Susanna Hoffs - Ghost (1994)

Susanna Lee Hoffs is best know as a co-founder of the Bangles, evolving from The Bangs, who were formed in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson, after being inspired by punk bands like The Ramones. They recorded their first full length album 'All Over The Place' for Columbia Records in 1984, but the night before it was pressed they learned of a legal claim by an East Coast boy band, also called The Bangs, that requiring a sudden change of name, so The Bangs morphed into The Bangles. They had a moderate hit with the single 'Hero Takes A Fall', but their commercial breakthrough came with the album 'Different Light' in 1986, which produced the hit singles 'Manic Monday' (which Prince had written for the group), 'If She Knew What She Wants', and 'Walk Like An Egyptian'. In 1987 Hoffs tried her hand at acting, and starred in the film 'The Allnighter', which was directed by her mother Tamar Simon Hoffs. It was critically panned and failed at the box office, but Hoffs later said that although the movie wasn't great, the overall experience of it was. In 1988 The Bangles released their third album 'Everything', and the first single from it, co-written by Hoffs, was 'In Your Room', which became a top 10 hit, and this was followed by their biggest-selling single 'Eternal Flame'. In 1989 The Bangles formally disbanded, and Hoffs started a solo career, staying with Columbia and releasing her debut solo album 'When You're A Boy' in 1991. Sessions for the follow-up proceeded throughout 1993 and 1994, but when the album was presented to Columbia they rejected it, which led to Hoffs leaving the label. The 1994 recordings showed a distinct change in style, reflecting more of her emotions in the songs, most likely as a result of the fact that she co-wrote over half of the album. It was grungier rock and had more of a bite than her first solo outing, and was riskier and more original, and this could be why Columbia rejected it, as they wanted something more along the lines of 'When You're A Boy'. When the label ordered her to return to the studio to re-record them, she refused, and was released from her contract, but in a rare move, Columbia also turned all of the songs' rights over to her (which usually they prefer to hold onto, to capitilize on any future success she might have for another label). It would be another two years before she was picked up by London Records, who released her second, eponymous album in 1996, but because she owned the rights to her songs, she was able to include reworkings of 'Enormous Wings', in an almost identical version, 'Darling One', which is a much more uptempo take, and 'Happy Place', with alternate lyrics. 'Catch The Wind' and 'Turning Over' were subsequently released as bonus tracks on the 4-track CD single 'All I Want' in 1996, but the rest of the songs have remained locked away, so here is your chance to hear what should have been Susanna Hoffs' second Columbia album in 1994. 

Track listing

01 Enormous Wings
02 Darling One
03 Sunshine 
04 Happy Place
05 Right By You 
06 Catch The Wind 
07 Without You 
08 Go
09 Sleep 
10 Ghost
11 Turning Over