"How Much More" | |
---|---|
Single by The Go-Go's | |
A-side | "We Got the Beat" |
Released | 1980 |
Recorded | 1980 |
Genre | New wave |
Length | 2:59 |
Label | Stiff Records |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | Paul L. Wexler |
"How Much More" | |
---|---|
Song by The Go-Go's | |
from the album Beauty and the Beat' | |
Released | 1981 |
Recorded | 1981 |
Genre | New wave |
Length | 3:06 |
Label | I.R.S. |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
"How Much More" is a song written by Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin that was first released as part of the Go-Go's debut single along with "We Got the Beat" in 1980. [1] A re-recorded version was released on their 1981 debut album Beauty and the Beat .
According to Go-Go's lead singer Belinda Carlisle, "How Much More" was written in early 1980 during a spate in which Caffey and Wiedlin wrote several other songs including "We Got the Beat" and "Lust to Love". [2] According to Caffey, she started the song and Wiedlin helped her finish it not long after she joined the band. [3] [4] Caffey said that originally the song "was more pop, but we still couldn’t play very well, so we kind of created a new sound: melodic but raw." [4] Caffey said that she was nervous about bringing a pop song to the band since until then the Go-Go's were primarily a punk rock group. [5] According to Caffey:
I brought in a song called "How Much More." I was really scared because it’s super pop and it’s about a relationship. I was like, "Well, I’m either going to get fired from the band, or maybe they’ll really like it!"...Jane [Wiedlin, rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist] immediately jumped on board and helped me finish it. [5]
Fortunately for Caffey, the band did like the song. [5] Carlisle said that she loved the song the first time she heard it, but it sounded even better after producer Paul Wexler recorded it for the single. [2]
San Francisco Examiner writer Michael Goldberg noted its lyrics as among several of the Go-Go's early songs that are about "romance and love – and could easily have been written a few decades [earlier]." [6] As an example, Goldberg used the lines "Every night I see you walking/Walking by, walking by/You hold your head so close to hers/I could cry, yeah, I could cry/I want to be that girl tonight." [6]
Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt that on the album version, producer Richard Gottehrer "sounded down the band's rougher edges", making the song resemble early R.E.M. with its combination of hooks and harmonies with "kick and jangle". [7] LiveAbout critic Steve Peake rated "How Much More" as the Go-Go's 2nd best song of the 1980s, calling it "a spirited, guitar-driven new wave classic that bridges the band's raw early work with its later polished pop." [8] Peake particularly praised Caffey's and Wiedlin's guitar playing but said that "it's ultimately the entire ensemble's synergy that turns this song into the band's finest hit single that never was." [8] Classic Rock History critic Emily Fagen rated it as the Go-Go's 10th best song, calling it a "killer track". [9] Trouser Press critic Ira Robbins and Karen Schlosberg referred to it as an "enduring anthem". [10] Daily Hampshire Gazette critic Ken Maiuri noted that this was the song that had gotten him hooked on college radio and taught him that albums had good songs that were not released as singles. [11] Baltimore Sun writer Geoffery Himes regarded the song as a classic comparable to the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back". [12] Music journalist Annie Zaleski said that it "smolders with longing, as well as a bit of jealousy and light self-loathing", citing the line "She's looking good/Just like I would/If it could be me". [13]
"How Much More" was later released on several Go-Go's compilation albums, including Greatest in 1990 and Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's in 1994. [14] [15]
The Go-Go's included "How Much More" in their live concerts in 2000. [2] Carlisle said that "I liked that one reviewer along the way noted how we fell perfectly into sync when we played 'How Much More' and chanted 'How much more can I take before I go crazy, oh yeah! That line could have been a mantra for the band as well as all of us individually, especially me." [2]
"How Much More" was included in the soundtrack of the Broadway musical Head over Heels . [16] New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley noted that "How Much More" was one of the few songs that was sung exuberantly in the play. [16] Daily Beast critic Tim Teeman also specifically praised Bonnie Milligan's performance of the song in his review of the show, saying that:
Milligan’s most glorious moment comes, when furious at everything, she destroys the stage while singing ‘How Much More,’ her volcanic anger temporarily, comically abating as she considers what she should do with the vulnerable contents of a bird cage. [17]
"How Much More" | |
---|---|
Single by Supernova | |
Released | 1996 |
Recorded | 1996 |
Genre | Pop punk |
Label | Sympathy for the Record Industry |
Songwriter(s) |
"How Much More" was released as the sixth single by Orange County pop punk band Supernova, on 7" by Sympathy for the Record Industry in 1996.
CMJ New Music Monthly called the Supernova version "a faithful cover of one of the Go-Go's greatest songs" and noted that "the Supernova men sing it in the original register and preserve the original 'I want to be that girl tonight' hook." [18]
Side A:
Side B:
The Go-Go's were an American all-female rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals, Gina Schock on drums, Kathy Valentine on bass, and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar. They are widely considered the most successful all-female rock band of all time.
Beauty and the Beat is the debut album from California new wave band the Go-Go's. Released July 14, 1981 on the I.R.S. Records label, the album reached number one on Billboard's Top LPs & Tape chart in March 1982, bolstered by its two big Hot 100 hit singles: "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat", released in 1980, but in a different version. After a long and steady climb, Beauty and the Beat reached number one in the album chart dated March 6, 1982, the week before "We Got the Beat" entered the Top Ten of the Hot 100. The album stayed at the top for six consecutive weeks, and ranked second in Billboard's year-end Top 100 of 1982. The LP sold in excess of two million copies, and was RIAA-certified double platinum, qualifying it as one of the most successful debut albums of all time. Critically acclaimed, it has been described as one of the "cornerstone albums of American new wave".
