Real (Belinda Carlisle album)

Real is the fifth studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle, first released on September 29, 1993. The album has a genre of mainly pop songs written by Charlotte Caffey, Thomas Caffey, Ralph Schuckett and half co-written by Carlisle. It was the second Belinda Carlisle album where Rick Nowels had no writing or producing credits and was also Carlisle's first album where she contributed to the producing. The album cover was designed by Tom Dolan and is a departure for Carlisle, who presented a glamorous look on all her previous covers, choosing a "jeans and tee shirt" look instead this time without make-up. The album features a cover version of The Graces pop rock song "Lay Down Your Arms".

Reception and chart performance

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[2]^[3]
Randy Krbechek's Metronews	(favorable)^[4]

Allmusic reviewed the album as suffering from a lack of memorable songs and while the record sounded good, it had nothing to support the state-of-the-art production.^[1] It was also a departure from her previous solo albums, it has more in common with Belinda's The Go-Go's sound rather than her own, typical, solo pop themes. Dealing with what Belinda termed the 'dark side of relationships,' the album is mature and intentionally lacks the slick production of her other solo albums. Carlisle won over many critics who had previously reviewed her for her sensed lack of progression and willingness to take a chance with some edgier material.^[5]

Randy Krbechek wrote "Belinda may not be the deepest songwriter in the world, but she delivers her tunes with conviction, and puts real meaning into her songs of love, life, and heartache. In fact, Real is one of the best albums addressing a woman's perspective on relationships".

The album made its debut in the UK Albums Chart at number 9 on October 18, 1993, making Real Carlisle's fifth consecutive Top Ten album there. In the second week it dropped down 11 places to number 20 and spent only five weeks in the Top 75. In Sweden the album became her fifth top 30 album, peaking at number 23, spending only two weeks in the top 50. Australia was the last place the album charted, where it charted at number 61 and spent four weeks in the top 100.

Released in September 1993, the single "Big Scary Animal" (also known as "It's Too Real (Big Scary Animal)") reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Carlisle's seventh top 20 single, and a top 60 hit in Australia. This is also the most successful song co-written by Belinda Carlisle. "Lay Down Your Arms" was released as the second single in November 1993 and failed to gain much success, peaking at number 27 in the UK.

Real was re-released by Edsel Recording on August 26th, 2013 as a two CD plus DVD casebook. It features the original album re-mastered, the single versions, demos, remixes, and live tracks. The DVD features the videos from the album and an exclusive interview with Carlisle, discussing the album.^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Goodbye Day"	Charlotte Caffey, Thomas Caffey, Jeff McDonald, Steve McDonald	4:39
2.	"Big Scary Animal"	Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Ralph Schuckett	4:08
3.	"Too Much Water"	Caffey, Caffey, Richard Caffey, Carlisle	5:16
4.	"Lay Down Your Arms"	Caffey, Schuckett, Ellen Shipley	4:38
5.	"Where Love Hides"	Schuckett	4:57
6.	"One with You"	Caffey, Schuckett, Shipley	5:11
7.	"Wrap My Arms"	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	4:27
8.	"Tell Me"	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	5:32
9.	"Windows of the World"	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	3:26
10.	"Here Comes My Baby"	Gregg Alexander, Caffey, Carlisle	4:37

2013 Remastered Deluxe version

Disc one
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Goodbye Day"	Charlotte Caffey, Thomas Caffey, Jeff McDonald, Steve McDonald	4:39
2.	"Big Scary Animal"	Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Ralph Schuckett	4:08
3.	"Too Much Water"	Caffey, Caffey, Richard Caffey, Carlisle	5:16
4.	"Lay Down Your Arms"	Caffey, Schuckett, Ellen Shipley	4:38
5.	"Where Love Hides"	Schuckett	4:57
6.	"One with You"	Caffey, Schuckett, Shipley	5:11
7.	"Wrap My Arms"	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	4:27
8.	"Tell Me"	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	5:32
9.	"Windows of the World"	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	3:26
10.	"Here Comes My Baby"	Gregg Alexander, Caffey, Carlisle	4:37
11.	"Lay Down Your Arms" (Single Edit)	Caffey, Schuckett, Shipley	4:10
12.	"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (Dyme Brothers 7” Mix)	Rick Nowels, Shipley	3:36
13.	"All God's Children" (Edit)	Paul Barry, Billy Lawrie, Mark Taylor	3:05
14.	"A Prayer for Everyone" (Edit)	Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, Nowels, Billy Steinberg	3:51
15.	"Heaven is a Place on Earth" (Dyme Brothers 12” Mix)	Nowels, Shipley	4:59

