Her Greatest Hits [Best of]

I was always a fan of Belinda's power-pop masterpiece of a song "Heaven Is A Place On Earth," but never got around to buying this despite that. But after purchasing this, it has quickly become one of my favorite Cds in my collection *and it's a very large collection.* An awesome "Greatest Hits" album if ever there was and one of the best pop singers of the last few decades. This covers the best of her first four solo albums Belinda (1986), Heaven Is A Place On Earth (1987), Runaway Hourses (1989), and Live Your Life Be Free (1991).

Of course, you get Belinda's signature hit, the #1 80's classic "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" which still sounds fun and fresh to this day. Two other top 5 hits are present and those are the Diane Warren penned power ballad "I Get Weak" and Belinda's breakthrough hit, the upbeat "Mad About You." And who can forget the top 10 hit "Circle In the Sand?" But these aren't the only good songs. "Leave A Light On" from the Runaway Horses album was a moderate hit back in '89 and ranks right up there with HIAPOE. Very catchy and uplifting. "Summer Rain" was also a top 40 single and a good inclusion. The 50's-ish "I Feel the Magic" was a minor hit for Ms Carlisle and is also present. One of my favorites has to be the beautiful lush ballad "Half the World." It was taken from Live Your Life Be Free which never got the attention it deserved due to the altering music climate of the early 90's. A real shame. "Vision of You" is also a very pleasent ballad that adds to the set.

Sure, Belinda Carlisle wasn't the best vocalist ever or anything, but her voice had such a distinct quality making her and her songs instantly recognizable. She was a real joy to the pop charts and with the right song, I'd love to see her make a comeback to the mainstream. Do not hesitate on this one!!

I remember first hearing the song "Heaven on Earth" when I was truthfully in kindergarten. Yes, I only understood the full meaning of the song years later, but the positive message that it is possible to create heaven on earth makes the song very enjoyable. The video to this song complements it very well. In the video, it appears that she is creating her own "heaven on earth" with someone that she really is passionate about, and the video is very tasteful and creative at the same time (globes strategically placed to symbolize the heaven on earth). This musical collection has other positive songs that are in the same upbeat spirit as "Heaven on Earth", such as "Mad About You", "Circle In the Sand", and "I Get Weak". "Mad About You" is a song that symbolizes how excited and ecstatic someone can make you feel when you are definitely madly passionate about them. "Circle in the Sand" is in the same vein, but is a very mystical and enchanting song about the good things that can happen when both people are mutually attracted to each other. There are other deep and emotionally intense tracks in this collection as well such as "I Feel the Magic". However, my favorite song on this cd is definitely "I Get Weak". "I Get Weak" is a musical masterpiece about the powerful effect that someone can have on you when you have an intense attraction towards them. The music video to the song illustrates the meaning of "I Get Weak" extremely well. In the video, Belinda's character is definitely looking at her crush with a feeling of longing (along with some other beautiful women). It appears that she accepts the way she feels in the video, but seems shocked and is trying to come to terms with the strong effect that this passionate longing is having on her. Overall, a very good song to go along with a wonderful musical video that you can see online (such as youtube). This is a good collection worth listening to if you enjoy 80's pop music.

The Go-Gos were one of the finest girl bands of the eighties, and it was all thanks to the lead vocals of Belinda Carlisle. Unfortunately, the band members had a hard time getting along back in the day, so Belinda left to pursue a solo career. Although her solo career would have its share of successes, it would never match the level of success she had when she was part of her previous band. Nonetheless, her solo material rocks, and at long last a compilation of it has arrived! Read on for my review of Belinda Carlisle - Her Greatest Hits.

PROS:
-The main reason you probably want a Belinda Carlisle solo hits compilation is for one song - her biggest solo hit, Heaven Is A Place On Earth. Needless to say, it's present here.
-You get other big solo hits by Belinda, including I Get Weak and Mad About You. These songs are masterpieces, no questions asked.
-The compilation also gives you a number of Belinda's underrated solo masterpieces. There was more to her solo career than just the popular stuff, you know.

CONS:
-There really isn't a whole lot wrong with this compilation. Just remember it only covers Belinda's SOLO material.

OVERALL:
If you're a casual fan of Belinda Carlisle, you can't go wrong with this compilation. Every song on here is nothing short of excellent. No collection of eighties pop music is complete without this compilation.