Belinda Carlisle - Heaven On Earth (anniversary celebration)

US album release date: October 5th 1987
US album chart peak: #13
UK album chart peak: #4

Buy Heaven On Earth 30th Anniversary Vinyl release here (Amazon UK)
Read my Belinda Carlisle album anniversary posts here

Belinda Carlisle had already made a sizeable and lasting impression on the world of pop by the time her 1987 opus, Heaven On Earth, rolled around. As part of punk-pop girl group, The Go-Gos, she had racked up hits like We Got The Beat, Our Lips Are Sealed and Vacation. Her debut solo album, Belinda, was a smash in America but didn't translate (sadly) to success in the UK. That was all to change with the release of Heaven On Earth. There was something about the album (and its lead single, Heaven Is A Place On Earth) that captured the public imagination and sent them soaring to cloud nine and beyond. The Grammy nominated album was filled with rock-pop masterpieces, led by Belinda's distinctive and powerful vocal style. The combination of relatable lyrics, irrepressible melodies and soaring choruses was, indeed, manna from heaven - and it is no surprise that the songs contained within the album have endured for thirty years. To celebrate that anniversary, Belinda is releasing a deluxe 4 LP vinyl edition of the album - beautifully remastered, presented in a gorgeous boxset and containing not only the original album, but 7" and live versions of the singles, extended mixes of the singles and some brand new tracks (more on those later). Exquisitely curated, it also includes a CD of the album - perfect listening ahead of catching Belinda on her 9 date UK 30th anniversary tour for the album (more details on Belinda's website here). For now, indulge me as I travel back in time and share the memories of the album from the perspective of a fourteen year old pop fanatic...

THE SINGLES:

• Heaven Is A Place On Earth ~ By all accounts, the radiant lead single didn't fit into the UK music scene. Stock Aitken and Waterman were busy taking over the charts with their prolific pop sound; dance music was changing daily, giving record buyers intoxicating new grooves to shimmy along to; and acts like Pet Shop Boys and Erasure were riding the synth sound to all-conquering success. Heaven Is A Place On Earth showed that Belinda wasn't going to be defined by trends or fads - she was going to make music the way she knew how. Her gamble paid off because the song, drenched in power pop chords and rocking guitar, sounded gloriously unique and different when played on the radio - an exhilarating blast of fresh air that sucked you in from the opening chords. I was in the car with my mum, coming home from piano practice one snowy December when I first heard it on the radio. My mum cranked up the volume and wisely imparted "now that's how you make a hit single". She was right. Four weeks later, in January 1988, Belinda knocked the aforementioned Pet Shop Boys off the top of the UK charts and claimed it for herself (a feat she'd accomplished a few weeks earlier in the USA). I'll delve into more depth about why I think the song is such an enduring smash later in this post, but at the time there was no denying how joyous and giddy each obsessive listen would make me feel. It took me away from the troubles of being a misfit in school and transported me to a place where none of that mattered - a place where love, in all its wonderful shapes and forms, comes first. That was the place I wanted to be.
• I Get Weak ~ For me, the follow up to the chart topping success of Heaven Is A Place On Earth was just as satisfying as its predecessor. While the musical score was slightly more muted, the narrative and Belinda's expressive singing made it just as emphatic. In fact, showing more restraint on the instrumental made the elegant beauty of the melody shine through even more. A story of falling in love and being helpless each time you saw the object of your affection was something everyone could relate to. It was the soundtrack to many a schoolboy crush I had, those cries of "I get weak" in the middle 8 cathartic chants that helped define each emotion as very real. Even though I had the album, I rushed out and bought the 12" vinyl of this single, playing that sizzling Shep Pettibone extended remix until I feared I would wear the record out. The world felt the same way and it sashayed to number two in the USA and hit number ten in the UK.
• Circle In The Sand ~ I didn't know much about seduction and sultriness as a teen. Why would I? As I grew up, however, Circle In The Sand accompanied my maturing outlook on life and taught me a lot about taking a more subtle approach. Released as single number three, this shimmering mid-tempo groove demonstrated that Belinda could diversity her sound while staying true to the vision for her album. The guitars and keyboard work on both album and single version were musical alchemy at their finest - conjuring up images of waves crashing onto shore, creating the smell of sea breeze as real as the record in your hands. I was smitten with the line "can you hear me calling", a siren's song that helped the song become yet another transatlantic smash. Again, I invested in the 12" for the stirring extended remixes. One thing I learned in hindsight - with William Orbit remixing this single, Belinda was working with some top notch upcoming producers who took her songs to exotic and exciting new places.
• World Without You ~ When I first bought the Heaven On Earth album, World Without You was (and remains) one of my favourite tracks on the entire collection. I was thrilled therefore when it became single number four in the UK. What is not to love about a simmering uptempo ballad that beautifully conveys the yearning nature of love and loss? I was a dramatic child so perhaps the lofty, adult themes appealed to me - but most likely it was the poignant and eloquent way Belinda articulated the words with her singing, alongside that timeless chorus that still gives me goosebumps to this very day. The album had been a perennial, steady seller at this point of the singles marketing campaign so I wasn't too surprised that it just missed the top twenty in the UK. At least I got another 12" remix to extend the glory of the song - and all these original remixes are available on this deluxe vinyl edition for fans to have all in one place.
• I Feel Free ~ While Britain luxuriated in a World Without You, the US got a cover of the Cream classic, I Feel Free. Transformed into a free flowing dance groove, it was a transformative interpretation that lured you onto the club dance floor perhaps more than any of her other singles thus far. My brother bought me the 12" US import alongside the original Cream vinyl to give me a lesson in how songs could blossom and grow depending on who sang them. It sparked debate in my household - my dad would roll his eyes at the Belinda version, saying it didn't have the integrity and energy of the original. My mum would say "oh be quiet Tom, get with the times and dance" as she would mum-dance around the living room, mortifying and delighting me in equal measures. It never got a UK release but it is well worth checking out the remixes and getting down with your bad self.
• Love Never Dies ~ The final UK single was her slowest song to date, a lovely, languid torch song that bought the Heaven on Earth story full circle. If the lead off single was all about the rapturous celebration of finding love,
  then Love Never Dies was the dignified, stately expression of the splendour of enduring love. As the album had sold over a million copies in the UK by the time this song was released, it wasn't widely promoted and failed to make the top 40. The live versions on the b-side, however, showed what a dynamic performer Belinda was on the stage (and are now available on the deluxe vinyl edition). A lovely end to a triumphant singles campaign.

