The Bangles Album: “September Gurls [2002]”

This is nice in that it contains "September Gurls," "Crash and Burn," "Dover Beach," and "James," all of which were left off the regular-priced Greatest Hits CD. "September Gurls" and "James" were glaring omissions and I'm glad to see somebody thought they were worth including here. But this is just a strange track listing otherwise. Just as no Bangles collection should be without "September Gurls" and "James," a Bangles collection without "Walk Like an Egyptian" and "Eternal Flame"--regardless of what you think of those songs--is plain strange. It'd be like a Kinks collection without "You Really Got Me" or a Who Best Of without "My Generation." I give it three stars because it did include those songs omitted on the Greatest Hits CD and because it led off with and took its title from "September Gurls," a great performance, but I think this is really only worth buying if you're a Bangles completist. Nothing new here. At least the Greatest Hits CD had the two songs previously unavailable on an album and the one song previously unreleased anywhere. If you're curious about the Bangles, get the Greatest Hits CD...or if you can afford it, just get the three-CD pack that has all their 80's albums.

September Gurls is Thirty-three minutes and sixteen seconds and was released on September, 01, 1995. This was the group second compilation album. Only three of the ten songs on this CD charted. Basically what you have here is a bunch of uncharted songs mostly known to Bangles fans. Even the three charted songs are not that well known. Still it gives those Bangles fans a change of pace. September Gurls gets an B+.

Walking Down Your Street

#11 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles

September Gurls

Be With You

#30 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles

If She Knew What She Wants

#29 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles

#24 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary

I'll Set You Free

Hero Takes A Fall

Going Down To Liverpool

Crash and Burn

Dover Beach

James

This is a great CD! These songs are wonderful choices and are done in that pure Bangles "love of the music" style! I wish there was more of the same type songs on here but, hey, that quibble aside I wouldn't add the "Flame" and "Egyptian" songs, as they don't fit the feel here. This is the type of music that brought them together in the first place! This September boy's got it bad for "September Gurls".

Yesterday, I bought (used and quite inexpensively) an album of the same title from the same label (Sony Music Special Products)Bangles September Gurls (c) 1995. This is a "best of" type album with no new material, titlewise.

The track listing is NOT the same as shown here by Amazon. Given the different copyright date from described above here by Amazon, it may mean that Sony has a newer package with the same title and a different track listing.

The cover of my copy shows them in a somewhat countrified picture on a calendar labeled "September Gurls". The liner notes are "empty" in side but it does have thr track listing with authors and track time:

The track listing on mine:

1) Walking Down Your Street 3:14 (Time longer than Different Light by 11 seconds)

2) September Gurls 2:42 (Time shorter than Different Light by 2 seconds)

3) Be With You 3:01

4) If She Knw What She Wants 3:48 (Time shorter than Different Light by 1 second)

5) I'll Set You Free 4:48

6) Hereo Takes a Fall 2:52

7) Goin' Down To Liverpool 3:38

8) Crash and Burn 2:36

9) Dover Beach 3:44

10) James 2:44

I got the distinct impression though that some of the tracks were not the quite same as the originals, probably just "enhanced", which I think ought to be verified but I haven't yet, except that the track times are different from the songs on the Different Light album, as noted above. The other albums I have don't list track times.

Nonetheless, all the tracks seemed to be very well done, at least quite similar to the original tracks, and quite enjoyable. In fact, I did not find the tracks to be inferior in any way, and thought they might even be slightly superior to the originals.

As a "best of" album however, I would imagine that it pales next to some others, because it has fewer tracks. And of course, the packaging (somwhat misleadingly) says nothing at all about being a "best of" album. If it had, I might have checked the track listings more carefully before buying it, and might not have bought it. However I'm not really disappointed, since I didn't pay much. And instead, on the whole, find it a pleasant surprise. My 10 year old son (also already very familiar with the Bangles) and I both rather enjoyed our first listen to it, and at the very least it might be a good addition to HIS collection (which doesn't yet include a Bangles CD). But I'm not sure I want to part with it myself!

This bland, tired, tepid collection is like chicken soup without the chicken. A vital element is missing.