The Go-Go's - Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's

Japanese Re-release featuring Two Exclusive Bonus Tracks: Screaming and Turn to You. Album Details

Go-Go's Magic

This two CD is one hour, fifty minutes, and fourty-five seconds long. This compilation CD has a little bit of everything on it. Return To the Valley of the Go-Go's has songs on it from their past albums and unreleased materials. Also some of the songs were recorded live at concerts too. Some of the unreleased songs show their early punk side before they became a pop band. I you like the Go-Go's, then this two CD set is for you. December 8, 2008

Go-Gos

Great go-gos song -- perfect for any fan of pop - especially 80's uplifting bubble gum pop-rock. August 26, 2008

Return To the Valley of the Go-Go's

This is a 2 disc audio CD. The first disc is mostly early Go-Go's, that I have never heard before. The second disc is from after they were more famous. Since I am a fan of the Go-Go's I found their early stuff interesting, but don't think I would have been attracted to their music at that time. Of course now they can do no wrong. I am glad I bought this album. I really do enjoy it. July 13, 2008

Get this for the all time classic "Our lips are sealed"

Around a couple of years ago [give or take] I went into a record store and asked if The Go Gos had a compilation. The answer was "no" and the assistant [a teen girl, I think] didn't even know who The Go Gos were! The penny dropped when I dropped its former lead singer's name, Belinda Carlisle. So, I'm showing my age by liking this band's songs, even if most teeny boppers would be hard pressed to remember Belinda, let alone her former band.

Anyway, I bought this schlocky looking single cd mainly for "Our lips are sealed", which I consider to be an American pop classic, right up there with Brit Pop classics like The Beatles' "Hey Jude", "What have I done to deserver this" by The Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield and Coldplay's "Clocks" or Australian pop classics like Alex Lloyd's "Green", "Chemistry" by Mondo Rock or the more indie pop classic "Man overboard" by Do Re Mi. I'm calling the cd "schlocky" looking mainly because of the Russ Meyer movie poster style cover art.

First impressions: the first few songs are extremely raw, rough and punk/pop sounding [sort of in the vein of The Ramones or The B-52]. Not having bought an album by the band before, I can't say whether the opening tracks are as found in their first albums. They sort of sound like out-takes and demos...using a tape recorder. Really, I can't imagine why they were included in this form. You'd have to be a real hardcore fan to want to hear banter before and during the song. So, being unfamiliar with these songs, I think it would have been a good idea for the band to revisit them and re-do them professionally...especially for songs like "He's so strange", which show promise. Another possible gripe for fans of the band is that many songs are performed live...and generally when I really like songs I don't like them being live on compilations.

It's not until "We got the beat" that the band finds the girly-pop style which is where they hooked me with "Our lips are sealed". Nice, catchy chorus, good drums.

They reach the apex of their poppy style with "Our lips are sealed". The band gel better than they have in their early songs...each member contributes a hook or something cool to this honey flavoured, summer breeze like song. The song features a cool bass hook, a cool lead guitar, Belinda's cool, strained [at times] vocals and an energetic drum break. I especially love the calm before this strained vocal, drumming breakout and then the really cool, girly backing vocals afterwards. This song is ABBA good! Takes you to that happy place.

Some other songs on the album ring a bell, either because they were released as a single or featured on tv or something, e.g. "Vacation", "Head over heels" and "The whole world lost its head". These are obviously the more commercial sounding songs and since I like commercial songs, they stand out more. I remember really quite liking "Head over heels" years ago, but it doesn't grab me as much now though it is quite good...catchy singing, cool keyboard intro, cool drum machine effects and a nice bass hook going.

Other songs of interest: "Surfing and spying"-sounds like surf-music, beach-party music"; "Speeding" has a classic 1950's rock'n'roll style to it; "Can't stop the world" has a similar vibe to "Head over heels"-nice lead guitar work and a cool drum outro; "Beautiful" features a nice wind-chime effect on keyboard, I think; "The whole world lost its head"-features some whimsical lyrics; The song "Beatnik beach" had a guitar bit which reminded me of the theme from "Hawaii 5-0". Lastly, a few of the songs near the end of the cd are sort of girly themed songs that younger listeners might get something from or relate to.

There is one song on this album which was a pleasant surprise to me...an Easter Egg if you will. It's "Mercenary", a nice ballad which has a cool folk song guitar intro and nice keyboard work too.

The Go Gos are a good little band with a classic song and a few other good ones. It's a real pity that they didn't make more songs as good as "Our lips are sealed" or at least as good as "Head over heels" and "We got the beat". I think pop music nowadays could do with some good old fashioned pop like these girls made in their prime.

P.S. Other pop albums I've reviewed on this site are:

Alex Lloyd "Amazing-The Best of" [I mentioned him in my review above]
Roxette
Skyhooks
Midnight Oil. This band makes masterful pop/rock. Politics never sounded so good.
INXS
March 15, 2007

The best buy for overall Go-Go's experience, w/ slight flaws...

Belinda, Kathy, Charlotte, Jane, & Gina emerged from a smarmy punk background, adding a bit of pop to help smooth out the wrinkles. From there we all know the story, the Go-Go's were one of the premiere girl group's of their time & helped put MTV on the map with their punky, kitchsy pop before personal problems caused the band to implode.

Three records: "Beauty & the Beat", "Vacation", & "Talk Show" are all represented here by their singles (big & minor) & selected b-sides, several new tracks, and a portion of live tracks spread over two discs. While clearly there was enough material to go around, it is the live recording's that leave a bit to be desired.

In a slight chronological order we get how the Go-Go's progressed from the rough punk to their new wave shimmer. While the live tracks are interesting, the sound quality is quite poor. Especially from the earlier live gigs. Possibly because the source tape is older & not as advanced, and I see why it would be appealing to have these live tracks here. But it definitely showed that they needed to be more than five angry punkettes to make it.

The rehearsal tracks ("He's So Strange", "Blades") help pick up the audio quality, & show that they knew they had a sense of pop melody. But not all is lost, the live tracks from their date at the Palos Verdes High School in Los Angeles, taped in December of 1981 really find the Go-Go's working their live muscles. While Belinda sometimes sounds assured, it shows that she isn't a vocal presence live; at least not in every instance. The band of course sounds tight and focused, and sugary background harmonies don't hurt either!

Besides that gripe, as stated the hits, b-sides (plentiful), and new tracks are quite abundant & fun. Also, a great booklet full of pictures from their inception to their reunion in 1990, other personal keepsakes photos, & commentary makes this a better buy than their "Greatest" set from 1990, or their "Behind the Music" set from 2000.

They "got the beat". November 9, 2005

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