Beauty and the Beat

Beauty and the Beat
Studio album by Go-Go's
Released	July 1981
Genre	New Wave
Length	32:17
Label	IRS
Producer	Rob Freeman, Richard Gottehrer
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone link
Go-Go's chronology
Beauty and the Beat (1981) Vacation (1982)

Beauty and the Beat is the debut album from the Californian all-female band Go-Go's. Released in 1981 (see 1981 in music), the album was preceded by the import single "We Got the Beat", which became a massive club hit in Europe and, later, the United States. When the album was finally released, it steadily climbed the Billboard 200 chart, eventually sitting at number one for six weeks. Beauty and the Beat sold in excess of three million copies, making it one of the biggest "surprise" debut albums of all time. It is now widely considered one of the cornerstone albums of 80's "new wave" music. It was the first album entirely written and performed by an all-female band to top the charts.

The title is a play on the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, retold in numerous formats.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 413 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005. The lead single "Our Lips Are Sealed" has been covered over the years by numerous artists, and remains a staple of 80's playlists. It is frequently cited as one of the Top 100 and Top 50 songs of the 80's. Rolling Stone magazine has named it one of the Top 100 Pop Singles of all time.

"This Town" was used as the theme song for Rich Girls, a reality show which formerly aired on MTV. It was performed by Lillix.

Track listing

1. "Our Lips Are Sealed" (Terry Hall, Wiedlin) – 2:45
2. "How Much More" (Caffey, Wiedlin) – 3:06
3. "Tonite" – 3:35 (Caffey, Wiedlin, Case)
4. "Lust to Love" (Caffey, Wiedlin) – 4:04
5. "This Town" (Caffey, Wiedlin) – 3:20
6. "We Got the Beat" (Caffey) – 2:32
7. "Fading Fast" (Caffey) – 3:41
8. "Automatic" (Wiedlin) – 3:07
9. "You Can't Walk in Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)" (Caffey, Wiedlin) – 2:54
10. "Skidmarks on My Heart" (Caffey, Carlisle) – 3:06
11. "Can't Stop the World" (Valentine) – 3:20
12. "Surfing and Spying" (Caffey) – 1:55 (single B side only)

Credits

• Charlotte Caffey - guitar, keyboards, vocals, background vocals
• Belinda Carlisle - vocals
• Gina Schock - percussion, drums, background vocals
• Kathy Valentine - bass, vocals, background vocals
• Jane Wiedlin - rhythm guitar, vocals, background vocals

Production

• Producers: Rob Freeman, Richard Gottehrer
• Engineers: Rob Freeman
• Assistant engineers: James A. Ball, Ted Blechta, Darroll Gustamachio, Gray Russell, John Terelle
• Mixing: Rob Freeman
• Mixing assistants: James A. Ball, Stuart Furusho, David Leonard
• Remixing: Doug Schwartz
• Mastering: Greg Calbi
• Art direction: Ginger Canzoneri, Mike Doud, Mick Haggerty, Vartan
• Design: Mike Fink, Mick Haggerty
• Photography: George DuBose, Mick Haggerty, Cindy Marsh
• Illustrations: Cindy Marsh

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

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