Belinda Carlisle Album: “Real”

Although this album is considered a flop, I think it is Belinda Carlisle's most amazing piece of solo work. Her emotionally charged vocals, and the heart-wrenching lyrics are so driven and powerful, I couldn't imagine how this album could ever flop. Many believe that Bel fans who are fans of the Go Go's opt for this album, but I beg to differ. I much prefer Bel solo, and this is still my favorite album of hers.

Goodbye Day is the opening track, and is a great one, but not compared to some of the upcoming tracks. It's good, but the set has some more in store for you.

It's Too Real (Big Scary Animal) is the song I was really wanting to hear, as I've always heard good things about it. I was not disappointed. Belinda's rhaspy vocals, and the great emphasis on the battle of the sexes makes this one of her best tunes to date.

Too Much Water is the first real emotional song that takes you out on a landscape. Bel's vocals are so emotionally driven and you can really feel her pain as she's singing. One of the best tracks on the disc.

Lay Down Your Arms was the second single release, but it's one of the less sterling tracks on the set. It's very good, but not as much so as other tracks.

Where Love Hides has to be one of Belinda's best songs to date. There isn't enough I can say about it. I almost makes you want to cry, it's so sad and you can really feel Bel's pain as she's singing it.

One With You is one of the harder edged tracks on the disc. It's really cool and well, very Belinda.

Wrap My Arms is the one track that could possibly be considered almost 'pure pop.' It's so sweet and joyous and one of the best on here. Puts a smile on anyone's face.

Tell Me is another gut-wrenching track that takes it out of you (in a good way). Belinda is all about emotion on this CD and this track proves it.

Windows of the World is the other 'pure pop' track in this collection. This track has a really spiffy guitar playing in it and the music and message is very uplifting.

Here Comes My Baby is the ending song and what a way to end an album! It starts off slow with Belinda singing softly but with plenty of emotion "Hello/ It's me" and goes into a powerfully charged ballad about walking away from her man, but wanting him to stay and on and on...it's just excellent, and a great way to end things on this awesome CD.

So look! If you're a Belinda or Go's fan, don't miss out! This is the definitive Bel album!

I love this CD, and I think it clearly establishes Belinda Carlisle as a serious, powerful singer in her own right. This is a mature album in terms of the music and the lyrics; while faint echoes of the Go-Go's can be detected in a couple of songs, there is no sugary pop aspect to be found. She does indeed get real on these songs, going quite deep into the listener's soul. This music does differ from her earlier work somewhat, which explains to some degree why casual listeners might not recognize its merits without hearing the songs several times. Most unfortunately, many people never got a chance to hear a single track on here because radio stations largely ignored it. This is a recording of high quality, consistently enjoyable from start to finish.

It is strange in a way to detect traces of Go-Go's music in places here because in depth and emotional content these songs are on the opposite side of the spectrum from that great music from the past. "Goodbye Day" starts with a quick flurry of drums, which is a little unusual, but its vibrant, full sound makes it an excellent opening track. "Windows on the World" has somewhat of a Go-Go's music pace and sound, but it is by no means a meaningless pop song. "Tell Me" is a wonderful song. The verses have a slight Go-Go's feel to them, but the choruses take the intensity up several notches and imprint Belinda's individual voice on the song. It features an uptempo beat similar to that of "Lay Down Your Arms," but Belinda's singing gives this song the kind of emotional pathos it really needs. I really love "Lay Down Your Arms" because of its passionate and intense choruses; of all the songs on the album, this is the one that I often find replaying itself in my head. "Wrap My Arms" is another gem of a song which really seems to come from the heart.

I think the album is definitely geared more toward women than men, yet I as a man certainly treasure it. Its lyrics deal more with love's failures than love in and of itself. "Lay Down Your Arms" is a passionate appeal to rebuild a relationship that is being pulled apart by the man. "It's Too Real" is a catchy song reflecting the inherent tensions between men and women: "Who wants to live in a man's world?" Belinda asks. "Too Much Water" is a slow song with a gentle rhythm in the background that makes me think of waves washing on the beach. It is an emotional song about relationships washing away when the bridges connecting us emotionally fall down. "Where Love Hides" is one of Belinda's better slow, melancholy songs. Following it, however, we have a real rocker of a song called "One With You." The two songs offer an interesting contrast to one another. The first one is about longing for an undiscovered love; the second one is a straightforward appeal to a specific person.

