Heaven Is a Rate on Earth. The Belinda Carlisle Rate. Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth?

Fool For Love is easily the best album track on Heaven and Earth. Nobody Owns Me and We Can Change come in second and third, but they're miles behind.

 

GAAAH YES! How arrogant it is to assume that said artist will maintain the same level of success in order to fulfil a Volume 2 quota.

 

That's surprising to be out at this stage indeed.

 

42. World of Love - 7.27
Live Your Life Be Free

Highest score: 10 x 2 (me, @Hudweiser)
Lowest score: 5 (@unnameable)​

DESGUSTANG.

Yes, World of Love is much more lowkey and Hot AC than a lot of Belinda's classics, but I love it so much, and have ever since I first got the album as a Christmas present. Obligatory background info: World of Love was written by Charlotte with Jeff and Steven McDonald (IDKH), who I assume are brothers and were bandmates in an alt-rock group called Redd Kross (IDKH), as well as several other short-lived bands. It was produced by Rick with Eric Pressly (IDKH, but he also produced Bless the Beasts and Loneliness Game, as well as Baby Bunton's Take Me to Another Town), and was the B-side to Do You Feel Like I Feel?

As I previously said, one of the things I love about Belinda is her apparent affection for songs with the word "world" in the title, or at least prominently featured in the lyrics. Off the top of my head: World Without You, Half the World, World of Love, Windows of the World, Wrap My Arms ("all I want is to wrap my arms around your world")... okay, maybe not that many. Heaven Is a Place on Earth, if we're going to expand it a little. Admittedly, the main reason that excites me is because of my Carmen Sandiego standom since, like, age 3. But it probably does contribute to why I love this song, along with its sweet, smooth, fluffy Hot AC sound. Wilson Phillips ha logical conclusion!

Let me get some haters out of the way first. Which surprisingly, describes most of the commentary despite the song not getting anything under a 5.

"World of boredom more like," sneers @Untitled (6). Haters gonna hate, hate, hate. "Very non-descript, another I can never remember after it’s finished," says @CasperFan (6). Players gonna play, play, play. "Definitely filler. But still listenable," @unnameable (5) says. Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake. "By the time I reached this, it started to feel like the dance beats were being thrown on to each song just to keep a consistency to the album. This track is feeling kind of thrown-in, but I do like the key change at the end," @Seventeen Days (6.5) recaps. Shake it off, shake it off!

(Make Republic Records mad. Stream Shake It Off on Spotify.)

Despite a relatively high score of 8.5, @pop3blow2 narrowly escapes "hater" classification (because I'm out of Shake It Off lyrics), saying, "I find the production is a bit busy on this one, but still a solid song."

I'm not sure if @tylerc904 (6) is being shady or not as he says, "This reminds me of something that would be on Clueless the TV Series." Well, Charlotte and her sister-in-law, Anna Waronker, wrote the Clueless theme song, sooo... you ain't wrong.

Finally, @bonnieetclyde (8) is in my good graces with this comment: "Yes - those melodies in the verses and also in the second half of the chorus are great. So, so gorgeous. Beautiful backing vocals too."

 

HEATHEN MOTHERFUCKAZ

 

Me right now:

 

I really like Windows of the World. I first heard it when I swindled the DYFLIF single from my dad. I'd say there are a couple of other songs from LYLBF that should have gone before it, plus a good portion of Heaven On Earth. The "so, so real..." section of the melody is divine.

 

41. Love Doesn't Live Here - 7.31
A Woman and a Man

Highest score: 8.5 x 2 (@pop3blow2, @Robsolete)
Lowest score: 5 (@unnameable)​

Man, y'all really don't like this album, do you?! And yet, with a standard deviation of 0.93, this is (narrowly) our least polarizing song so far. Like Always Breaking My Heart, it was written by Roxette's Per Gessle - more on him later! - but like the rest of the album was produced by David Tickle rather than Per.

