Critic's Review
Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide
The Bangles' major-label debut is an essential album in the band's catalog. Guitarist and vocalist Vicki Peterson penned most of the '60s and early-'70s guitar rock songs, like the mini-hit "Hero Takes a Fall" (it was rumored the hero in the title was Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn). The record also includes covers of the obscure Merry-Go-Round hit "Live" and ex-Soft Boy Kimberley Rew's "Going Down to Liverpool." The band was polished a bit by producer David Kahne and the release capitalized on the pretty, all-girl group angle rather than the band's actual raw talent, which might otherwise have been too rough and retro for radio at the time. Nonetheless, the band retained enough of the original spunk that made them appealing in the first place.
