VH1 Behind the Music: Go-Go's Collection [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

VH1 Behind The Music (Series), Go-Go's

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 23, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 23, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B00004T9UN
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,026 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
"America's sweethearts," Rolling Stone once dubbed the Go-Go's, and it was certainly as true as it could've been in any post-'50s milieu. The surf-tinged New Wavers sold more than 2 million copies of their 1981 debut, Beauty and the Beat, while carrying on backstage in the grand manner of rock stars with much "dirtier" images. Thus the Behind the Music episode that occasions this 17-cut overview. Highlights of the L.A. quintet's three albums fill the disc, though "Forget That Day," the Talk Show track that precipitated jill-of-all-trades Jane Wiedlin's departure from the group, is intriguingly absent. Whether double-edgedly celebrating romance and the ties of band life (the ringing "Our Lips Are Sealed"), wickedly satirizing post-teen female concerns ("Girl of 100 Lists"), or affectionately saluting their pop-culture forebears ("Beatnik Beach"), the Go-Go's were one of the era's most pounding and poignant pop outfits. This CD recalls them as they deserve to be remembered: lovingly. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Have YOU got the beat?, March 21, 2002

By	"bb1975" (Jasper, Alabama United States) - See all my reviews

If you don't, then you just don't know what you're missing. This a killer collection of 17 songs. A very comprehensive collection of songs from the GO-GO's original 3 albums from 1981-84, all 24-bit remastered, so they sound even better than ever. Mega hits 'We Got The Beat', 'Our Lips Are Sealed', 'Vacation', and 'Head Over Heels' are here. I just love the arrangement on the bridge of 'Head Over Heels'. That cool bass line and piano solo just rock my world. Also the lesser known tracks are great, 'Skidmarks On My Heart', 'Beatnik Beach', 'Girl Of 100 Lists', 'Lust To Love', and 'Mercenary' are just some of them. If you're familiar at all with their music, you'll know that this is supercharged, fun, fun, fun! Gina Schock plays her signature fast, slammin' drum tracks. Charlotte Caffey with great lead guitars and keyboards. Jane Weidlin adds great rhythm guitars, Kathy Valentine with sensational bass play, and last(but certainly not least) the great Belinda Carlisle with her signature vocals. All of these women are also great in their songwriting ability. They wrote every single song and played every instrument on this album. (Try that N-stynk) This music is guaranteed to be the cure for the common pop song of today. These girls know how to rock, I finally got a chance to see them in concert last year, and of course they rocked! It was possibly the greatest concert I've ever been to. If you get the chance to see them, you must. If you don't have this one, don't wait. Pick it up, and ROCK ON!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Retro goods for the new millenium, June 1, 2000

By	Paul W. Sager (Saint Louis, Missouri) - See all my reviews

Back in 1981 a little known all girl band began to hit it big. Hot off of their first single, We Got the Beat, The Go-Go's quickly saw their debut album Beauty and the Beat go double platinum. Two subsequent albums later, a 1990 greatest hits package and 1994's double disc anthology, the Go-Go's are back for 2000 with VH1's first Behind the Music CD collection.

Packed with hit after hit, this album concentrates on what worked for the Go-Go's and left what didn't work for the special. With 7 tracks from their first album, 5 tracks from their Vacation album and 5 tracks from perhaps their best overlooked effort, 1984's Talk Show album.

The choice cuts include We Got The Beat, Our Lips Our Sealed, Vacation, Beatnik Beach, Head Over Heels and Turn To You. But also included among these are songs that were great but never released as singles. Skidmarks on My Heart (one of the few Carlisle penned tracks--and her favorite), Fading Fast, Can't Stop This World, Girl of a 100 Lists, and I'm The Only One.

I think that perhaps the girls should have included some new songs here but perhaps a new album with new material will materialize before the end of the year. You may already have their greatest hits collections, but this one packs all the hits and then some...a must for any Go-Go fan!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A collection based on VH1 that just misses, June 7, 2000

By	Brian O'Marra (Little Rock, AR USA) - See all my reviews

So far, we have as many greatest hits albums of the Go-Go's as...albums!

As a collection this has a number of hits that the 1990 anthology: Greatest missed: Yes or No, and Skidmarks On My Heart. That's good news.

However, this package is also a little idiosyncratic. For example: It's Everything But Party Time was heard in the VH1 special, live and studio, it was even mentioned by the group. So, where is it? The same applies to Cool Jerk, and also How Much More.

Why is Speeding on this? We had that on Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's.

So we have a greatest hits package that is molded after the VH1 special, that misses being molded after said special.

Suggestion: buy Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's. You get all these songs, great live tracks, early live tracks with the original line-up. In otherwords, the previous anthology did a better job of reflecting the VH1 special than this, and that wasn't its intent.