God Bless the Go-Go's is the fourth and final studio album by American rock band the Go-Go's,released on May 15,2001,by Beyond Music. It was the band's first studio album after a lengthy hiatus,and was released 17 years after their previous album Talk Show (1984).
While many of the band's earlier hits had been written within the band,the Go-Go's worked with other artists for God Bless the Go-Go's;songwriters that contributed to the album included Billie Joe Armstrong,Jill Sobule and Susanna Hoffs,among other musicians.
Release
God Bless the Go-Go's was released on May 15,2001,by the Beyond Music label.[1] The album peaked at number 57 on the US Billboard 200.[2] "Unforgiven" served as the album's lead single,[1] and was released to radio on March 19,2001,[3] followed by a second single,"Apology",on July 23,2001.[4]
For the album's 20th anniversary,God Bless the Go-Go's was reissued on May 14,2021,by Eagle Records. The original album was released on vinyl for the first time,while a deluxe edition,featuring two bonus tracks and new cover art,was released on CD and digitally.[5]
God Bless the Go-Go's received a score of 68 out of 100 from Metacritic based on generally favorable reviews from critics.[6]Los Angeles Times critic Marc Weingarten found that "for a band that has been dormant for so long,the musical pieces all fit together surprisingly snugly",[11] while in Billboard,Michael Paoletta praised the album as a "deliriously buoyant" record of "unadulterated adult-made pop".[17] "Sharply written,energetically performed,and slickly produced," judged Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club,"it actually sounds like the album Go-Go's fans have waited 17 years to hear."[18]
Rolling Stone reviewer Arion Berger commented,"The album doesn't attempt to update the band's sound with hip-hop moves or electronic frippery,for which God should bless 'em,indeed. The girls' hold on the current pop world remains so strong that Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong co-writes a song ('Unforgiven') in impeccable Go-Go's drag."[14]AllMusic's Peter Fawthrop was more ambivalent,writing that "the group took the familiar route with tracks that sound every bit as Go-Go's as their previous records. Every bit as Go-Go's,that is,as their non-hits and less remarkable material. While the Go-Go's sound is intact,there is not a 'We Got the Beat' or a 'Head over Heels' to be found. It is feasible that in this age of pop rebirth,the Go-Go's decided it was now or never."[7]
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