Interviews
Suzanne Vega Doesn’t Mind Explaining Her “Weird” Songs, As Long As You Applaud Afterwards
Classical
Recent Classical Highlights
Best of 2020
The 2020 AllMusic Readers’ Poll
1984
The Bangles' first album, 1984's All Over the Place, predated their biggest hits, but their spirited blend of British Invasion-styled rock and West Coast pop was never as satisfying as it was here. It favors the talents of all four members with admirable balance, and "Hero Takes a Fall," "Going Down to Liverpool," and "Dover Beach" are smart, energetic pop brimming with energy and jangly hooks.
1967
The 1967 debut from New York vocal group The Free Design yielded their only charting hit, but also ushered in a sound that was a little too ahead of its time to succeed commercially. Ornate chamber pop arrangements and complex vocal harmonies lifted both upbeat originals and covers of top 40 songs from the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel to new heights, but the group wouldn't be fully appreciated until they were rediscovered by a new wave of listeners in the decades that followed.
