The Go-Go's: Return To The Valley Of The Go-Go's : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Coming virtually out of nowhere, Liz Phair's 1993 release, "Exile in Guyville," served undeniable notice: Here was an auteur emerged fully formed. Punky and folky in equal measure but mainly rocking, Phair arrived with anger and humor, conceptual ingenuity and phat pop skill. "Whip-Smart" continues Phair's wild ride, its 14 songs a cornucopia of licks and kicks. "Supernova" is the immediate hit, a bonkers valentine ("You're an angel with wings afire/A flying, giant friction blast"), but as "Whip-Smart" uncoils, every cut gives pleasure. Phair's first buzz came from the fact that this woman celebrates sex with a funky, graphic realism, and she has backed off from lusting nary a bit. But her stranger ("May Queen") and more somber ("Shane," with "You gotta have fear in your heart," its chilling refrain) work is Phair's real victory.

Predecessors of the loosest sort to Phair, the Go-Go's combined gender breakthrough (by functioning as a Ronettes without Phil Spector) and music-biz smarts (by filling the airwaves with easy, California-dreamin' pop). A 36-cut retrospective might seem a bit of an embarrassment of riches, and, indeed, there's fare that's best left to cultists (live rehearsal bits, for example). But in tracing the band's trajectory from punk ("Johnny Are You Queer?" ) to girl-group glory ("Vacation"), "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's" offers trippy joy in abundance. And of the three cool new songs, "The Whole World Lost Its Head" particularly proves that they haven't lost their touch. It makes you want to pogo all over again.