Belinda Carlisle
Belinda

THE REVIEW

The Go-Go's were a very turbulent experience in full respect of the "sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll" triad. Belinda Carlisle, negatively influenced by a difficult family and personal history, suffered multiple times from the effects of a handful of years of dissolute living, always on the edge of the abyss. With the end of the band in 1985, following a series of unproductive sessions for the fourth album, Carlisle, along with faithful guitarist Charlotte Caffey, salvaged some pieces from the aborted group album to set the wheels in motion for her solo debut.

"Belinda" was released in 1986, the black year of pop-rock in which some of the most terrifying and terrible LPs ever produced were released, loaded with electronic drums and plastic productions. Compared to the standards of the era, this work is definitely lighter in arrangements and production, with the intent to recover a fresh Motown-flavored sound in stark contrast to the surf-punk-rock that had distinguished the Go-Go's in their career. This is evident in the single "I Feel the Magic", a perfect example of the '60's style of female black music, a fresh song highlighted by Carlisle's always slightly edgy voice. A Motown recovery is "Band of Gold" made famous by Freda Payne in 1970, and Carlisle's version is softer, although it doesn't significantly impact the overall effect of the album. Much better with the hit single "Mad About You" featuring Andy Taylor on guitar, or the powerful track of the album, "Since You've Gone", written with Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham. "Belinda" is a light and enjoyable work but with the flaw of perhaps being not very spontaneous, the live album included in the double reissue shows a Carlisle more at ease live than in the studio, especially due to a voice that tends towards the gritty and which will be appreciated by George Harrison, with whom she will collaborate on "Runaway Horses" in 1989.

With the following works, the charts will be conquered by FM tracks in pure late '80s style, powerful and evocative with quick catchy choruses. Honest works, pop works with flashes of class like "Shades of Michelangelo" (beautiful) and "California" in a duet with Brian Wilson, plus other lesser-known compositions that made Belinda Carlisle a distinctly atypical icon of the overseas pop music scene.