Belinda Carlisle Album: “Heaven On Earth”

Belinda Carlisle was one of the foremost rock/pop songtresses of the eighties. Although her US star faded in the US in the early nineties, she continued releasing albums in England. I have purchased some of those as well, and they have been just as good as her original hits. Not quite sure why she faded in the US, but her work is still top notch.

"Heaven on Earth" was Belinda Carlisle's peak on the pop charts. Her 1986 "Belinda" album did well enough, but HOE brought her to the top of the charts. The album had a run of great singles: "Heaven is a Place on Earth", "I Get Weak" and "Circle in the Sand", accompanied by stylish videos that were played endlessly on MTV. HOE has been remastered, and with this Special Edition, I was surprised at how well the album has aged.

I always brushed HOE off as a pleasant pop album with some great singles, while the rest of it was fluff. But the whole album is a solid listen. Carlisle, like Madonna and Kylie Minogue, has one of the best pop voices, and her summery, feel-good pop is at its best here. The remaster includes extended and remixed versions of the singles, although I was disappointed that the remix of "I Feel Free" is not included. And, although the special edition comes with an entertaining concert from 1988, I wish this edition had included the videos for the singles, since they were a key part of the success of HOE.

But, if you love '80s pop, this remaster is a must-buy.

Because it certainly deserves this. While I too would have liked "Mad about you" on this album, this does not detract from the quality of the work. I got this album when I was a preteen, and it still has undisputable staying power. My parents got this for me during one birthday, and I have played it so much that the tape is begining to wear thin in places.

Even though my tastes run towards rock and punk, I absolutely love this ex-Go-Go's work and am always perked up by her airal and etherial voice. The vocals are far more mature than 1980's Maddona, and yet, they are not totally lost on somebody who is a preteen or even teenager. I really can't highlight a single track, because the music is all good, but my favirotes of favirotes would have to be "Heaven on Earth", " Should I let you in" and "I feel Free". This is one talented woman who clearly has lots of attitude and places it into her work .

I also liked the fact that her beauty lay in the comparative simplicity of dress and makeup. While she is really dressed up in the cover art by today's standards, she looked really natural in the glam 1980s.

This UK special edition CD/DVD set is really worth owning if you're a fan of Ms Carlisle's. It's extremely cheap (at least here in England) and features a 60 minute concert DVD from 1988 which I'd never seen. It's a big fave amongst Belinda's fans, though, and I can see why. She's in great voice throughout and though perhaps it's not the most dynamic looking show ever, Belinda looks great, healthy, trim and really enjoying herself. She's wonderful at hair tossing, too!

The album itself is very good and with on-form writers like Diane Warren and Rick Nowels providing a chunk of the material it's commerciality was never going to be in doubt. The album has been remastered, it sounds a little 'warmer', perhaps, but the original sounded pretty good anyway so there was never going to be a massive improvement.

The packaging is nice with a (slightly flimsy) 6 panel digipak sleeve and a slim but informative booklet with an essay on Belinda and credits for the CD and DVD. No lyrics, though.

So, if you want a fresh look at a late 80's classic, pick up 'Heaven On Earth'. And if you're a Belinda novice, get 'Runaway Horses', HOE's follow up, next. It's by the same team and is very nearly as good.

As I'm throwing out my old cassettes that have long ago been replaced by cds, I stumbled across this again and I love it still. There isn't a song on it that I dislike and it's the kind of cd that I can listen to over and over and not get tired of.

It's Belinda's second solo cd and to me, it's still the best of them all. It has fast funky songs on it and ballads too of course. My favourites on here are the title track Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Circle In The Sand, the boppy Fool For Love and Love Never Dies. Like I said earlier, I don't dislike any song, but these four stand out a little more to me. Belinda has a unique and stunning voice and that along with good songs really make this one of my favourite albums of all times. I love it still to this day and highly recommend it.