Belinda (Belinda Carlisle album)

Belinda
Studio album by Belinda Carlisle
Released June 3, 1986
Recorded 1985–1986
Genre Pop, pop rock
Length 37:08
Label I.R.S.
Producer Michael Lloyd
Belinda Carlisle chronology

Belinda
(1986)		 Heaven on Earth
(1987)
Alternative cover
2003 re-release cover art
Singles from Belinda
  1. "Mad About You"
    Released: 1986
  2. "I Feel the Magic"
    Released: 1986
  3. "Band of Gold"
    Released: 1986
  4. "Since You've Gone"
    Released: 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau C[2]
Rolling Stone (mixed)[3]

Belinda is the first solo album by Belinda Carlisle, notable as her first recording after the break-up of new wave band The Go-Go's, for whom she was their lead singer. Released in mid-1986 it featured a hit single "Mad About You" which went to No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.

Background and writing

Some of the songs on Belinda were written by Carlisle's former band-mate in the Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey while the rest were written by other songwriters. Carlisle has a single co-writing credit on one track ("Gotta Get to You").

"Band of Gold" was a hit song for Freda Payne in 1970. Payne provided background vocals on the dance mixes of Carlisle's version of this song, which would later appear as bonus tracks on the 2003 re-release of the album.

"I Need a Disguise" was written by the team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg who co-wrote the song with Susanna Hoffs as it was originally intended for use by The Bangles.[4] Kelly and Steinberg also co-wrote another song for Carlisle called "Dancing in the City" which she sang and would later appear on the soundtrack for the 1987 movie Burglar.

"Stuff and Nonsense" is a cover of Tim Finn's song originally performed by his band Split Enz on their 1979 album Frenzy.

The song "Shot In the Dark" was used as part of the Out of Bounds soundtrack.

Reception

Critical reception Being her first solo album it was often compared with her previous work with the Go Go's. In general the album received mixed reviews but was well received by audiences. Rolling Stone wrote "The problem with Belinda is that all the ingredients are there, but the end result just doesn't feel right."[3]Allmusic commented retrospectively that "The pop on Belinda may not be as infectious as the Go-Go's' finest singles, yet it fit in well with the slick formats of mid-'80s radio and managed to be more memorable than many of the mainstream hits of the time, as the ingratiating hit "Mad About You" proves."

Chart performance The album was successful in North America peaking at No. 13 in the U.S. and at number 24 in Canada. The Album also entered the Australian Chart where it peaked at number 42 and charted for 12 weeks. Belinda was certified Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in Canada, selling over one million copies worldwide.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Mad About You"  Paula Jean Brown, James Whelan, Mitchel Young Evans 3:36
2. "I Need a Disguise"  Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg, Susanna Hoffs 3:55
3. "Since You've Gone"  Charlotte Caffey, Lindsey Buckingham, Jonathan Segal 3:12
4. "I Feel the Magic"  Caffey, Segal 3:20
5. "I Never Wanted a Rich Man"  Caffey 4:12
6. "Band of Gold"  Edythe Wayne, Ron Dunbar 3:42
7. "Gotta Get to You"  Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Brown, Whelan 4:06
8. "From the Heart"  Caffey, Tom Caffey 3:12
9. "Shot In the Dark"  Brown, Whelan 3:23
10. "Stuff and Nonsense"  Tim Finn 4:30

Album credits

Personnel

Background vocals

Production

Charts and certifications

Chart (1986/87) Peak
Position
Australian Albums Chart[5] 42
Canadian Albums Chart [6] 24
US Billboard 200[7] 13

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[8] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[9] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Singles

The following singles were released from the album, with the highest charting positions listed.

# Title Date AUS

[5]

 US

[7]

 UK

[10]

 IRL

[11]

 CAN

[12]

1. "Mad About You" 1986 9 3 67 28 1
2. "I Feel the Magic" 1986 — 82 — — 51
3. "Band of Gold" 1986 — — — — 91
4. "Since You've Gone" (promo only) 1986 — — — — —

References

  1. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Belinda - Belinda Carisle". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1987). "CG: Artist 2641". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Coleman, Mark (1986-07-03). "Belinda Carlisle: Belinda : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  4. ↑ "Back to the 80s: Interview with songwriter Billy Steinberg". 10 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Steffen Hung. "Forum - ALBUMS PRE 1989 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  6. ↑ "Canada Album Chart Position". Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Belinda Carlisle > Billbord Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Belinda Carlisle – Belinda". Music Canada.
  9. ↑ "American album certifications – Belinda Carlisle – Belinda". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  10. ↑ UK - Album Chart Peaks.everyhit.com Retrieved July 18, 2007.
  11. ↑ Jaclyn Ward - Fireball Media Group - http://www.fireballmedia.ie. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  12. ↑ Canadian Singles Chart Retrieved August 16, 2008.