Return_to_the_Valley_of_the_Go-Go's
Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's
1994 compilation album by the Go-Go's
Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's is the Go-Go's second compilation album, released in 1994. There were two versions of this compilation released: a single disc, and a double disc version. All recordings found on the single disc are identical to those on the double.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[2] |
| NME | 3/10[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [4] |
| Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | October 18, 1994 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, new wave | |||
| Length | 57:09 (1xCD) 1:50:37 (2xCD) | |||
| Label | I.R.S. Records | |||
| Producer | Gregg Edward, Rob Freeman, Richard Gottehrer | |||
| The Go-Go's chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's | ||||
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Despite the tensions that had marred their dissolution in 1985, the Go-Go's gradually began to reassemble; songwriter and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey wrote for and performed on most of singer Belinda Carlisle's solo albums.[5] The group's members eventually resolved legal and creative differences and began to collaborate as a band again, beginning with a compilation album that would be a more comprehensive representation of the band than their 1990 greatest hits album.[6]
Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's documents the Go-Go's history from their genesis in the Los Angeles punk rock scene through their success as a mainstream new wave band. The compilation included rehearsal, demo, and live recordings that had never been previously released, the original Stiff Records version of the band's first single, "We Got the Beat," as well as the group's major hits, B-sides, and deeper tracks culled from the studio sessions that generated the Go-Go's' first three LPs.[7] The collection also featured new live material and three new "reunion tracks" written and studio-recorded by the band in 1994 for the collection.[8] One of these new songs, "The Whole World Lost Its Head," gave the band its first top 40 hit in Britain.[9]
The CD release included a booklet that featured photos and liner notes from the members of the band, including a group history, reflections, and anecdotes about each member's favorite songs.[7]
Writing for Rolling Stone, critic Paul Corio wrote that the compilation "offers trippy joy in abundance."[8] In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Ned Raggett ranked Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's, compared to other best-of compilations of the band, as "the clearest winner, by a long shot."[7]
Single disc version
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Living at the Canterbury/Party Pose" (Live at Rehearsal, 2/79) | Wiedlin ("Living at the Canterbury")/Caffey, Wiedlin ("Party Pose") | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Fashion Seekers" (Intro Live at Rehearsal, 2/79; Live at the Mabuhay, San Francisco, 8/79) | Caffey, Fleury | 3:08 |
| 3. | "He's So Strange" (Live at Rehearsal, 1/80) | Caffey, Phillips, Custis, Wiedlin | 4:11 |
| 4. | "London Boys" (Live at Palos Verdes High School, LA, 12/81) | Wiedlin, Bolles | 2:39 |
| 5. | "Beatnik Beach" (Live at Palos Verdes High School, LA, 12/81) | Caffey, Carlisle | 2:43 |
| 6. | "Cool Jerk" (Previously unreleased demo) | Storball | 2:31 |
| 7. | "We Got the Beat" (Single mix) | Caffey | 2:31 |
| 8. | "Our Lips Are Sealed" (from Beauty & the Beat) | Wiedlin, Hall | 2:45 |
| 9. | "Surfing and Spying" (B-side) | Caffey | 1:57 |
| 10. | "Vacation" (from Vacation) | Valentine, Caffey, Wiedlin | 2:58 |
| 11. | "Speeding" (B-side) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 2:07 |
| 12. | "Good for Gone" (B-side) | Schock, Valentine | 2:55 |
| 13. | "Head over Heels" (from Talk Show) | Caffey, Valentine | 3:37 |
| 14. | "Can't Stop the World" (Live at the Greek, LA, 8/84) | Valentine | 3:23 |
| 15. | "Mercenary" (Acoustic, Universal Amphitheatre, LA, 12/90) | Wiedlin, Valentine, Caffey | 4:33 |
| 16. | "Good Girl" (Reunion track, '94) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:36 |
| 17. | "Beautiful" (Reunion track, '94) | Schock, Caffey | 3:59 |
| 18. | "The Whole World Lost Its Head" (Reunion track, '94) | Valentine, Wiedlin | 2:56 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19. | "Screaming" (Live at the Mabuhay, San Francisco, 8/79) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 2:10 |
| 20. | "Turn to You" (from Talk Show) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:50 |
Two-disc version
