Walk Like an Egyptian
Walk Like an Egyptian is a song by The Bangles in 1986, which was written by Liam Sternberg and produced by David Kahne. It appeared on the album Different Light.
History
Sternberg wrote the song after he saw some workers on a ferry who tried when carrying objects to keep the balance. This reminded him of an ancient Egyptian relief. A reference to the inspiration is also found in the starting line: "All the old paintings on the tombs / They do the sand dance do not you know" ( German: " All the old pictures on the tombs / They dance the sand dance, you know you? ") again.
Originally the song for Toni Basil had been written, but they refused. So David Kahne gave the song to The Bangles on. The song is so divided that Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson and Michael Steele always sing a verse. However, Kahne Debbi Peterson could accommodate only the background vocals, as he did not find her singing appropriately. However, Petersen was both with her small role not satisfied, as well as with the fact that Kahne was playing the song on a drum machine. Your self-image by The Bangles were a garage- pop band who have taught their instruments. The calculated influence of the producers hurt their view of the chemistry in the band.
The vocal tracks were recorded with a Neumann U47, an API preamp and a 1176 blackface. The vocal recordings were therefore not as common at that time in succession, taken as a whole and in one take. Because of the good harmony in the group, no overdubs were needed, but some vocal tracks were doubled to create a thicker sound. This procedure took over The Bangles also for their later releases.
Music Video
In the music video, the Bangles give a concert, it can be seen in the background people and later the Statue of Liberty, the " walk like a Egyptian," the lyrics of the song accordingly. In 1987, the video clip for the MTV Video Music Awards was nominated, but lost to Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.
Music style
The song was built around a drum machine beat around. Guitar and bass complement the song to rock elements. The singing of Hoffs, Peterson and Steele take turns in both verse and chorus and adds variety in the song. Percussion and gong shall provide for an exotic feel. In contrast to their earlier songs, the production is smooth and polished. The text of Walk Like an Egyptian is next to a humorous text about the Egyptian style of running, derived from the hieroglyphs, and from the peoples and calls the warring nations during the Cold War, " as the Egyptians " dancing together.
Reception
Walk Like an Egyptian was published on September 1, 1986 worldwide. In the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, there was a number -one hit. Mid-1990 appeared a remix of the song, which reached only number 73 in the UK. In Germany also appeared a popular cover version of The Doctors with almost identical text as a single and on their best-of album Is that all?.
Even today, the song is a radio standard, which is played on most stations. However, after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, it was on the black list of Clear Channel Communications (the title is misleading, it is not a prohibited list ) is set and has been for some time on this recommendation no longer played out.