Released October 1985 (1985-10) Studio The Complex Length 45:23 | Recorded 1985 Genre Pop rock, new wave Label I.R.S. Records | |
Jane Wiedlin is the debut album by Jane Wiedlin, released in 1985 on I.R.S. Records. It was her first solo album after leaving new wave group The Go-Go's. The track "My Traveling Heart" dealt with Wiedlin's feelings about the breakup of the band.
"Blue Kiss" was released as the lead single, reaching 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 30 on Hot Dance Club Play. The album itself reached 127 on the Billboard 200.
Critical reception
In Rolling Stone, Joyce Millman wrote: "Wiedlin's taste for the offbeat and her punchy pop know-how as well as the record's pinball-arcade bustle of guitars, synths and sound effects keep things fizzing. Wiedlin's thin, childlike voice is a problem, however; she doesn't have much range or lung power, and when she strains to shout, she detracts from otherwise first-rate songs. But Wiedlin has the savvy to know when and how to dish out a joke at her own expense".
Stewart Mason on allmusic states: "Aside from the unfortunately slick mid-'80s production, Jane Wiedlin's 1985 solo debut is probably the best solo album by any ex-member of the Go-Go's. The singles 'Modern Romance' and 'Blue Kiss' really should have been hits (they're certainly better than most of Belinda Carlisle's solo work), and the best of the album tracks trade the pertness of the Go-Go's for a slightly more mature, world-weary vibe".