Bananarama (album)

For their second album, Bananarama continued their association with the duo Jolley & Swain, who had produced three tracks on the group's 1983 debut album Deep Sea Skiving. Compared to Deep Sea Skiving, which mixed Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward's self-penned songs with covers and material from outside writers, Bananarama saw the trio take on a much larger role in songwriting. With the exception of "Dream Baby" (originally written by Cindy Ecstasy and B-Movie's Rick Holliday for their Six Sed Red project), the whole album was written by Bananarama in collaboration with Jolley & Swain.^[9] The group had been frustrated by incorrect perceptions that their songs had all been written by their producers, finding such assumptions to be misogynistic.^[9][10]

Lyrically, Bananarama found the group delving into more mature and socially conscious territory on several songs, with subject matter including drug addiction ("Hot Line to Heaven") and domestic violence ("King of the Jungle"),^[9][11] as well as the killing of the group's friend Thomas "Kidso" Reilly (who receives a dedication on the album sleeve)^[12] in Northern Ireland amidst the Troubles ("Rough Justice").^[13]

Bananarama was released on 20 April 1984 by London Records,^[1] peaking at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart.^[7] The original vinyl release came in an embossed sleeve and was packaged with a poster which included song lyrics, a photo of each member of the group, and the message: "Well, a year is a long time, people change & maybe we have too – hopefully for the better! Anyway here are results of our hard work over the past twelve months. This is for you – we hope you like it. Best Wishes, love Keren X, All the best, love Sarah x, and Lots of love, Siobhan xx".^[12]

Preceding the album's release, "Cruel Summer" was issued as the lead single from Bananarama and peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart in July 1983, while second single "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." followed in February 1984, reaching number three.^[14] Two further singles, "Rough Justice" and "Hot Line to Heaven", charted at numbers 23 and 58 respectively.^[14] Bolstered by its inclusion in the 1984 film The Karate Kid,^[9] "Cruel Summer" charted in the United States a year after its initial release and gave Bananarama their first significant success in the country, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.^[15] "The Wild Life", recorded for the film of the same name, was included on later US editions of Bananarama and released as a single, peaking at number 70 on the Hot 100.^[15] Music videos were produced for all five singles, as well as the song "State I'm In".^[16]

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Classic Pop	[17]
Number One	3/5[18]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[19]
Record Mirror	[20]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[21]
Smash Hits	6+1⁄2/10[22]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	5/10[2]
Stylus Magazine	B[23]
The Village Voice	B−[24]

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At the time of the album's release, Creem critic Mitchell Cohen described Bananarama as having "a misty feeling that's almost nostalgic. Women don't sing like this anymore, with this kind of sighing regret. The album has curves, not edges, and it's got a texture you can float on, a shine like 'Don't Worry Baby' without the harmonic intricacy. With their waif-like, wafer-thin pipes, Keren, Siobhan and Sarah ... sound dazed, as though someone roused them from sleep and stuck them behind a mike."^[25] Andy Strike of Record Mirror felt that Bananarama remained limited as vocalists, but that Jolley & Swain "answer this problem by all but burying the vocals under a creamy topping of drums, guitar and synth".^[20] Dave Rimmer commented in Smash Hits that despite some "gloomy moments" on the album, "overall they seem to have found their feet."^[22]

Retrospectively, AllMusic's Stewart Mason found that while Jolley & Swain's production on Bananarama eschewed the more unique sound of Deep Sea Skiving for a "more polished feel", the album is nonetheless distinguished by its "surprisingly serious" lyrics; noting the group's return to lighter lyrical themes on subsequent albums, he summarised Bananarama as "an intriguing and often excellent side trip."^[11] For Classic Pop, Alistair Powell wrote that with its "glossier, more grown-up production" and particularly its lyrics, the album "demanded [the group] be taken seriously".^[26]

2013 deluxe edition CD/DVD reissue – DVD

1. "Cruel Summer" – music video (directed by Brian Simmons)
2. "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." – music video (directed by Duncan Gibbins)
3. "Rough Justice" – music video (directed by Jonathan Gershfield)
4. "Hot Line to Heaven" – music video (directed by Jonathan Gershfield)
5. "State I'm In" – music video (directed by Jonathan Gershfield)
6. "The Wild Life" – music video
7. "Cruel Summer '89" – music video
8. "Cruel Summer" – performance on Top of the Pops
9. "Robert De Niro's Waiting..." – performance on The Russell Harty Show
10. "Rough Justice" – performance on Top of the Pops
11. "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" – performance on Saturday Superstore

Some mid-1980s US LP and CD versions

• "Link" was not identified as an individual track on original LP issues, and an alternative version had originally appeared, also uncredited, preceding "Push!" on the B-side of the 12" of "Robert De Niro's Waiting...".

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[12]

Bananarama

• Sara Dallin – vocals
• Siobhan Fahey – vocals
• Keren Woodward – vocals

Production

• Steve Jolley – production, arrangement
• Tony Swain – production, arrangement
• Howie Weinberg – mastering (at Masterdisk; US edition)^[27]

Design

• Da Gama/Rama – design
• Peter Ashworth – photography