''Heaven on Earth'' is the second solo studio album by American singer

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

. It was released on October 5, 1987, by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. Three singles reached the top 10 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the number-one single and Carlisle's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

Heaven Is a Place on Earth "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle from her second studio album, '' Heaven on Earth'' (1987). Written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley, the song was released as the lead single from the ''Heaven on Earth' ...

". The album has been certified triple Platinum in the United Kingdom and Platinum in many countries, including the United States.

Singles

The first single released, "Heaven Is a Place on Earth", reached the number one position throughout the world. The second song released was "I Get Weak", written by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

. "I Get Weak" reached the number two spot in the U.S. and garnered a top 10 placing in Canada and the U.K. The third single, "

Circle in the Sand "Circle in the Sand" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle for her second studio album, ''Heaven on Earth (Belinda Carlisle album), Heaven on Earth'' (1987). It was written by Rick Nowels, who also produced it, and Ellen Shipley. "Circle i ...

", reached the top 10 in many countries, among them U.K. (#4), U.S. (#7) and Canada (#5). From the fourth single on, the singles released from the album varied in different territories. The

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

cover "

I Feel Free "I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by the British rock band Cream. The lyrics were written by Pete Brown, with the music by Jack Bruce. The song showcases the band's musical diversity, effectively combining blues rock with psychedelic pop. ...

" was released only in the U.S., reaching #88 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. This was the final U.S. single from the album. In Europe, "

World Without You "World Without You" is a song by American musician and singer Belinda Carlisle, released as the fifth single from her second album, '' Heaven on Earth'' (1987). It peaked at number 34 in the UK, number 21 in Ireland and number 43 in Italy. Criti ...

" (another Diane Warren song) was released, where it reached the top 40. A fifth and final single in the U.K. was the ballad " Love Never Dies" which reached number #54. Amongst the songs Carlisle recorded, but did not include on the album, are " Waiting for a Star to Fall" and "

Some Hearts ''Some Hearts'' is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Carrie Underwood, released in the United States on November 15, 2005, by Arista Nashville. The album contains the number one country singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Do ...

", which would become big hits for Boy Meets Girl and

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

, respectively.

Reissues

In May 2009, ''Heaven on Earth'' was re-released as a remastered two disc special edition. This special edition includes several bonus remixes and a live DVD. The inclusion of the live DVD marked the first time the concert footage filmed in Philadelphia during the 1988 'Good Heavens' world tour was made available in DVD format. It had previously only been available on VHS. ''Heaven On Earth'' was again re-released on August 26, 2013, in a 2CD+DVD casebook edition from Edsel Recording ( EDSG 80265 ) featuring the original album remastered, the single versions, remixes and B-sides. The DVD features the videos from the album and the concert footage filmed in Philadelphia during the 1988 'Good Heavens' world tour as well as an exclusive interview with Carlisle, discussing the album. Fellow

Go-Go Go-go is a music subgenre, subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience Call and response (music), call and response. Go-go was originated by African-American musicians in the Washington, D.C. area du ...

Charlotte Caffey Charlotte Irene Caffey (born October 21, 1953) is an American guitarist, best known for her work in the rock band the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat". Career Caffey began her musical career playing bass guitar in the ...

's group The Graces covered "Should I Let You In?" for their 1989 album ''Perfect View''.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Alex Henderson gave the album four stars out of five, saying "while nothing here packs quite the punch that 'How Much More,' 'We Got the Beat,' and 'Turn to You' did, such memorable songs as 'Heaven Is a Place on Earth,' 'Should I Let You In?', and '

I Get Weak "I Get Weak" is a song by American singer Belinda Carlisle from her second studio album, '' Heaven on Earth'' (1987). The song was written by Diane Warren and produced by Rick Nowels, and was released as the second single from ''Heaven on Earth' ...

' show that the Angeleno still had plenty of spirit".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Heaven on Earth''.

Musicians

– lead vocals, backing vocals,

air guitar Air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play an imaginary rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs and solos. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking m ...

* Charles Judge – keyboards, drum programming, acoustic piano *

John McCurry John McCurry (born June 24, 1957) is an American musician and composer, a guitarist, songwriter and singer based in New York City. He has worked with many well-known musical artists, including Chicago, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Al ...

– electric guitars *

Kenny Aronoff Kenny Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American session drummer. Early life Aronoff grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts He developed an interest in music at an early age and gravitated to the drums as "drumming was one hundred percent ene ...

– drums * John Pierce – bass *

Rhett Lawrence James Everett "Rhett" Lawrence is an American record producer and songwriter. He has produced, mentored, and helped launch the career of 5 artists amongst the top 200 artists to be featured on Billboard magazine's top charts from 1955-2012, who ...

– Fairlight *

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

– electric guitars * Curly Smith – drums *

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

– additional keyboards * Mike Landau – additional guitars * Jimmy Bralower – additional percussion * Paulinho da Costa – additional percussion *

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1959 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and the C ...

– additional guitar * George Black – additional guitar *

David Kemper David Law Kemper (born 1947/8 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American rock drummer who was a member of the Jerry Garcia Band (1983–1994) and Bob Dylan's band (1996–2001). He was with the Jerry Garcia Band from 1983 until January 1994, when he w ...

– additional percussion * Beth Anderson – backing vocals *

– backing vocals * Donna Davidson – backing vocals *

Donna De Lory Donna De Lory is an American singer, dancer and songwriter. Part of a musical family, De Lory has been performing since a young age. Her voice can be heard on albums by Carly Simon, Ray Parker Jr., Kim Carnes, Santana, Martika, Laura Branigan, Be ...

– backing vocals * Edie Lehmann – backing vocals *

Michelle Phillips Michelle may refer to: People *Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael * Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle" * Michelle (German singer) * Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish wi ...

– backing vocals *

Chynna Phillips Chynna Gilliam Phillips (born February 12, 1968) is an American singer and actress, and a member of the vocal group Wilson Phillips. She is the daughter of the Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and half-sister of Macken ...

– backing vocals *

Ellen Shipley Ellen Shipley (born March 24, 1949 in New York City, New York, United States) is an American musician and songwriter. Career At sixteen years old, Shipley got a NYC Cabaret license. She performed a duo act in Greenwich Village in the early 70's ...

– backing vocals

Technical

* Rick Nowels – production * Steve MacMillan – recording ; mixing * Robert Feist – additional engineering * Stacy Baird – additional engineering *

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

– mixing * Charles Judge – mixing assistance * Matthew Freeman – engineering assistance, production assistance * Joe Schiff – engineering assistance * Clark Germaine – engineering assistance * Brian Scheuble – engineering assistance * Ethan Jones – engineering assistance * Bob Vogt – engineering assistance * Rob Jacobs – engineering assistance * Marc DeSisto – engineering assistance *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

– mastering at Precision Lacquer (Hollywood, California) * Ellen Shipley – additional vocal production * Robert Feist – additional vocal production * Timothy McDaniel – production coordination * Nancy Del Los Santos – production assistance

Artwork

* Phillip Dixon – photography * Norman Moore – art direction, design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end chart

Certifications

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heaven On Earth (Album) 1987 albums Albums produced by Rick Nowels Belinda Carlisle albums MCA Records albums Virgin Records albums