Published on Dec 2, 2004
Former Go-Go singer Belinda Carlisle began her solo career with Heaven on Earth, a disc full of light 80s pop that fits comfortably next to Madonna and Debbie Gibson on the dentist's office Muzak player.
Carlisle has a thin and pleasant voice, and the music is harmless and lacks bass, like most pop of the decade. A couple of minor hits came off this one; "I Get Weak" and "Heaven is a Place on Earth" are fine, nothing more, nothing less.
However, two songs are here that make this worth checking out (or at least previewing on iTunes), regardless of how you feel about this sort of music. The first is a winning cover of Cream's "I Feel Free;" probably the best cover of this song ever done, the song is slowed down, given a lot of echo and background vocals, and fleshed out with an extended outro.
Even better is "Circle in the Sand," a lost song that deserves to be rescued from the bargain bin. The haunting acoustic guitars and synthesizers buffet Carlisle's plaintive, simple declaration of love; with swashes of echo filling in the spaces, it's a song of its decade, but it has none of the cheesiness associated with a lot of 80s music. Definitely worth hearing.
The rest of the music is pleasant, appealing to fans of this sort of female-led 80s pop but offering few rewards for anyone else. Still, do your best to find those two songs.