Belinda (Belinda Carlisle album)

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	C
Rolling Stone	(mixed)

Belinda is the first solo album by Belinda Carlisle, notable as her first recording after the break-up of new wave band The Go-Go's, for whom she was their lead singer. Released in mid-1986 it featured a hit single "Mad About You" which went to No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.

Background and writing

Some of the songs on Belinda were written by Carlisle's former band-mate in the Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey while the rest were written by other songwriters. Carlisle has a single co-writing credit on one track ("Gotta Get to You").

"Band of Gold" was a hit song for Freda Payne in 1970. Payne provided background vocals on the dance mixes of Carlisle's version of this song, which would later appear as bonus tracks on the 2003 re-release of the album.

"I Need a Disguise" was written by the team of Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg who co-wrote the song with Susanna Hoffs as it was originally intended for use by The Bangles. Kelly and Steinberg also co-wrote another song for Carlisle called "Dancing in the City" which she sang and would later appear on the soundtrack for the 1987 movie Burglar.

"Stuff and Nonsense" is a cover of Tim Finn's song originally performed by his band Split Enz on their 1979 album Frenzy.

The song "Shot In the Dark" was used as part of the Out of Bounds soundtrack.

Reception

Critical reception Being her first solo album it was often compared with her previous work with the Go Go's. In general the album received mixed reviews but was well received by audiences. Rolling Stone wrote "The problem with Belinda is that all the ingredients are there, but the end result just doesn't feel right."Allmusic commented retrospectively that "The pop on Belinda may not be as infectious as the Go-Go's' finest singles, yet it fit in well with the slick formats of mid-'80s radio and managed to be more memorable than many of the mainstream hits of the time, as the ingratiating hit "Mad About You" proves."

Chart performance The album was successful in North America peaking at No. 13 in the U.S. and at number 24 in Canada. The Album also entered the Australian Chart where it peaked at number 42 and charted for 12 weeks. Belinda was certified Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in Canada, selling over one million copies worldwide.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mad About You"	Paula Jean Brown, James Whelan, Mitchel Young Evans	3:36
2.	"I Need a Disguise"	Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg, Susanna Hoffs	3:55
3.	"Since You've Gone"	Charlotte Caffey, Lindsey Buckingham, Jonathan Segal	3:12
4.	"I Feel the Magic"	Caffey, Segal	3:20
5.	"I Never Wanted a Rich Man"	Caffey	4:12
6.	"Band of Gold"	Edythe Wayne, Ron Dunbar	3:42
7.	"Gotta Get to You"	Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Brown, Whelan	4:06
8.	"From the Heart"	Caffey, Tom Caffey	3:12
9.	"Shot In the Dark"	Brown, Whelan	3:23
10.	"Stuff and Nonsense"	Tim Finn	4:30

2003 Re-release bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Mad About You" (extended version)	Brown, Whelan, Evans	5:26
12.	"Band of Gold" (extended version) (featuring Freda Payne)	Wayne, Dunbar	6:42
13.	"Band of Gold" (dub mix) (featuring Freda Payne)	Wayne, Dunbar	7:43
14.	"Band of Gold" (single mix) (featuring Freda Payne)	Wayne, Dunbar	3:41

Album credits

Personnel

• Belinda Carlisle - vocals
• Charlotte Caffey - guitars
• Laurence Juber - guitars
• Andy Taylor - guitars, solo on "Mad About You"
• David Lindley - guitars
• Paul Leim - drums
• Paula Brown - Bass
• Dennis Belfield - bass
• John Philip Shenale - keyboards
• Bobby Martin - keyboards, saxophone on "Gotta Get to You"
• Michael Lloyd - keyboards
• Claudia Godette - keyboards
• Nicky Hopkins - keyboards
• Jim Cox - keyboards
• Paulinho da Costa - percussion
• John Rosenberg - trumpet on "Stuff and Nonsense"
• John D'Andrea - string arrangements on "Since You've Gone", "Band of Gold" and "Stuff and Nonsense"

Background vocals

• Charlotte Caffey
• Belinda Carlisle
• Susanna Hoffs
• Paula Brown
• Tom Kelly
• Billy Steinberg
• Nathan Lam
• Jane Wiedlin
• Elisa Fox
• The Waters

Production

• Producer & Arranger: Michael Lloyd
• Engineers: Carmine Rubino
• Associate Producer: Nathan Lam
• Assistant Engineers: Dan Nebenzal
• Remixing: William Orbit
• Strings directed by: Sid Sharp
• Additional Vocal Production: Ellen Shipley & Robert Feist
• Photography: Matthew Rolston & Bradford Bramson
• Art Direction & Design - Belinda Carlisle & Carl Grasso

Charts and certifications

Chart (1986/87)	Peak Position
Australian Albums Chart	42
Canadian Albums Chart	24
US Billboard 200	13

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum	100,000^
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles

The following singles were released from the album, with the highest charting positions listed.

#	Title	Date	AUS	US	UK	IRL	CAN
1.	"Mad About You"	1986	9	3	67	28	1
2.	"I Feel the Magic"	1986	—	82	—	—	51
3.	"Band of Gold"	1986	—	—	—	—	91
4.	"Since You've Gone" (promo only)	1986	—	—	—	—	—