Talk Show

In a decision that would ultimately rip the band apart, The Go-Go’s attempted on their final album to appeal to both the punk fan base from which they had originally emerged, and the Eighties radio landscape that had made them Top 40 icons. Producer Martin Rushent — known for his work with British art-punks The Buzzcocks and the Stranglers — was brought in to bring an edge back to The Go-Go’s, but a spiky sheen couldn’t disguise the fact that Talk Show fully embraced the adult-oriented pop the group had hinted at on Vacation. Despite its personality crisis (and one of the Eighties’ most embarrassing album covers) Talk Show catches the group in top form on songs like “I’m The Only One,” “Beneath the Blue Sky,” and “Turn To You.” And while one can hear Belinda Carlisle bordering her future as an AOR staple on “Capture the Light” and “You Thought,” “Head Over Heels” might be the group’s most sublime synthesis of sharp edges and pillowy pop.