Heaven on Earth is the second solo studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle. It was released on October 5, 1987, by MCA Records. Three singles reached the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100, including the number-one single and Carlisle's signature song "Heaven Is a Place 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. "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", 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 cover "I Feel Free" 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" (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", which would become big hits for Boy Meets Girl and Carrie Underwood, 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 Charlotte Caffey's group The Graces covered "Should I Let You In?" for their 1989 album Perfect View.
Critical reception
AllMusic's Alex Henderson retrospectively 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' show that the Angeleno still had plenty of spirit".
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Heaven on Earth.
Musicians
Belinda Carlisle – lead vocals, backing vocals, air guitar
Charles Judge – keyboards, acoustic piano, drum programming
Rick Nowels – keyboards, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, drum programming, backing vocals Thomas Dolby – additional keyboards Rhett Lawrence – Fairlight CMI Dann Huff – electric guitars John McCurry – electric guitars Michael Landau – additional guitars Tim Pierce – additional guitars John Pierce – bass Kenny Aronoff – drums Curly Smith – drums Jimmy Bralower – additional percussion Paulinho da Costa – additional percussion Beth Anderson – backing vocals Charlotte Caffey – backing vocals Donna Davidson – backing vocals Donna De Lory – backing vocals Edie Lehmann – backing vocals Michelle Phillips – backing vocals Ellen Shipley – backing vocals
Production and Technical
Rick Nowels – producer, arrangements
Steve MacMillan – recording, mixing
Stacy Baird – additional engineer
Robert Feist – additional engineer
Shelly Yakus – mixing
Charles Judge – mix assistant
Marc DeSisto – assistant engineer
Matthew Freeman – assistant engineer, production assistant
Clark Germain – assistant engineer
Rob Jacobs – assistant engineer
Ethan Jones – assistant engineer
Brian Scheuble – assistant engineer
Joe Schiff – assistant engineer
Bob Vogt – assistant engineer
Stephen Marcussen – 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