Hey Dialophiles, today we turn the spotlight
to a quintet of ladies who really know how to rock! The first (and so far,
only!) all-female act that wrote and played their own songs to top the
Billboard album charts, we proudly introduce Belinda, Charlotte, Jane, Gina, and
Kathy, a.k.a. The Go-Gos, and their 1981 album track “Lust to Love”.
“It used
to be the fun was in the capture and kill, in another place and time, I did it
all for thrills.”
The fourth track on side one of their debut
smash LP “Beauty and the Beat”,
“Lust…” features a female narrator recounting that she used to pursue physical
relationships for fun, then would split the scene as soon as the guy’s
attentions turned toward real emotion. But now she laments that the tables have
since turned, as she has met a guy whom SHE has fallen in love with, and now HE
holds all the power in their relationship.
“Love me
and I’ll leave you, I told you at the start, I had no idea that you would tear
my world apart.”
Sung by lead vocalist Belinda Carlisle, with a
slight “echo” effect enhancing her vocals, and featuring Charlotte Caffey on
lead guitar and keyboards, Gina Schock on drums, bass work by Kathy Valentine,
and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar, “Lust…” was written by Caffey and Wiedlin.
It’s interesting to hear such a
stereotypically male point of view toward relationships (the “ol’ love ‘em and
leave ‘em” routine) being championed by a woman, and it echoes a similar
sentiment found in The Marvelettes’ 1966 soul classic “The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game”, in which another woman falls
deep in love when her intentions were just to casually fool around.
Despite loving the artists and music of the ‘80s,
I rarely owned the iconic LPs of the time. Oh sure, I had MJ’s “Thriller”, and Hall & Oates’ “H20” (which I believe were birthday
gifts), but I mainly grew my collection by taping songs off the radio. Hey, I
was a seven year old kid who had an allowance, but that money went toward
Matchbox cars, and visits to the arcade. You have to prioritize your spending
even at that young age, you know! As a result, most album cuts passed me by on
their initial release, only for me to happily discover them later on in life.
“And
you’re the one to blame… I used to know my name, but I’ve lost control of the
game…”
Once I snagged The Go-Gos 1990 compilation “Greatest” for all their awesome hit
singles (on cassette, no doubt!), I found myself returning rather frequently to
this previously-unknown-to-me album track which soon surpassed even “Vacation” and “We Got The
Beat” as must-listens. Give it a spin yourselves, Dialophiles, and enjoy the
catchy pop stylings of The Go-Gos first hand!
“Lust to
love… was the last thing I was dreaming of… and now all I want is just to love.
Lust has turned to love.”
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