Belinda Joanna Carlisle 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.
Charlotte Irene Caffey 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".
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band The Go-Go's. She is also the drummer and backup vocalist of the rock band The Hex Girls. She also had a successful solo career.
Vacation is the second studio album by American rock band the Go-Go's, released on July 20, 1982, by I.R.S. Records. The album reached number eight on the Billboard 200, and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The title track reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The Go-Go's were riding high at the time of the album's first release, their prospects to all outward appearances looking bright. Future problems were beginning to take shape, as the members' drug use and internal fighting began to escalate.
Kathryn Valentine is an American musician who is the bassist for the pop punk band the Go-Go's. She has maintained a career in music through songwriting, recording, performing and touring as well as additional academic and creative pursuits. Valentine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October 2021 as a member of The Go-Go's.
"Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three.
"Mad About You" is the debut solo single by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was written by Paula Jean Brown, James Whelan and Mitchel Young Evans, and produced by Michael Lloyd for Carlisle's debut solo album Belinda. The single was released in 1986 as a CD single, 7-inch single and a 12-inch single. It was her first hit after leaving the Go-Go's, peaking at number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at number one on the Canadian Singles Chart.
Belinda is the debut studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was released on May 19, 1986 by I.R.S. Records. Carlisle began work on the album in 1985 following the breakup of the Go-Go's, for whom she was the lead singer. The album was supported by four singles, with lead single "Mad About You" peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.
"We Got the Beat" is a song by the American rock band the Go-Go's, written by the group's lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey. The band first recorded the song in 1980 for a single on UK-based Stiff Records, and later rerecorded it for their debut album Beauty and the Beat on I.R.S. Records. The initial single release brought the Go-Go's underground credibility during their first UK tour and in the band's hometown of Los Angeles. The first version reached No. 35 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart due to its popularity in clubs as an import, and the second version was a top 10 hit in both the United States and Canada. It is considered a new wave classic hit, as well as being the Go-Go's' signature song. The song was named one of "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".
Real is the fifth studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle, released on September 29, 1993, by Virgin Records. The album has a genre of mainly pop songs written by Charlotte Caffey, Thomas Caffey, Ralph Schuckett and half co-written by Carlisle. It was the second Belinda Carlisle album where Rick Nowels had no writing or producing credits and was also Carlisle's first album where she contributed to the producing. The album cover was designed by Tom Dolan and is a departure for Carlisle, who presented a glamorous look on all her previous covers, choosing a "jeans and tee shirt" look instead this time without make-up. The album features a cover version of the Graces' song "Lay Down Your Arms". Former Germs guitarist Pat Smear, as well as Redd Kross members Jeff and Steve McDonald, and The Bangles' Vicki Peterson appear on the record.
Talk Show is the third studio album by the American rock band the Go-Go's, released on the I.R.S. label in 1984. Although some critics considered it an inspired return to form after their second album Vacation, other than the No. 11 hit single "Head over Heels", the album was a relative commercial disappointment, peaking at No. 18 and selling fewer than 500,000 copies. This would be the last all-original album by the group until 2001's God Bless 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.
Frosted was an American pop punk band, founded by ex-Go-Go's guitarist and singer Jane Wiedlin in 1995. The band was so-named because "it sounds sweet". The letters S and T were capitalised in tribute to Star Trek, one of Wiedlin's favourite TV shows. They released one album in 1996.
God Bless the Go-Go's is the fourth and final studio album by the American rock band the Go-Go's, released on May 15, 2001. It was their first studio album after a lengthy hiatus, and was released 17 years after the band's previous album Talk Show was released in 1984.
"Head over Heels" is a song by the all-female pop rock/new wave band the Go-Go's, released in 1984 as the first single from their third studio album, Talk Show. The song was written by band members Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine, and produced by English record producer Martin Rushent. The Go-Gos' rhythm guitarist Jane Wiedlin has cited "Head over Heels" as her favorite Go-Go's song, describing it as "just a classic. Like a little pop truffle of chocolate that's just completely delicious."
Tangled is the third studio album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1990 on EMI Records. It was also her third solo album after leaving new wave group The Go-Go's. The album was produced by Peter Collins, with the track "99 Ways" being co-produced with Andy Hill.
"Yes or No" is a song by the American rock band the Go-Go's, from their 1984 album Talk Show. The song was co-written by the Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin and Ron and Russell Mael of the Los Angeles band Sparks.
Something for the Rest of Us is the ninth studio album by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls. It was released on August 28, 2010, in Australia and on August 31 in North America through Warner Bros. Records. The recording process took place during the spring to fall of 2009 in the GCR Audio studio in Buffalo and Paramount Studios as well as "the Ark" in Los Angeles, with producer Tim Palmer. A single had been originally slated to be released in November 2009 with an album release in February 2010, but the band went back into the studio in January 2010. According to lead singer and guitarist John Rzeznik, this was done to make further improvements on what they had previously thought had been a finished record. Several producers were brought in to assist on the production process, including Butch Vig, John Fields, Paul David Hager and Rob Cavallo. Something for the Rest of Us is the third Goo Goo Dolls studio album that Cavallo has produced. When asked about the length of time between albums, Rzeznik admitted it was a mix of songwriting issues as well as taking time out for personal reasons; "I wanted to really dig deep and there are a million songs I threw away, like, “Nah, it's not good enough. I wanna do something different. I wanna do something better, go deeper. I also wanted to have a life with my girlfriend for a while. I owed it to her to spend some time with her and be normal and be in one place. That was kind of important." In one of the Ustream sessions, Robby revealed that the album would have twelve songs and "Real" is not among them. In late May, John announced that "Home" would be the first single and was released onto radio and iTunes stores on June 8, 2010.