Real (Belinda Carlisle album) shirt" look instead this time without make-up. The album features a cover version of The Graces pop rock song "Lay Down Your Arms". Allmusic reviewed the album as suffering from a lack of memorable songs and while the record sounded good, it had nothing to support the state-of-the-art production. It was also a departure from her previous solo albums, it has more in common with Belinda's The Go-Go's sound rather than her own, typical, solo pop themes. Dealing with what Belinda termed the 'dark side of relationships,' the album is mature and intentionally lacks the slick production of her other
Belinda Carlisle the Stooges' "Raw Power" in a record store, an album which she credited as a gateway exposing her to punk and art rock acts such as the Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, Roxy Music, and the Sex Pistols. In a 2013 interview, Carlisle stated that despite having recorded an abundance of it throughout her career, she "didn't really listen to pop music," and had recently been inspired by jazz artists such as Miles Davis. In 1986, Carlisle married political operative and film producer Morgan Mason, son of actor James Mason. He made appearances in Carlisle's music videos "Mad About You"