With 'Live Your Life Be Free,' Belinda Carlisle maintains her standing as the high priestess of sugar pop. This, her fourth solo album since retiring as head cheerleader of the Go-Go's, suggests that while her vocal technique has improved, her taste in songs has changed very little. Her 1987 blockbuster Heaven on Earth seems to have been the platinum standard by which she has measured her more recent endeavors; her passion for fluffy dance music has clearly hamstrung her.

Producer Rick Nowels wrote or co-wrote seven of the eleven tracks, which possibly explains Live Your Life's homogeneity. The songs are almost uniformly arranged to offset Carlisle's buoyant voice against clanging electric guitars and angelic backing vocals. On several misbegotten occasions, lush strings are added – the violin and cello on "Little Black Book" spread a Muzak gloss on a song that has already badly squandered Dave Alvin's prodigious guitar playing. The gleefulness of the title cut and "World of Love" recalls both the chirpy danceability and the utter meaninglessness of the golden age of Abba: They are fun, energetic, undemanding noodlings on the wonder of love. Every track, in fact, is a love song, a problem for the listener looking for depth or diversity. Carlisle's biggest shortcoming, however, is a failure to impart any real feeling to the words she sings: "You're Nothing Without Me" lacks the acid edge of conviction this sort of sentiment requires. Each song, regardless of the lyrics, is rendered as happy and uplifting, the aural equivalent of a smile button.

The most worthwhile songs are those that deviate from the prevailing formula. "Emotional Highway" stands out as a poignant ballad supported by a dark, Gothic surf guitar, and "Half the World" is a lovely tune, featuring the ghostly additions of mandolin and oboe. But these are the exceptions. In the end, Carlisle merely stirs up a nostalgia for carefree girl groups singing gooey love songs – giving Live Your Life a certain giddy, pointless coherence. (RS 622)

DEBORAH KIRK