Upon leaving
the Go-Go's,
Belinda Carlisle felt no compunction in leaving behind the band's energetic new wave. On her own, she dove right into the mainstream with the assistance of producer Michael Lloyd, embracing the big radio-ready sheen of the mid-'80s on her 1986 debut,
Belinda. The album's lead single (and album opener), "Mad About You," celebrated this shift and she was rewarded with a huge hit, one that went all the way to number three in the U.S. Behind the gloss, however, lay some elements of
the Go-Go's, which shouldn't be surprising, considering how
Charlotte Caffey wrote half of the record -- more songs than
Carlisle herself. Often, these songs suggest that
Caffey and
Carlisle were picking up where
Talk Show left off, particularly with the infectious Motown bounce of "I Feel the Magic" and the power pop insistence of "Gotta Get to You." These songs, along with the
Bangles leftover "I Need a Disguise" (another entry in the wannabe Motown hit parade) and a nicely moody reading of
Tim Finn's "Stuff and Nonsense," have aged better than a ham-fisted cover of
Freda Payne's "Band of Gold" and the neon synths of "Shot in the Dark," and they're also the reason why
Belinda will be the solo
Carlisle album that will appeal the most to
Go-Go's diehards. [Edsel's 2014 reissue of
Belinda contains an expanded CD plus a DVD. The first disc contains a remastered version of the proper album, plus five bonus tracks; three of these are versions of "Band of Gold" featuring
Freda Payne, then there's an expanded version of "Mad About You" plus the non-LP "Dancing in the City." The DVD contains videos for "Mad About You" and "I Feel the Magic," then the entirety of a live concert filmed and released on home video in 1986.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine