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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bless the Go-Go's indeed. They've gone-gone back together!, March 9, 2004
"Hello world, we're here again. Living life in Lala Land" goes the chorus of the opening track to God Bless The Go-Go's. From the opening fierce guitar bursts on "La La Land," it was clear that the 2001 reunion album by Belinda Carlisle, Charlotte Caffey, Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine, and Gina Schock found them doing the hardest thing they'd ever cranked out. Living in Cloud 9, hearing what one wants to, for fear of finding the ground beneath one's feet not too solid, has never been so fun."Unforgiven," the single, shows there's no forgiving at all. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day does extra guitar and vocals--thankfully he's not detectable, though he did co-write this with Caffey and Wiedlin. There is a catty quality to this song, in referring to lyrics about forgiving but not forgetting, which is then taken back. And what about this: "my thanksgiving came the day I saw it was okay to unforgive you"? The agony of being "Stuck In My Car" in a traffic jam is highlighted by the only thing the protagonist feels she can do: "turn up the radio and scream." "Here You Are" is a ballad overlaid with heavy production, but featuring a mellow cello. It's not bad, considering that the two best songwriters of the group, Caffey and Wiedlin did this, teaming up with Jim Vallance, Bryan Adams' 80's songwriting collaborator. And Belinda shows her voice can be lilting as it was on her solo albums. There's a hard-edged sound on "Automatic Rainy Day," about the effects someone who comes in "dragging your permanent cloud" has on people when he enters the room. Just as rocking is the painful (physically) "Kissing Asphalt," and Asphalt is not the name of her boyfriend. "I am pavement bound at the speed of sound": ouch, that's gotta hurt. The group-penned futuristic themed "Sonic Superslide" features a riveting guitar and a Nirvana-like sound that with different production that could've given them a place in early 90's alternative. And their punk roots come out in "Throw Me A Curve," also group-penned, singing a preference for healthy and curvy, and thus being themselves, instead of waifish Kate Moss-type thin, which is in. "Talking Myself Down" has a blaring alternative guitar and piano and was co-written by Susanna Hoffs. Finally, "Daisy Chain," is a fond look back at themselves, from their inception in 78 and making it to the top, but not realizing that along with the fun, the lifestyle they had was causing the collapse. Summed by the chorus: "Flowers bloom, they fade too soon. What happened to our daisy chain." Indeed, Belinda sings "'I gotta save myself from this runaway train'" referring to her departure, and there's a note of regret, "we never even said goodbye Sweet Jane," referring to Wiedlin's departure. If anything, this song of accepting the past, and burying the hard feelings behind. And co=written by Wiedlin, Valentine, and Jill Sobule. The reunion benefitted all the members. Belinda had the most successful solo career, which dried up with the underrated Woman And A Man. Ditto for Jane Wiedlin, who only managed three albums on EMI Records, Gina Schock, who came out with the one-off House Of Schock, Kathy Valentine, who formed the Delphines with Schock, and Charlotte Caffey, who with Meredith Brooks and Gia Ciambotti, formed the short-lived Graces. It's fair to say God Bless The Go-Go's is a logical followup to The Talk Show had they decided to crank things up a bit. The guitars have never been fiercer, the group never more tighter, and the sound at its most riveting, in their best album ever. And bless the Go-Go's indeed, because I can't help feeling that this long-awaited reunion also led to the reunion of one of my favourite bands, the Bangles.
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by The Go-Go's 
