When I'm lost at sea, I hear your voice and it carries me....

Well here's part two in my "I can do better away from my band" file, Belinda Carlisle. Formerly with bad-girls-who-play-good-girl-music band The Go-Go's, Carlisle switched gears in the late 80s to become a more adult, yet bubbly pop singer. After an initial album on her old band's label, I.R.S., with a top 10 hit "Mad About You", she changed over to MCA with one big hit album, Heaven On Earth, with had 3 out of 4 singles hit the top 10. Following releases had diminishing returns in America, but amazingly greater success abroad, like in England.

Her Greatest Hits concentrates on Carlisle's American success, having all nine of her Hot 100 singles among the 13 cuts here, along with 3 cuts that hit the UK chart. The greatest draw here is including three songs from her first album Belinda, the breezy "Mad About You" (which doesn't stray too far from the Go-Go's sound) , the throwback girl-group pastiche "I Feel The Magic", and the forgettable "Gotta Get To You". From platinum-selling Heaven On Earth comes her trademark single "Heaven Is A Place On Earth", "I Get Weak", and "Circle In The Sand" which are likeable albeit milquetoast in an Amy Grant sort of way. Unfortunately, the fourth single, a remake of Cream's "I Feel Free" into a soccer-mom anthem, is a disaster. Although Carlisle's next two albums weren't as successful, they provide much better songs to this collection. Runaway Horses, which did make #37 on the pop albums chart and went gold, is notable for having George Harrison guest-star on guitar on "Leave The Light On" (though I really couldn't tell), but also includes the yearning "Vision Of You" (a minor UK hit) and "Summer Rain" the best song on here, woefully only hitting the top 30 here and in England. "Summer Rain" sounds like the most successful fusion of Belinda's Go-Go freshness with her solo maturity (and sounds like a BeeGees production from the One era, in a good way). Finally, from her underrated Live Your Life Be Free album Belinda had success in England, hitting the UK album chart at #7 bolstered by great singles like the anthemic title song (sample on a dance song by Live Element a few years ago) and "Do You Feel Like I Feel", both with booming choruses, and the pensive tour-ballad "Half The World" (about missing your loved one on the road). The collection doesn't delves much further into her later success abroad, not having British Top Ten Songs like "We Want The Same Thing" from the Runaway album or songs released after this collection like "In Too Deep" and "Always Breaking My Heart". However shelling out the price for an import collection with these songs deprives you of any that include anything from the original Belinda album. So until that arrives, your best bet is to find this collection which won't disappoint any American fan of Carlisle.

Grade: B
Best Cuts: "Summer Rain", "Live Your Life Be Free"
Weakest Links: "Gonna Get To You", "I Feel Free"