THE ALBUM:

Releasing six singles from the album meant that most of the tracks on Heaven on Earth were ubiquitous for the public. It is easy to see why so many tracks got the chance to shine on the singles chart - there is little filler on the album. Songs like Fool for Love are as catchy as any of the singles released; meanwhile We Can Change remains an inspiring anthem for the ages - just as relevant (sadly) in 2017 as it was in 1987. Nobody Owns Me is a liberating call to arms, encouraging you to be the master of your own destiny and never to lose the essence of yourself or change just to please someone else. Finally, Should I Let You In continues with this theme, emphasising the importance of love creating good relationships rather than ones that cause sadness or despair. All these songs, combined with the singles, weave together the narrative thread that holds Heaven on Earth together. It is an album where love makes anything possible, makes the world a better place and is a redemptive, edifying source of power. It is a message that resonates through the ages, making these songs little time capsules that you carry with you on your life journey, bringing them out to remind you of times gone by. They also work to provide musical salve to your current situation as well as reminding you of hopes and dreams you may have for the future. What I love about the deluxe vinyl edition is that Belinda has added two brand new songs, as well as a remake of the album's most successful track. While these are new recordings, they work extremely well as new reflections on an album that not only took her career to new heights but became a long time favourite for millions of fans out there. Here are some thoughts on these gorgeous new additions (produced, might I add, by the lovely Gabe Lopez - frequent tour companion of Belinda, and who also worked on her still-brilliant 2013 smash, Sun - see here...

• Heaven Is A Place On Earth (2017 Acoustic Version) ~ It is no surprise that this stripped back, mellow version of her number one hit features both on this anniversary edition as well as her new Yoga inspired album, Wilder Shores. Lyrically, let us not forget that Heaven... is a song about hope, about finding your little corner of bliss in a world that quite often is fuelled by negativity and resentment. While the original was euphoric in its arrangement, the stripped back piano-vocal style of the song is just as effective in letting the potential for kindness, caring and human spirit radiate from every note sung. Like a modern day hymn, Belinda makes this a contemporary testimony that will have you raising your hands to the skies in a hallelujah style agreement. A mesmerising, heartfelt new version.
• Why ~ co-written with Charlotte Caffrey, this elegiac ballad flows naturally from the acoustic arrangement of Heaven Is A Place On Earth and fits nicely alongside original album track, Love Never Dies. It is actually rather pleasing to have piano as the more dominant instrument in these productions. "Why do we have to have dark to see the light" sings Belinda, in an age old question that reminds us that we often have to face personal battles before we can find our own happiness. It demonstrates that the years haven't diminished her capability for providing nuanced insight through her masterful vocals. The strings add an element of introspective agonising to the song - and it very much feels like a swan song that brings you right back to the start of the album track list once more.
• Superstar ~ The song made most famous by the Carpenters is in safe hands with Belinda. In the context of Heaven on Earth, it bookends the album as the older, wiser Belinda imparts her experience and knowledge that she seems to have garnered through living with these songs for 30 years. No, love won't always be the easiest path in the world but it is the one most pursuing. She sounds impeccable here and it is almost as if the song was always hers for the taking. One can only hope she sings this on her upcoming tour.