Disc two
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Whatcha Doin’ to Me" (Demo)	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	3:14
2.	"Don’t Cry" (Demo)	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	3:14
3.	"Change" (Demo)		4:38
4.	"Too Much Water" (Demo)	Caffey, Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	4:18
5.	"Wrap My Arms" (Demo)	Caffey, Caffey, Carlisle	4:32
6.	"Here Comes My Baby" (Demo)	Alexander, Caffey, Carlisle	4:39
7.	"Feels Like I’ve Known You Forever" (from A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits)	David Munday	3:48
8.	"A Prayer for Everyone" (from A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits)	D'Ubaldo, Nowels, Steinberg	4:21
9.	"All God’s Children" (from A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits)	Barry, Lawrie, Taylor	3:48
10.	"I Feel Free" (Live)	Jack Bruce, Pete Brown	5:12
11.	"Circle in the Sand" (Live)	Nowels, Shipley	4:50
12.	"Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (Live)	Nowels, Shipley	4:55

Disc three DVD
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Big Scary Animal (U.K. version)" (Video)	4:12
2.	"Lay Down Your Arms" (Video)	4:11
3.	"All God’s Children" (Video)	3:47
4.	"Big Scary Animal (U.S. version)" (Video)	4:24
5.	"Interview with Belinda conducted by Mark Goodier"	22:29

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Japanese Albums Chart^[7]	26
Swedish Albums Chart^[8]	23
UK Albums Chart^[9]	9

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Japan	September 29, 1993	Toshiba Records	CD, Cassette	VJCP-28185^[10]
United States	October 5, 1993	Virgin Records	CD, Cassette	V2-39102^[11]
United Kingdom	October 11, 1993		CD, Vinyl	CDV2725^[12]
Australia	November 14, 1993		CD	839102-2

References

1 2 Allmusic review
↑ Thigpen, David (1993-10-15). "Real Review". Entertainment Weekly: 76. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
↑ Entertainment Weekly review on CD Universe
↑ Randy Krbecheks Metronews review
↑ "Belinda-Carlisle.com". Archived from the original on April 24, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
↑ http://theseconddisc.com/2013/06/04/shes-got-the-beat-demon-music-group-acquires-belinda-carlisle-solo-catalogue/#more-19827
↑ "Japan Chart Position". Retrieved November 6, 2007.
↑ "Sweden Chart Position". Retrieved May 31, 2007.
↑ "UK Chart Position". Retrieved May 31, 2007.
↑ - Japan release information. Oricon. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
↑ Real - U.S. release information. eil.com. Retrieved June 19, 2007.
↑ Real - UK release information. eil.com. Retrieved June 19, 2007.

Belinda Carlisle

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

"Mad About You" "I Feel the Magic" "Band of Gold" "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" "I Get Weak" "Circle in the Sand" "I Feel Free" "World Without You" "Love Never Dies" "Leave a Light On" "La Luna" "Summer Rain" "Runaway Horses" "Vision of You" "(We Want) the Same Thing" "Live Your Life Be Free" "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" "Half the World" "Little Black Book" "Big Scary Animal" "Lay Down Your Arms" "In Too Deep" "Always Breaking My Heart" "Love in the Key of C" "California" "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" "All God's Children" "Sun" "Goodbye Just Go"

Guest singles	"Blue Period"

Promo singles	"Since You've Gone"

Book
Commons

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