Bananarama [Limited Coloured Edition]

by Bananarama

Overview

For their second album, Bananarama underwent a telling change in persona, from the flyaway-haired, overall-clad everygirls of Deep Sea Skiving into a sleeker and glammier look. Similarly, the album has a much more polished feel than the occasionally scattershot debut, which is not always a good thing; sticking with Tony Swain and Steve Jolley to produce the whole thing (the duo had shared production duties with three others on the debut), Bananarama traded their early tropical-tinged playfulness and ironic overtones for a more commercial sound that scored well on the charts (the terrific opener "Cruel Summer" was a worldwide hit, and several other tracks were U.K. hits) but was less unique than before. What's most unusual about Bananarama is the content of the songs. Lyrically, the album is surprisingly serious, with topics ranging from sectarian violence in Ireland ("Rough Justice") to domestic violence ("King of the Jungle") to drug use ("Hot Line to Heaven"), none of which are in keeping with the trio's frothy image. Indeed, under the singalong chorus, the album's best track, "Robert de Niro's Waiting," turns out to be the traumatized musings of a teenage rape victim, set to an improbably dreamy, carefree melody. Even comparatively light songs like "State I'm In" and "Dream Baby" have an oddly paranoid tone to them. Of course, the detour into mature themes didn't last long, as the group's next album introduced the chart-bound frivolity of Stock-Aitken-Waterman into the picture, but Bananarama in an intriguing and often excellent side trip. Important discographical curiosity: original U.S. copies of Bananarama included an extended seven-minute take of "Hot Line to Heaven." After the fall 1984 release of the single "The Wild Life" (the theme to Cameron Crowe's second movie), U.S. copies of Bananarama were altered to include the new single at the start of side two, followed by the superior single edit of "Hot Line to Heaven." ~ Stewart Mason

Product Details

Release Date:	04/19/2019
Label:	London / London Music Stream / London Records
UPC:	5060555212186
Rank:	52635

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Cruel Summer
2. Rough Justice
3. King of the Jungle
4. Dream Baby
5. Hot Line to Heaven
6. Hot Line to Heaven
7. State I'm In
8. Through a Child's Eyes
9. Through a Child's Eyes

Disc 2

10. Cruel Summer
11. Rough Justice
12. King of the Jungle
13. Dream Baby
14. Link
15. Hot Line to Heaven
16. State I'm In
17. Robert De Niro's Waiting
18. Through a Child's Eyes
19. The Wild Life
20. Cairo
21. Push!
22. Live Now
23. Cruel Summer [Extended Version]
24. Robert De Niro's Waiting [Extended Version]
25. Rough Justice [Extended Version]
26. King of the Jungle [Extended Version]
27. The Wild Life [Extended Version]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bananarama   Primary Artist,Vocals
Steve Jolley   Guitar,Percussion
Tony Swain   Bass,Synthesizer

Technical Credits

Siobhan Fahey   Composer
Steve Jolley   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Keren Woodward   Composer
Tony Swain   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Elliot Goldenthal   Composer
Richard Lengyel   Mixing,Engineer
Cindy Ecstasy   Composer
Sara Elizabeth Dallin   Composer
Rick Holliday   Composer
Atkins, Atkins & Trottman   Remixing
Tom Swain   Composer