The Go-Go`s - Beauty and the Beat [30th Anniversary Edition]

Artist:

Go-Go`s (The)

UPC:

5099902702728

See Also:

Fountains of Wayne Yeah Yeah Yeahs Germs (The) B-52`s (The) Carlisle, Belinda

Description:

The Go-Go`s: Charlotte Caffey (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Jane Weidlin (vocals, guitar); Belinda Carlisle (vocals); Kathy Valentine (guitar, bass); Gina Schock (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Pennylane Studio, New York, New York.
Personnel: Charlotte Caffey (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine (vocals, guitar); Belinda Carlisle (vocals); Gina Schock (drums, percussion).
Liner Note Author: Lee Smith.
Photographer: George DuBose.
It`s not quite right to say that the Go-Go`s` 1981 debut, Beauty and the Beat, is where new wave caught hold in the U.S., but it`s not quite wrong, either. Prior to this, there had certainly been new wave hits -- Blondie had been reaching the Top Ten for two years running -- but the Go-Go`s ushered in the era of big, bright stylish pop, spending six weeks at the top of the U.S. charts and generating two singles that defined the era: the cool groove of "Our Lips Are Sealed" and the exuberant "We Got the Beat." So big were these two hits that they sometimes suggested that Beauty and the Beat was a hits-and-filler record, an impression escalated by the boost the Go-Go`s received from the just-launched MTV, yet that`s hardly the case. Beauty and the Beat is sharp, clever, and catchy, explicitly drawing from the well of pre-Beatles `60s pop -- girl group harmonies, to be sure, but surf-rock echoes throughout -- but filtering it through the nervy energy of punk. With the assistance of Rob Freeman, producer Richard Gottehrer -- a veteran of the Strangeloves ("I Want Candy") who also wrote the girl group standard "My Boyfriend`s Back" -- sanded down the band`s rougher edges, keeping the emphasis on the hooks and harmonies but giving the Go-Go`s enough kick and jangle that at times the group resembles nothing less than early R.E.M., particularly on "How Much More" and "Tonite." But this isn`t Murmur; there is nothing murky about Beauty and the Beat at all -- this is infectiously cheerful pop, so hooky it`s sometimes easy to overlook how well-written these tunes are, but it`s the sturdiness of the songs that makes Beauty and the Beat a new wave classic. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Track Listing:

DISC 1:

1. Our Lips Are Sealed
2. How Much More
3. Tonite
4. Lust to Love
5. This Town
6. We Got the Beat
7. Fading Fast
8. Automatic
9. You Can`t Walk in Your Sleep (If You Can`t Sleep)
10. Skidmarks on My Heart
11. Can`t Stop the World

DISC 2:

1. Skidmarks on my Heart [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
2. How Much More [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
3. Tonite [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
4. Fading Fast [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
5. London Boys [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
6. Cool Jerk [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
7. Automatic [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
8. Lust to Love [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
9. Can`t Stop The World [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
10. This Town [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
11. You Can`t Walk In Your Sleep (If You Can`t Sleep) [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
12. Our Lips Are Sealed [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
13. Let`s Have a Party [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
14. We Got the Beat [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
15. Surfing And Spying/Beatnik Beach [Medley] (Live - Boston, MA) (remix, live)
16. Remember (Walking In The Sand) [Live - Boston, MA] (live)
17. Vacation [Live - Boston, MA] (live)

Album Information

Release Date:

05/17/2011

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Rock & Pop

Subgenre:

New Wave

Label:

I.R.S. Records (U.S.)

Producer:

Michael Murphy (Reissue)

Catalog Number:

TBC

Original Release Year:

1981

# of Discs:

2

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

88 : 31

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