare Fischer, songs written and produced by Wendy & Lisa with Susannah and Doyle Bramhall II and songs written and produced by St. Paul

CD artwork featuring photography by ... me! ... or okay, maybe Anton Corbijn ... but yeah, me!