Belinda Carlisle, Runaway Horses Full Album Zip

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Vaniria Setser

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Jun 29, 2024, 9:50:18 AM6/29/24
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Thirty years ago, Belinda Carlisle released her third LP. Runaway Horses came on the heels of two successful albums: her 1986 IRS Records debut, Belinda (featuring the hit "Mad About You"), and 1987's Heaven on Earth (boasting the smash "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" as well as "I Get Weak" and "Circle in the Sand"). Runaway Horses completed the hat trick for the Go-Go-gone-solo when it reached the top five in the United Kingdom. Now, the U.K.'s Demon Music Group has revisited the album in a deluxe 30th Anniversary box set presenting the album, single versions, remixes, dub and a cappella mixes, and even three new songs on 4 vinyl LPs (eight sides), while a bonus CD has the original album and the trio of new songs. This follows the 30th Anniversary vinyl box for Heaven on Earth released in 2017.

By the time of Runaway Horses, it was clear that fellow musicians were as enamored of the effervescent Carlisle as the record-buying public was. The album was graced by the presence of not just Canadian rocker Bryan Adams, but bona fide legend and Carlisle fan George Harrison. Despite its U.K. success, the album didn't score in America, likely due to the lack of a single with the commercial potential of "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" or "I Get Weak." Indeed, Runaway Horses indulged a more adventurous sound, helmed like Heaven by producer-arranger-songwriter Rick Nowels. A conscious choice was made to give the album a flavor more European than American. Some tracks were recorded in France, inspiration was taken from the Louvre, and Marseilles was even referenced in a lyric. Belinda desired to express herself in an "authentic" rock style, rather than limiting herself to pop balladry.

Nowels and Ellen Shipley's "Leave a Light On," with an indelible and reassuring slide guitar solo from Harrison, was almost a big hit, peaking just outside the top ten (No. 11!) in America. Harrison also contributed his distinctive tone to six-string bass and twelve-string guitar parts on the fierce "Deep, Deep Ocean." Strings swelled on the second single, the evocative "Summer Rain," which showcased Carlisle's sensual side. But the Robbie Seidman/Maria Vidal song got no higher than a U.S. No. 30 perch. Both songs did better in the U.K., with "Leave a Light On" hitting No. 4 and "Summer Rain" No. 23.

The passionate title track of Runaway Horses composed by Nowels and Shipley seemed to reflect the personal trajectory the solo Carlisle was on: "Runaway horses/Ooo baby hold on tight/Racing through the darkness/Trying to find a light/You and I on runaway horses/Baby hold on tight." Carlisle later revealed the demons she was fighting in her personal life, but her music was very much pointing her towards the light - almost always with an accessible melody. Carlisle's darker side was also explored on the post-breakup reflection of "Vision of You." A harder edge could be heard on the anthemic "(We Want) The Same Thing," with its searing guitar contributed by the incendiary axe man of Toto (and lately of Ringo Starr's All-Star Band), Steve Lukather.

Spanish guitar, accordion and gypsy violin added new textures and cinematic flavor to "La Luna," like "Vision" and "Same Thing" written by the prolific Nowels/Shipley team. Carlisle and her Go-Go's bandmate Charlotte Caffey co-wrote the equally intriguing closing cut "Shades of Michelangelo." Its melancholy mood is evident in the florid, poetic lyrics ("A still life portrait/A view from my window/Touched by innocence/Now fading away/Into a quiet storm/Of the tears of the angels/Falling around me/As I'm watching the days...") that cede to a more optimistic tone and imagery of "a tomorrow so bright." Not that brightness was entirely absent from Runaway Horses; "Whatever It Takes" was a sunny declaration of deep love. Though it was intended as a duet with Bryan Adams, record company politics caused Adams' vocals to be mixed into the background on the final version.

Demon/Edsel's 2CD/DVD edition from 2013 reissue added seven single bonuses on CD 1, and another ten on the second disc from a variety of remixers including Peter Arata, Rick Nowels, Steve Beltran, Justin Strauss, Daniel Abraham, and Jason Corsaro. Happily, all seventeen of these essential bonus tracks have been retained on the 30th Anniversary vinyl edition plus three songs newly recorded with producer Gabe Lopez. {2017's Heaven on Earth box similarly featured three new recordings.) Belinda has reinterpreted three classic songs here: Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind," Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "I Need You to Turn To," and Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." This trio is presented here on vinyl as well as on the set's CD, which is housed in a simple paper sleeve. All are fine renditions, with Carlisle's supple, husky voice honoring all three familiar melodies and even the arrangements. Seeing as she has only released three albums in the past 23 years, one hopes these tantalizing cover versions will lead to another full recording project.

The 12-page LP-sized booklet reprints journalist Justin Kantor's fine liner notes from the 2013 release along with images of Carlisle memorabilia including some sensationalistic articles with headlines like "I Was a Teenage Guinea Pig!" and "Is Belinda Carlisle a Fruitcake?" and a clutch of reviews. For a Juke Box Jury-type review, Bjork, Elnar, and Siggi of The Sugarcubes offered their opinions on "Leave a Light On." Alas, they weren't terribly charitable ("She's starting to sound like ABBA!"), but time has been on Belinda's side, as Runaway Horses has aged well thanks to the stellar songwriting and her distinctive vocals. The four disks, nicely mastered by Phil Kinrade, are all on 180-gram white vinyl. They're handsomely packaged in the lift-off-lid box within individual jackets with inner protective sleeves featuring photographs of the artist.

In addition to the Runaway Horses box, Demon has also released an entry for Belinda in its series of deluxe content, low price Gold compilations. Carlisle's Gold features 56 songs on 3 CDs, including all ten songs from Runaway Horses plus the new recording of "Both Sides Now." Gold spans the artist's entire solo career right up through her most recent studio albums, 2007's Voila and 2017's Wilder Shores. With a box set's worth of hits, album tracks, and fan favorites, it's a perfect (and incredibly affordable) entre into Carlisle's catalogue.

Runaway Horses is a time capsule of contemporary pop in the 1980s that's refreshingly enjoyable today. It's looking and sounding better than ever on Demon's new box set. You'll find order links and the track listing below!

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others.He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders.Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

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