Bananarama, in the days before the Spice Girls and the like, was the best-selling girl group to come out of the UK. Formed in 1981, they experienced their greatest popularity between 1984 and 1989.
Although critics often dismissed them as mindless pop, they achieved commercial success with hits like “Cruel Summer” and the rape-themed “Robert De Niro's Waiting”, both almost obligatory inclusions on ‘80s compilations. The trio's cover of Shocking Blue's “Venus” reached number one in the US and eight in the UK.
In total Bananarama has had 26 top 40 hits in the UK, although their success in the US has been somewhat less impressive.
Now down to two members – Keren Woodward and Sarah Dallin – Bananarama have released a new CD, Drama, which looks like it could put the duo back on the road to their earlier fortunes following a few flops and some mediocre offerings.
One of the singles from the new album, “Move In My Direction”, gave them their first top 20 UK hit since 1991's “Preacher Man” reached number 20. The second single, “Look On the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)” has also been in the top 40.
In some ways, Drama completes a circle. While boy bands stole the limelight from girl groups in the 1990s, Bananarama laid the foundations for groups such as Atomic Kitten, Sugababes and the Spice Girls. And these later groups have in turn set the scene for Bananarama's return and acceptance by a new generation of teenagers and possibly young adults too.
Comparisons between Drama and Atomic Kitten and Sugababes will be inevitable, as Bananarama have successfully reinvented themselves for the contemporary pop scene, leaving the ‘80s behind them.
“Move In My Direction” is doubtless the best song on the CD, with a good up-tempo pop beat and almost trancy vocals, backed by dance-influenced electronica. Another good dance-influenced track is “Frequency”, which could do well on the dance floor. The same could be said for “Feel For You”.
“Don't Step On My Groove” would be another good party track if it didn't have so many slow sections, but it makes for a good listen. “Middle of Nowhere” is a more acoustic track with a slightly cheesy Latino ballroom-type backing – one of the weaker songs, a little too repetitive and begging to be skipped.
“I Love the Way” is a bit too disco-influenced. It might have been appropriate during the brief disco retro period sparked by the film “54”, but right now it's so yesterday.
The disc picks up again with “Lovebite”, which has a more interesting musical backing – a pleasant track but not very remarkable. “Rules of Attraction”, on the other hand, is a much more interesting song, with a good electronic backing, a nice beat, and some slurpy vocals. It might have made a good single.
The party feel continues with “Your Love Is Like a Drug”, with some nice loops, although perhaps the vocals could have been a richer. The remix of “Venus” is a good, thumping track, but it takes too long (about two-and-a-half minutes) to get to the danceable section. “Really Saying Something” gets to the beat right off and makes a good closer, but it could have had a bit more meat to it – some heavy bass would not have gone amiss.
Drama makes for a surprisingly good listen, and it has some really nice tracks on it. “Move In My Direction”, “Look On the Floor”, “Frequency”, “Feel For You”, “Rules of Attraction” and “Venus” – that's about half the CD – make it worth a listen. But overall, one has the feeling that it's missing something. There aren't many melodies that will stay in your head all day, and some songs cry out for remixing.