Real (Belinda Carlisle album)
Encyclopedia
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 album where Rick Nowels
had no writing or producing credits and also was Carlisle's first album to have 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
. It features a cover version
of The Graces
pop rock
song "Lay Down Your Arms
".
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.
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 on the charts on October 18, 1993 on the UK Albums Chart
at number nine, making Real her fifth consecutive top ten album there. In the second week it dropped down 11 places to number 20, and then not making a rise in the top 75, spending only five weeks in it. 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.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American singer Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
, first released on September 29, 1993. The album has a genre of mainly pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
songs written by Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat."...
, Thomas Caffey, Ralph Schuckett and half co-written by Carlisle. It was the second album where Rick Nowels
Rick Nowels
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is a Grammy / Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter/producer who has worked with many of the most vibrant artists in contemporary music...
had no writing or producing credits and also was Carlisle's first album to have 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
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
. It features a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Graces
The Graces (band)
The Graces were a US band in the late 1980s and early 1990s featuring Charlotte Caffey, Meredith Brooks, and Gia Ciambotti. Formed in 1988, they released their debut album Perfect View on A&M Records in 1989. Their first single "Lay Down Your Arms" hit #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 but the album...
pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
song "Lay Down Your Arms
Lay Down Your Arms (The Graces song)
"Lay Down Your Arms" is a pop rock song which Charlotte Caffey, Ralph Schuckett and Ellen Shipley wrote and composed, and which Shipley produced, for The Graces's first album Perfect View . Caffey was the lead vocalist on the song, and it was released as the band's debut single...
".
Reception and chart performance
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. It was also a departure from her previous solo albums, it has more in common with Belinda's The Go-Go'sThe Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
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.
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 on the charts on October 18, 1993 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number nine, making Real her fifth consecutive top ten album there. In the second week it dropped down 11 places to number 20, and then not making a rise in the top 75, spending only five weeks in it. In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
the album became her fifth top 30 album, peaking at number 23, spending only two weeks in the top 50. Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
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
Big Scary Animal
"Big Scary Animal" is a pop song written by Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle and Ralph Schuckett, produced by Schuckett for Carlisle's fifth studio album Real ....
" (also known as "It's Too Real (Big Scary Animal)") reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, 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
Lay Down Your Arms (The Graces song)
"Lay Down Your Arms" is a pop rock song which Charlotte Caffey, Ralph Schuckett and Ellen Shipley wrote and composed, and which Shipley produced, for The Graces's first album Perfect View . Caffey was the lead vocalist on the song, and it was released as the band's debut single...
" was released as the second single in November 1993 and failed to gain much success, peaking at number 27 in the UK.
Track listing
Charts
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 61 |
| Japanese Oricon Albums Chart | 26 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 23 |
| UK Albums Chart | 9 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
September 29, 1993 | Toshiba Records Toshiba is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and... |
CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , Cassette Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... |
VJCP-28185 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
October 5, 1993 | Virgin Records Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny... |
V2-39102 | |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
October 11, 1993 | CD, Vinyl Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
CDV2725 | |
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
November 14, 1993 | CD | 839102-2 |