1985 promotional single by Jules Shear
"If She Knew What She Wants" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear and introduced on his 1985 album The Eternal Return. The Bangles recorded the song for their 1986 album Different Light. That version, a call-and-response rendition with Susanna Hoffs as the main voice,[1] was issued as a single and became a Top 40 hit. A mid-tempo ballad, it is sung from the viewpoint of someone, per songwriter Shear, "who wants to satisfy someone else but doesn't quite know how to do it because the other person is capricious."[2] The song, especially The Bangles' version, is typically described with such adjectives as "bittersweet", "plaintive" and "wistful".[3][4][5][6][7][8]
- ^ Daily News-Journal (Murfreesboro TN) 2 February 1986 "Bangles' Four-Part Harmony Blends Well" by Tom Spigolin p.23 (Accent)
- ^ Palm Beach Post 21 September 1985 "Jules Shear Stands Tall: pop craftsman won't give up" by Jim Presnell p.28 (Section TGIF)
- ^ Desert Sun (Palm Springs) 1 February 1986 "Bangles Avoid Sophomore Slump on Their Second LP" by Eleni P. Auston p.F7
- ^ Lafayette Journal & Courier11 April 1989 "Bangles Taunt, Tease But Slow to Please" by Edith Lee p.C1
- ^ Los Angeles Times 7 May 1992 "Shear Talent: the name may not be familiar but Jules Shear is a sought-after songwriter"by Mike Boehm p.8 (Orange County Live!)
- ^ Baltimore Sun 3 October 1996 "CD Reviews" by J.D. Considine p.14
- ^ Chicago Tribune 10 June 1997 "Hoffs is Appealing, Despite Shortcomings" by Kevin McKeough p.2 (Tempo)
- ^ Boston Globe 6 October 2011 "The Bangles Sparkle, Mixing New With the Old" by Mark Hirsch p.B16
