Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
It is not just people that have a history, a story worth remembering, it is the very fabric of a place, a building and even the structure of art and the thoughts that go into it as well.
When history on all fronts collide it can make for an impressive evening of memory, a kaleidoscope of colour and fantasy rolled together; it is a history which dominates and fights like a boxer scrapping for the money in which to build a better life for, a harassed mother to be finding the strength to deliver a child into a world. For between these two states of human emotion comes life and one that can only be tempered by the sound of an artist calling through time and being appreciated with the full extent of both Heaven and Earth.
The blink of an eye can last longer than most careers; it is a shame of life that for the most part we neglect the artist, only lauding them when the dust in their features has turned grey and cold. Quite often we forget what has thrilled us until it too late. As the sky turned October cold, slate grey and rain filled with expectation and damp desire, a memory of pop/rock prowess made her way to the Olympia in Liverpool and found a way to shake off the blues.
A queen of the age and across any age, Belinda Carlisle still tours, still records incredibly precise and intense albums, yet doesn’t come to Liverpool all that often, that blink of an eye almost rapid, coy, a wink to the audience with a loving apology which can only be taken as sign that for an hour or so, the Olympia will forget its history, the wrestling and the boxing matches consigned to a distant past for the night and instead a 30th anniversary celebrated in full dramatic poise.
Heaven and Earth, some people will move both for the experience and for some Heaven on Earth is just the starting point to a great night out with one of the undisputed queens of the pop world.
Although the artist had been warned to not dance for the worry of aggravating an injury, sometimes you just have to go with the mood, the sway and as Ms. Carlisle performed songs from her distinguished solo career, the audience rapidly forgave the time she has not come to Liverpool and partied with them.
In songs such as I Get Weak, Circle in the Sand, Should I Let You In, Leave A Light On, (We Want) The Same Thing, the fantastic cover of Cream’s I Feel Free and the ultimately groove ridden Heaven Is A Place on Earth, what came across between band and crowd was respect, a blinding passion to place the context of history and the chart dominance of the time down again on record. A reminder, if one was needed, of just what Belinda Carlisle bought to the stage, to the charts; to once again move Heaven and Earth.
Ian D. Hall