God Bless The Go-Go's [IMPORT]

Go-Go's

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 4, 2004)
• Original Release Date: October 4, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Beyond
• ASIN: B00005B9SH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,617 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
After a couple of short-lived tour reunions, the Go-Go's have made it stick. God Bless the Go-Go's is their first studio album in 17 years, carrying on as if Belinda Carlisle's sparkling solo career and Jane Wiedlin's slightly less stellar one had never happened. The tough, assured sound of 1984's Talk Show is front and center here, at once a sonic counterpoint to the lyrics' general sense of frustration ("Automatic Rainy Day," "Unforgiven") and barricade in front of their ultimate triumph in its face ("Throw Me a Curve," "Vision of Nowness"). Carlisle, for her part, rides the roar and jangle like "Head Over Heels" was just yesterday, as if the success she had on her own was just another hoop to jump through before getting back to business. Now in their 40s, these women have matured without resigning themselves to the world they once swore wouldn't stop them. God Bless isn't an unflawed gem, but after a few spins, even some of its lesser concepts begin to sound like pieces of a manifesto the Go-Go's have patched back together to shout out loud. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go-Go's Want To Rock Your House Off Its Foundation!, June 8, 2001

By	Kevinduran (Indianapolis, Indiana USA) - See all my reviews

I have been a fan of The Go-Go's since "Beauty And The Beat" and I absolutely could not wait for this new album to be released. Belinda has never sounded better on anything that she's ever recorded. She has never been so clear or confident- for that matter Jane, Charlotte, Gina, and Kathy have never sounded so confident. This album sounds as if the 17 years that have passed since their last original studio album "Talk Show" never happened! "God Bless The Go-Go's" is a refreshingly organic sounding album- it's a lot less glossy sounding than their previous albums. "Unforgiven" SHOULD be the anthem of the summer of 2001. "Stuck In My Car" should definitely be the next single- it's a memorable pop song that deserves to be heard by the masses. The last song on the album is "Daisy Chain"- a song where The Go-Go's have never sounded so beautiful or heartfelt. I loved this cd the first time I heard it, and it has grown on me even more with subsequent plays. Not to be missed!

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

By	Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"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.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank God The Go-Go's Are Back, June 5, 2001

By	Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The Go-Go's prematurely disbanded back in 1984 due the internal conflicts. Along the way they have made a few comeback attempts, but outside of a couple of new songs, they didn't make much music. Finally we get the first full-length album of new material from them since Talk Show. The girls do not disappoint as God Bless The Go-Go's is a collection of the pop-punk sound that made them famous. The album opens with the sprightly and breezy "La La Land" and slides into the crisp "Unforgiven". "Stuck In My Car" bounces along while "Superslide" has a tougher edge. "Automatic Rainy Day", "Throw Me A Curve" and "Here You Are" all conjure up memories of their hey day. "Daisy Chain" closes the album out on a reminiscent and sentimental note. Belinda Carlisle voice is strong through out, Jane Wiedlin provides her chirpy harmonies, Charlotte Caffey's writing is strong and Kathy Valentine & Gina Schock provide a solid rhythm section. The Go-Go's probably will not return to the top of the charts as their time for chart success has passed, but anybody who was a fan of the group should check this out as the girls show that even after 17 years, they can still rock as good as the boys.