God Bless the Go-Go's

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.

God Bless the Go-Go's
Studio album by the Go-Go's
Released	May 15, 2001 (2001-05-15)
Recorded	2000–2001
Studio	Sound City and Sound Image, except "Here You Are" at Moodus Noise and Sunset Sound Recorders (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Pop punk pop rock
Length	45:11
Label	Beyond Music
Producer	Paul Q. Kolderie Sean Slade Rick Neigher
The Go-Go's chronology
VH1 Behind the Music: Go-Go's Collection (2000) God Bless the Go-Go's (2001)
Alternative cover
Deluxe edition cover
Singles from God Bless the Go-Go's
"Unforgiven" Released: March 11, 2001 "Apology" Released: August 9, 2001 (promo)

While many of the band's earlier hits had been written within the band, the band worked with other artists for this album; songwriters that contributed to this album included Billie Joe Armstrong, Jill Sobule and Susanna Hoffs, among other musicians.

Critical reception and chart performance

God Bless the Go-Go's received a score of 68 out of 100 from Metacritic based on generally favorable reviews from critics.^[1] Allmusic wrote, "Every bit as Go-Go's, that is, as their non-hits and less remarkable material. While the Go-Go's sound is intact, there is not a "We Got the Beat" or a "Head Over Heels" to be found. It is feasible that in this age of pop rebirth, the Go-Go's decided it was now or never."^[2] Rolling Stone wrote "The album doesn't attempt to update the band's sound with hip-hop moves or electronic frippery, for which God should bless 'em, indeed. The girls' hold on the current pop world remains so strong that Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong co-writes a song ("Unforgiven") in impeccable Go-Go's drag."^[3]

The album sold fewer copies than the previous Go-Go's studio albums and peaked on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 57.^[4]

Two singles were released from the album; "Unforgiven" and "Apology."

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(68/100)[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	(favorable)[5]
Billboard	(favorable)[6]
Blender	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)[8]
PopMatters	[9]
Q	[1]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Spin	(6/10)[1]
Uncut	[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"La La Land"	Charlotte Caffey Kathy Valentine	3:01
2.	"Unforgiven"	Caffey Jane Wiedlin Billie Joe Armstrong	3:23
3.	"Apology"	Valentine Heatherton	3:57
4.	"Stuck in My Car"	Caffey Wiedlin Peter Stuart	3:36
5.	"Vision of Nowness"	Valentine Craig Ross	2:55
6.	"Here You Are"	Caffey Wiedlin Jim Vallance	4:01
7.	"Automatic Rainy Day"	Gina Schock Wiedlin Steve Plunkett	3:17
8.	"Kissing Asphalt"	Caffey	2:49
9.	"Insincere"	Caffey Wiedlin	3:45
10.	"Sonic Superslide"	Caffey Belinda Carlisle Schock Valentine Wiedlin	3:33
11.	"Throw Me a Curve"	Caffey Carlisle Schock Valentine Wiedlin	3:11
12.	"Talking Myself Down"	Caffey Wiedlin Susanna Hoffs	3:55
13.	"Daisy Chain"	Wiedlin Valentine Jill Sobule	3:45

International editions bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Think I Need Sleep" (UK only)	Caffey Anna Waronker	3:30
2.	"King of Confusion" (Japan only)	Caffey Valentine Bill Bartell	3:07

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of God Bless the Go-Go's.^[10]

Band members

• Belinda Carlisle – lead vocals
• Charlotte Caffey – lead guitar, piano, backing vocals
• Jane Wiedlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Kathy Valentine – bass, backing vocals
• Gina Schock – drums

Additional musicians

• Billie Joe Armstrong – additional guitar and vocals on "Unforgiven"
• Rami Jaffee – Mellotron and Chamberlin on "Here You Are"
• Peggy Baldwin – cello on "Here You Are"
• Roger Manning – Mellotron on "Daisy Chain"

Production

• Paul Q. Kolderie, Sean Slade – producers, engineers, mixing at Record Plant, Fort Apache Studios, Magic Shop Studios and Record One
• Rick Neigher – producer and engineer on track 6
• Mike Shipley – mixing of tracks 1–4
• Marc DeSisto – mixing of track 6 at Skip Saylor, Los Angeles
• Tom Weir – mixing of track 13
• Mike King, Matt Levella, Chris Reynolds, Jaymz Hardy-Martin III – assistants
• Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc

Charts

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200[4]	57
U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums[4]	17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[11]	40
UK Album Sales (OCC)[12]	46