I've written a couple of these blogs in the past, but I plan on writing a series of them. These basically are some of the greatest CDs of my lifetime. Some of these CDs had an immediate impact on me, such as Def Leppard's Hysteria. Some CDs I wasn't really interested in at first and they took awhile to grow on me, such as Bob Marley's "Legend". Other CDs I resisted for the longest time and I eventually started to like them. Although I can't think of an example right off. This series will mostly cover CDs from the late 60's to now. Maybe I'll add some CDs from before I began my sojourn on this mortal coil.
"'Beauty and the Beat'" was the Go-Go's debut album, released in 1981 by I.R.S. Records. The album hit #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, and was the first album to top the chart by an all-female band that wrote and performed its own songs. The album's singles, "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got The Beat," also charted in several countries, fueling album sales of more than two million in the U.S. alone. Beauty and the Beat is considered one of the decade's defining albums and it is on Rolling Stone's list of the '500 Greatest Albums Of All Time.'" (Thanks to amazon.com.)
Although I do love the 80s and think that that decade had the best music, I'll write about classic albums from other decades. Heck, if I can find some great CDs from the last few years, I'll include those. I do realize there are great CDs being made now, it's just that you have to dig to find them. But no era will come close to the incredibly fertile decade of the 80s.
Let's start with the cover that immediately catches your eye:
When this record was released CDs weren't around, at least commercially. This record was released on July 8th, 1981. If you are a bored teenage boy, as I was, this cover caught your eye. It's the middle of the summer, school is out and there's nothing better to do. So you ride your bike over to the local mall, visit the local record store among other places. How would a teenage boy not notice this cover?
I didn't buy it then and in fact I don't think I bought it before today. However along the way I became a Go-Go's fan and liked many of their songs. I liked the idea of an all female band who sang their own songs and played their own instruments. In fact I'm not sure why all female bands weren't popular long before the early 80s. (Well other than the usual stupid reasons.) "Beauty and The Beat", the Go-Gos debut CD, is probably the best CD of the few they've made.
I'm going to add the Youtube video for all 11 songs from this CD, including original videos if I can find them. Enjoy! This blog runs in the same order as the CD. The Go-Gos had incredible timing in starting their career. Just two weeks after "Beauty and the Beat" was released MTV blasted off. There were only a few videos at the time, any video with attractive women was obviously going to be shown a few times. "Our Lips Are Sealed" was a very popular CD when MTV started. With attractive women, a great sound and MTV's help no wonder The Go-Go's broke out big. Like "Beauty and the Beat's" cover, the first song catches your ear as well with the very infectious "Our Lips Are Sealed":
Following "Beauty and the Beat" was "How Much More", it quickly became obvious that the Go-Go's were going to have a very identifiable sound. Many bands have a fun, poppy and upbeat sound, but no other band has ever sounded like the Go-Go's. "How Much More":
Up next is "Tonite", here's the Go-Go's performing it live in 1981:
"Lust To Love" wasn't a big hit, but it's probably one of the Go-Go's most enduring songs:
"This Town":
If anybody wondered if the Go-Go's were going to be a one hit wonder, this next song answered the question. "We Got The Beat":
This was the closest that the Go-Go's got to a ballad: "Fading Fast":
This song feels a bit like a bit of a filler. "Automatic":
"You Can't Walk In Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)" (live in 2000):
"Skidmarks On My Heart" (live in 2001):
"Can't Stop The World":
Of course Belinda Carlisle went on to have a pretty good solo career. "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" is one of the catchiest songs ever. However I prefer to give solo attention to one of her bandmates, that would be Jane Wiedlin and her criminally forgotten "Rush Hour":
If you have any requests for future greatest CDs of all-time blogs, please send me a request. Of course it would have to be a CD that I think is a classic.
themusicaddict
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