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Living at the Canterbury/Party Pose" (Live at Rehearsal, 2/79) | Wiedlin ("Living at the Canterbury")/Caffey, Wiedlin ("Party Pose") | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Screaming" (Live at the Mabuhay, San Francisco, 8/79) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 2:10 |
| 3. | "Johnny Are You Queer?" (Live at the Mabuhay, San Francisco, 8/79) | Bobby Paine, Larson Paine | 2:06 |
| 4. | "Fun with Ropes" (Live at the Mabuhay, San Francisco, 8/79) | Wiedlin | 2:12 |
| 5. | "Fashion Seekers" (Intro Live at Rehearsal, 2/79; Live at the Mabuhay, San Francisco, 8/79) | Caffey, Fleury | 3:08 |
| 6. | "Blades" (Live at Rehearsal, 1/80) | Wiedlin, Carlisle, Olivarria | 2:34 |
| 7. | "He's So Strange" (Live at Rehearsal, 1/80) | Caffey, Phillips, Custis, Wiedlin | 4:11 |
| 8. | "London Boys" (Live at Palos Verdes High School, LA, 12/81) | Wiedlin, Bolles | 2:39 |
| 9. | "Let's Have a Party" (Live at Palos Verdes High School, LA, 12/81) | Robinson | 1:31 |
| 10. | "Beatnik Beach" (Live at Palos Verdes High School, LA, 12/81) | Caffey, Carlisle | 2:43 |
| 11. | "(Remember) Walking in the Sand" (Live at Palos Verdes High School, LA, 12/81) | Morton | 3:06 |
| 12. | "Lust to Love" (Previously unreleased demo) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:27 |
| 13. | "How Much More" (Demo, previously released as We Got the Beat (Stiff version) B-side) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:00 |
| 14. | "Cool Jerk" (Previously unreleased demo) | Storball | 2:31 |
| 15. | "We Got the Beat" (Single mix) | Caffey | 2:31 |
| 16. | "Skidmarks on My Heart" (from Beauty & the Beat) | Caffey, Carlisle | 3:05 |
| 17. | "This Town" (from Beauty & the Beat) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:18 |
| 18. | "Our Lips Are Sealed" (from Beauty & the Beat) | Wiedlin, Hall | 2:45 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Surfing and Spying" (Our Lips Are Sealed B-side) | Caffey | 1:57 |
| 2. | "Vacation" (from Vacation) | Valentine, Caffey, Wiedlin | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Speeding" (Get Up and Go B-side) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 2:07 |
| 4. | "Get Up and Go" (from Vacation) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:17 |
| 5. | "It's Everything but Party Time" (from Vacation) | Wiedlin, Schock | 3:20 |
| 6. | "Beneath the Blue Sky" (from Talk Show) | Valentine, Wiedlin | 3:03 |
| 7. | "Good for Gone" (Head Over Heels B-side) | Schock, Valentine | 2:55 |
| 8. | "Head over Heels" (from Talk Show) | Caffey, Valentine | 3:37 |
| 9. | "Turn to You" (from Talk Show) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:50 |
| 10. | "Yes or No" (Single mix) | Wiedlin, Mael, Mael | 3:36 |
| 11. | "I'm with You" (Live at the Greek, LA, 8/84) | Schock, Wiedlin | 3:37 |
| 12. | "We Don't Get Along" (Live at Hakano Plaza, Tokyo, 6/82) | Valentine | 2:41 |
| 13. | "Can't Stop the World" (Live at the Greek, LA, 8/84) | Valentine | 3:23 |
| 14. | "I'm the Only One" (Live at the Greek, LA, 8/84) | Valentine, Harvey, Carter | 3:26 |
| 15. | "Mercenary" (Acoustic, Universal Amphitheatre, LA, 12/90) | Wiedlin, Valentine, Caffey | 4:33 |
| 16. | "Good Girl" (Reunion track, '94) | Caffey, Wiedlin | 3:36 |
| 17. | "Beautiful" (Reunion track, '94) | Schock, Caffey | 3:59 |
| 18. | "The Whole World Lost Its Head" (Reunion track, '94) | Valentine, Wiedlin | 2:56 |
Album
| Chart (1995) | Peak position | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| UK Album Chart | 52 | — |
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | UK Singles Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "The Whole World Lost Its Head" | 108 | 29 |
- "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's - The Go-Go's | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- Bailie, Stuart (March 11, 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 53. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
- Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 335. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Ellwood, Alison (director) (2020). The Go-Go's (film). United States: Showtime.
- Hughes, Hilary (August 5, 2020). "How The Go-Go's Perfected Pop-Punk". NPR.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Raggett, Ned. "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's - The Go-Go's". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Corio, Paul (December 29, 1994). "The Go-Go's: Return To The Valley Of The Go-Go's". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- Levine, Nick (July 28, 2020). "How The Go-Go's pioneered Girl Power". www.bbc.com. Britich Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
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