I mean, it's no Love Don't Live Here or Love Don't Live Here Anymore, is it?

"not bad, not especially memorable" - @unnameable (5)

"So very Roxette. Could’ve done with a tempo increase as the lyrics seem to crawl too slowly over the music." - @Hudweiser (6.5)

"This song could have been really great but they made the music too saccharine and sounds too watered down without any real feeling or personality. Shame." - @bonnieetclyde (7)

"Not a bad song but definitely an album track" - @CasperFan (7.5)

"Another decent contribution from Per Gessle here. Belinda should have just had him write the majority of the album, honestly." - @Seventeen Days (9)
(No.)

 

I would have enjoyed a full Per and Belinda album myself. This should NOT be out yet but the best song on the album has already left (Kneel) so I'm not surprised.

 

At this point the 2 Per songs were such a welcome addition to the album but this just needed a bit more ooof. Per should have written a few more tracks for Bel.

 

Kneel and this are definitely the best things on the album, the first two singles and California aside.

Surely there's loads of shit from the debut that still needs draining from the rate before the likes of this go?!

 

Mad About You is literally the only thing remaining from the debut.

Meanwhile, Runaway Horses remains untouched. Talent always wins.

 

I TAKE THIS BACK.

40. Only a Dream - 7.35
Extras (Live Your Life B-side)

Highest score: 10 (me)
Lowest score: 5 (@Cundy)​

Remember when I called Wrap My Arms one of my main discoveries from the rate? THIS WAS THE OTHER. Yes, the lyrics are strange, but it's so warm and lovely and belongs at the end of a Notting Hill-type movie. WHEN WILL SHANIA? In fact, it manages to be both a lovely lush calming type of midtempo and a driving with the windows and sun roof open type of midtempo, which is hard to get, not everyone has that. In summary, get motherfucking taste.

Only a Dream originated as the B-side to Half the World before being reused for Little Black Book, alongside The Air You Breathe, then again years later for All God's Children, this time alongside Runaway Horses. Air and Dream were both included on the bonus remix disc of the A Place on Earth limited edition, as Belinda's only Virgin-era B-sides. It was written by Charlotte, Belinda, and Richard Feldman, frequent producer and/or co-writer to newly reunited queens Shakespears Sister. Feldman produced it as well, which might explain why I like it so much.

To think The Air You Breathe outranked this. I hope you all go home tonight and think about your choices!

@CasperFan (7.5) gives a summary: "A great song - nice to have an original song as a B-side, strange lyrics!"

"Good enough, but I don't like the word 'tangerine' in songs," says @Hudweiser (6.5). That is such a specific thing to dislike. Besides, "lavender, tangerine" is such a bizarre lyric that it's AMAZING.

@unnameable (9) thinks "her voice is amazing on this one. Her slightly higher register than normal really suits this song." I'd agree, but rarely do I think Belinda's voice is not amazing.

@Seventeen Days (9) also saw the light, saying, "Okay, I am really into this one. How on earth was this left off of ‘Live Your Life Be Free’? This is such a fun and upbeat track." Seriously, exchange Emotional Highway for this and the album would have been even more obscenely amazing.

 

Oh, an 11 that I was joint-lowest scorer for leaves tomorrow.

 

Only A Dream? IDKH. (Well, I don't remember her). Must have been distinctly average, since I gave it a 5. Trying to recall it now, all I can think about is that Nelly song.

Still, as @VivaForever quite rightly said, it should have replaced Emotional Highway as that's utter shite.

 

Me.
Right.
Now.

 

Only a dream is cute but The Air you Breathe is way better.
Not looking foward to the 11 going .....

 

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Hmm.

 

Only A Dream was one of my favorite discoveries in this rate. It's such a great track, but of course it was gonna fall earlier on. It's hard for b-sides to become iconic sometimes.

 

Only a Dream is a cute girl and total b-side material. The Air That You Breathe actually has an anthemic and memorable chorus, and I'd have put it on the album.