music.wikisort.org - Composition

Belinda is the debut studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was released on May 19, 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Carlisle began work on the album in 1985 following the breakup of the Go-Go's, for whom she was the lead singer. The album was supported by four singles, with lead single "Mad About You" peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.

Belinda
Studio album by Belinda Carlisle
Released	May 19, 1986
Recorded	1985–1986
Genre	Pop rock
Length	37:08
Label	I.R.S.
Producer	Michael Lloyd
Belinda Carlisle chronology
Belinda (1986) Heaven on Earth (1987)
Singles from Belinda
"Mad About You" Released: 1986 "I Feel the Magic" Released: 1986 "Band of Gold" Released: 1986 "Since You've Gone" Released: 1986

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C[2]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[3]
Q
People	(favourable)[4]

Background and writing

Some of the songs on Belinda were written by Carlisle's former bandmates in the Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey and Paula Jean Brown[5] while the rest of the tracks were written by other songwriters such as the Bangles' Susanna Hoffs. 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 the 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.[6] Kelly and Steinberg also co-wrote another song for Carlisle called "Dancing in the City", which she would eventually record 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

Upon release, Belinda was met with mixed reviews from critics. Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone wrote "The problem with Belinda is that all the ingredients are there, but the end result just doesn't feel right."[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of 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."

Commercial performance

The album was successful in North America peaking at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and at number 24 on the Canadian Albums chart. It was moderately successful in Australia, where it peaked at number 42 and charted for 12 weeks. Belinda was certified Gold in the US and Platinum in Canada, selling over one million copies worldwide.

Track listing

Album credits

Personnel

• Belinda Carlisle – lead vocals, backing vocals
• Jim Cox – keyboards, synthesizer
• Claude Gaudette – keyboards, synthesizer
• Nicky Hopkins – keyboards, synthesizer
• Michael Lloyd – keyboards, synthesizer
• Bobby Martin – keyboards, synthesizer, saxophone (6)
• John Philip Shenale – keyboards, synthesizer
• Charlotte Caffey – guitars, backing vocals
• Laurence Juber – guitars
• Andy Taylor – guitars, guitar solo (1)
• David Lindley – guitars
• Paula Brown – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Dennis Belfield – bass guitar
• Paul Leim – drums
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• John Rosenberg – trumpet (10)
• John D'Andrea – string arrangements (3, 6, 10)
• Sid Sharp – string direction (3, 6, 10)
• Susanna Hoffs – backing vocals
• Tom Kelly – backing vocals
• Billy Steinberg – backing vocals
• Nathan Lam – backing vocals
• Jane Wiedlin – backing vocals
• Elisa Fox – backing vocals
• The Waters – backing vocals

Production

• Producer and Arrangements –Michael Lloyd
• Associate Producer – Nathan Lam
• Additional Vocal Production – Ellen Shipley and Robert Feist
• Engineer – Carmine Rubino
• Assistant Engineer – Dan Nebenzal
• Remixing – William Orbit
• Remix Assistant – Tania Hayward
• Recorded and Mixed at Guerilla Studios (North London, England).
• Musical Instruments by Don Griffin
• Cover Photo – Matthew Rolston
• Sleeve Photos – Bradford Bramson
• Art Direction and Design – Belinda Carlisle and Carl Grasso
• Management – Danny Goldberg and Ron Stone

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Belinda

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[12]	Platinum	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[13]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

На других языках

---

- [en] Belinda (Belinda Carlisle album)

---

[es] Belinda (álbum de Belinda Carlisle)

Belinda es el primer álbum como solista de la cantante Belinda Carlisle, siendo su primera grabación después de la separación de la banda de new wave The Go-Go's, de la cual era la cantante principal.

---

[ru] Belinda (альбом Белинды Карлайл)

Belinda ― первый сольный альбом Белинды Карлайл после распада группы The Go-Go’s, в которой она была солисткой. Выпущенный в середине 1986 года, он включал в себя хитовый сингл «Mad About You», который занял 3-е место в американском Billboard Hot 100 и 1-е место в Канаде.

---

---