Any doubts about the merits of the album disappear completely when one hears "Here Comes My Baby." The relatively quick pace of the songs preceding it makes its tender beauty stand out all the more. Belinda always ends her albums with a particularly impressive song, and "Here Comes My Baby" is second to no other. In a way this album has it all, from fast-paced songs to tender ballads; it should amaze rather than disappoint any Belinda Carlisle fan.

With Live Your Life Be Free, Belinda Carlisle was off her MCA contract. But what now? With Real, she switched to Virgin Records, and tried to get away from the formula-winning summery California pop such as "Leave A Light On" and "Mad About You." Rather, we see a lack of 80's synths, a more mature sound with reliability on guitarwork. However, some aspects remained the same, as she relied on her ex-bandmate Charlotte Caffey for the lion's share of songwriting and vocals. And no, Susanna Hoffs doesn't do any guest vocals, but Vicki Peterson, the Bangles' guitarist/vocalist does vocals here as well.

The rocking "Goodbye Day" harkens back to her old sound, with the catchy pop hooks, but without its sugary pop. A solid opener, with a clever lyric "just say hello to our goodbye day" and a herald of things to come.

And who, may I ask, was the dunderhead who chose "It's Too Real" as the single and not "Goodbye Day"? OK, the acoustic strumming and repeated drum loops are a novelty, and not many would disagree that "love is a big scary animal" but I say this because other songs here outdo this one.

90's-type drum machines: something new on a Belinda album. However, "Too Much Water" is still a good ballad, using water as a metaphor for nocturnal dreams built between a couple.

I heard her version of "Lay Down Your Arms" first before I learned that it was first done by the Graces, the short-lived trio including former bandmate Charlotte Caffey and Meredith Brooks. Vicki Peterson can clearly be heard here. Charlotte sang lead on the original, with Meredith and Gia Ciambotti on backing vocals. The push and pull, the love and war duality is explored, with an interesting conclusion: "so, we are in love, we are at war/but we can be on the same side." I prefer the Graces' version, as it's got a rawer sound, plus the vocal harmonies are better. An interesting note: Ralph Schuckett who co-wrote this song and co-produced the Graces' album, also produced this album, so it makes me wonder if Charlotte was trying to project a more refined version of the Graces through Belinda, or Belinda heard the Graces album and thought she'd give Schuckett a try.

The reconciliation of "Where Love Hides" sports a quiet guitar riff, some airy synths (ok, so she hasn't given them out completely, sue me, but they aren't layered or shimmery! Wait, I'm an 80's fan, what am I saying?). Suffice it to say, the more basic sounds benefit her just as well. Another song on reconciliation is "One With You," which is a more upbeat number with the quick acoustic riffs of "Big Scary Animal."

Both "Wrap My Arms" with the edgy guitars and harmonies, and "Windows Of The World" with its harder-edged guitars and Belinda at her vocal peak (at least on this album) could be Bangles songs, but she comes through all right, especially on the latter.

The change in producers, sound, and instrumentation showed Belinda moving with the times, but it wasn't enough, for this was her only album with them and it wasn't until A Woman And A Man on the Ark21 label that Belinda came out with something anew.

Nice effort from Belinda. She dropped the '80s pop for a more rock oriented sound and it works. Goodbye Day is the most Go-Go's sounding song of her career, circa the "Talk Show" era. "Too Much Water" is another cool song, nice and acoustic with that haunting string section in the background. "Wrap My Arms" is the most poppy sounding song on the album and could have been a hit if released as a single. I also thought that "Big Scary Animal" was going to be a hit, but I was sadly wrong. This album was ignored but so was the album before this "Live your Life Be Free". But you can't compare the two. The music styling on "Real" is more natural, acoustic and rock. Compared with "LYLBF" which was mostly dance/pop. "Here Comes My Baby" is probably the best Belinda ballad ever, she really sings the hell out of that song. "Lay Down Your Arms" was a minor hit for Charlotte Caffey's band the Graces prior to Belinda recording it. If you like the GO-GO's but not a fan of Belinda's solo work, try this. It works. For real!

I've never understood why this album never did well-I find this album to be mature,thoughtful and without a doubt her best work. From GOODBYE DAY to HERE COMES MY BABY, this album was as good as any put out in '93 and in the 90's. I can not recommend this album enough. It's great and I still play it-the true test of a good album.