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Since 2020, Real Gone has been reissuing albums from The Donnas catalog.  On Friday, the label revisited the group’s final studio album, 2007’s Bitchin’, in an expanded 2-LP edition.

The band formed in California in 1993.  Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Torry Castellano (drums, percussion, backing vocals) met when they were in the eighth grade.  The self-taught musicians formed a band to perform at a school dance.  The quartet initially started a group called The Electrocutes which had a metal queen image.  But, deciding they also wanted to play some softer tunes without changing that group’s style, they also began to perform as The Donnas, where each member used the stage name of Donna.  Their first single, “High School Yum Yum,” came out in 1995 and their self-titled debut album was released in 1997 on the small Super*Teem! label.  Their passion and commitment paid off: the group ended up having to take a week off from their senior year of high school for a promotional tour of Japan!  The band signed with the Lookout label the next year where they would release two albums through 2001.  In 2002, they moved over to Atlantic Records for a pair of albums.  In mid-2006, the group announced they had parted ways with Atlantic and an independently released single, “Don’t Wait Up For Me,” appeared on store shelves in early 2007.  That single would be reprised on their album, Bitchin‘, released in September on Purple Feather Records, a label founded by the band.

Co-produced by The Donnas and Jay Ruston, Bitchin’ was more in the vein of the of the band’s early glam rock and punk material as opposed to the more classic rock-oriented style of their last Atlantic album, Gold Medal.  Bitchin’ hit No. 89 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at No. 9 on the magazine’s Independent Albums chart.  It would prove to be the final studio album for The Donnas, although a compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 16 (celebrating the group’s 16 years together) appeared on Purple Feather in 2009.  It featured unreleased material, re-rerecorded versions of old hits, and some new songs.  The next year, Castellano announced she was leaving the band due to an ongoing shoulder injury which prevented her from drumming.  The Donnas soldiered on with a replacement drummer before quietly breaking up in 2012.

Real Gone’s new vinyl reissue of Bitchin‘ adds six bonus tracks.  Two come from the original vinyl release of the album (including a cover of Men Without Hats’ “The Safety Dance”), one was a download-only track, two are from Greatest Hits Vol. 16, and one was a Japanese exclusive.  The reissue has been remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision and comes in a gatefold package with an insert featuring new commentary from Brett Anderson (Donna A).  It’s pressed on strawberry with black swirl vinyl.  A variant lavender vinyl edition, limited to 120 copies, is available exclusively from Real Gone’s website.

If you would like to revisit The Donnas’ final studio album, we’ve got the complete tracklisting and ordering links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

The Donnas, Bitchin’ (2-LP Expanded Edition) (Real Gone Music, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

LP 1, Side 1

1. Bitchin’
2. Don’t Wait Up
3. Wasted
4. What Do I Have To Do
5. Save Me

LP 1, Side 2

1. Like An Animal
2. Here For the Party
3. Better Off Dancing
4. Love You Till It Hurts
5. Smoke You Out

LP 2, Side 1

1. Girl Talk
2. Give Me What I Want
3. Tonight’s Alright
4. When The Show is Over

LP 2, Side 2

1. Randi
2. Safety Dance
3. We Own the Night
4. Can’t Keep It A Secret
5. New Kid in School
6. She’s Out of Control

LP 1, Sides 1-2 and LP 2, Side 1 from Bitchin’, Purple Feather Records CD PFR1001, 2007
LP 2, Side 2, Tracks 1-2 from Bitchin’, Purple Feather Records LP PFR1001, 2007
LP 2, Side 2, Tracks 3, 6 from Greatest Hits Vol. 16, Purple Feather Records CD PFR 1002, 2009
LP 2, Side 2, Track 4 from Bitchin‘, Purple Feather Records Japanese CD TECI-18442, 2007
LP 2, Side 2, Track 5 originally released as download-only track, 2007​