Everything is the third studio album by American pop rock band the Bangles. It was released on October 18, 1988 through Columbia Records. Just like its predecessor, Everything produced a US Top 5 hit ("In Your Room"), and a number one single, "Eternal Flame," which became a chart-topper in almost every major country around the world.
The 2008 reissue CD on the Wounded Birds label (WOU 4056) adds a bonus track: "In Your Room" (12" Remix). Two songs that were recorded for the album but not included were "What I Meant to Say", written by the Peterson sisters and sung by Debbi, which was released as the B-side of "Eternal Flame", as well as "Everything I Wanted", co-written and sung by Susanna Hoffs and released in 1990 on Greatest Hits.
Despite its chart success, Everything failed to meet sales expectations. It subsequently became the group's last album before their nine-year hiatus from 1989 to 1998.
In their review, Billboard noted that "smashing rock/pop set is first from the Los Angeles girl group since double-platinum Different Light three years ago, and new album should do the trick again for the quartet. Producer Sigerson gets the most out of the band, whose trademark harmonies are as bright as ever; playing and songwriting are uniformly fine. Leadoff single "In Your Room," a teen dream fantasy, is a sure thing; "Bell Jar" and "Eternal Flame" are strong follow -up contenders." [5]
Cashbox stated "their long-awaited follow-up to Different Light is more of the same-go-go '60s girl-guitar-pop with sweet harmonies and plentiful hooks - which is a blessing for radio listeners everywhere. The lead vocals are democratically distributed, but all the tunes are good to excellent. The suggestive "In Your Room" has hit potential, as does the penetrating "Bell Jar." Alex Chilton is an underlying influence here, as are the Beatles and the Mamas and Papas."[6]
Rolling Stone critic Jimmy Guterman wrote that "Bangle members wrote or co-wrote everything on Everything, and new producer Davitt Sigerson, who helped David and David make their dark visions palatable to the masses, encourages the Bangles to kick hard into their songs...by taking more chances, the Bangles sound more comfortable than they have since their 1982 EP Bangles...their harmonies are the clearest and most evocative they've ever been – their voices float, coalesce and soar. The only problem is the lyrics. The Bangles are indeed comfortable on Everything, but the flip side to being comfortable is being complacent. The words of "Bell Jar," "Glitter Years" and several other songs circle around ideas without zeroing in, settling for cliché when they give up on precision. But the lyrics are balanced by the strong music, which is everything the quartet wants it to be."
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