FEATURE:
Too Good to Be Forgotten: Tracks That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth
___________
IN future parts…
IN THIS PHOTO: Belinda Carlisle (back, right) with The Go-Go’s/PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Natkin/Getty Images
I am going to look at songs that are seen as a bit cheesy or, to a lot of people, are really not that good at all. That might sound a bit cruel but, when people say they like a song because it’s a guilty pleasure, that does not necessarily mean the song is bad and they feel embarrassed – many times, a song has not received the acclaim it should or it is a lot stronger than many give it credit for. In the case of Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven Is a Place on Earth, this is a track that divides people. In terms of what the song achieved, one cannot list it as a failure or minor hit! Heaven Is a Place on Earth is included in Carlisle’s second studio album, Heaven on Earth (1987). Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, the song hit number-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 5th December, 1987, becoming Carlisle's only U.S. chart-topper, to date. I wanted to include a Belinda Carlisle song because her band, The Go-Go’s are back together and have recently put out a single. Think about the band’s 1981 debut, Beauty and the Beat, and the incredible sound! We Got the Beat is an incredible original, whilst the band did wonders with Our Lips Are Sealed - band member Jane Wiedlin wrote the song with The Specials’/Fun Boy Three’s Terry Hall.
1982’s Vacation was a great follow-up album and, whilst not as successful as the debut, the album still made an impact. Carlisle did not write or co-write many of the band’s tracks, but I think her unique and incredible voice more than compensates. The band’s third studio album, Talk Show, was released in 1984, and the band would not record another album together until God Bless the Go-Go's of 2001 – not their best album, but there were still sparks of their previous highs. Belinda Carlisle stepped out solo, and she was always the most likely of The Go-Go’s to succeed on her own terms. Belinda was released in 1986, and that debut album is incredibly strong; Mad About You, and I Feel the Magic are among her best songs. 1987’s Heaven on Earth is a more commercial album, and I think a lot of critics were unfair on the album because they were comparing what Carlisle was doing solo with her work as a member of The Go-Go’s. Her solo work does not have the same grit and rawness of the band’s material, and it is more aimed at the Pop charts. That said, and one big reason why I love Belinda Carlisle is the fact she has a big and impassioned voice that you cannot help fall for. In fact, 1989’s Runaway Horses received less passionate reviews than Heaven on Earth, despite the fact that Leave a Light On, Visions of You, and (We Want) The Same Thing are real gems!
Heaven on Earth is an underrated and classic album of the 1980s. Working with a range of writers and producers – including Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, Diane Warren and her Go-Go’s bandmate, Charlotte Caffey –, I don’t think it is a case of too many people having their own say and leaving this patchy and widely uneven album. In fact, I think the album is perfectly balanced and, with Circle in the Sand, I Feel Free, I Get Weak, and Love Never Dies in your ranks, you can’t go wrong! I think a lot of people see Belinda Carlisle as a slightly guilty pleasure and, as much as I hate that term, I wanted to focus on the massive hit, Heaven Is a Place on Earth. To me, this is one of the best hits of the 1980s, and I had a real fondness for artists of the time like Belinda Carlisle and our very own Lisa Stansfield – Carlisle was born in Los Angeles. Maybe some prefer their music with more depth, experimentation and cutting edge, but I think there was a split between Pop that could deliver substance and quality and those artists who were very sugar-sweet and generic. Consider a song like Heaven Is a Place on Earth. Some people feel that it represents the worst of the 1980s in terms of the production and the lyrical content.
From Songfacts, I have discovered some useful information about Heaven Is a Place on Earth:
“This effervescent song is about finding heaven on Earth in the form of true love. It was written by the San Francisco songwriter Rick Nowels (who wrote and produced Stevie Nicks' "I Can't Wait") and the New York-based Ellen Shipley. The initial idea came to Shipley at a Brooklyn gas station where she spotted a greeting card that said "Heaven On Earth." When she and Nowels started working on a song for Belinda Carlisle, Shipley wrote that phrase on the blackboard as an idea. Nowels wrote in the words "Is A" to make it "Heaven Is A Place On Earth."
This opens with the chorus, which sets up the song. Ellen Shipley explained in her Songfacts interview: "The chorus came first. When we had that title, 'Heaven Is A Place On Earth,' we went into a studio and we started jamming on chords and singing against it and in our process we got that chorus and everything was built around that.
So, it was like a story of why you think heaven is a place on earth: because love comes first. Because the lyrics:
Baby do you know what that's worth?
Heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
But we'll make heaven a place on earth
So, the whole idea is that love should come first”
I love the huge, singalong chorus, and the fact many of us can relate to the song’s themes and lyrics. Carlisle’s voice is magnetic, and she really commits to the song. There is more than enough punch and energy in the song that raise it above the level of throwaway, and for those who were keen to write off Carlisle’s solo endeavours, they need to listen back to her albums now and really give them more time. I think there are few artists who delivered as many catchy songs, and I listen to tracks like Heaven Is a Place on Earth if I need a real boost! It is a wonderful song, and I would promote it far beyond the realms of cheese from the 1980s, or a song that is only reserved for Pop fans. No matter what your musical persuasion, one can connect with this anthem. I shall leave things there, but I wanted to include Heaven Is a Place on Earth, because it has never really got as much acclaim as song from the 1980s by artists such as Madonna – whilst Carlisle was not as consistent and as famed, her best material could challenge Madonna and her close peers. Times are challenging right now, and I think feelgood music is playing a much larger role. Heaven Is a Place on Earth is as heavenly as its title suggests, and, right now, it is…
A perfect song to lift us all.