Jane Wiedlin is the debut album by Jane Wiedlin

Jane Wiedlin

Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:...

, released in 1985 on I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records

I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...

. It was her first solo album

Solo album

A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...

 after leaving New Wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 group The Go-Go's

The Go-Go's

The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....

. The track "My Traveling Heart" dealt with Wiedlin's feelings about the breakup of the band.

"Blue Kiss" was released as the lead single

Lead single

A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...

, reaching 77 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 and 30 on Hot Dance Club Play. The album itself reached 127 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

.

Critical response

In Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

, 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".

Track listing

1. "Blue Kiss
   Blue Kiss (song)
   "Blue Kiss" is a song written by Jane Wiedlin and Randell Kirsch and performed by Jane Wiedlin, the rhythm guitar player of the all-female rock band The Go-Go's...
   
   " (Randall Kirsch, Wiedlin) – 3:27
2. "Goodbye Cruel World" (Wiedlin, Michael Lord) – 3:49
3. "Sometimes You Really Get On My Nerves" (Wiedlin, Michael Lord) – 3:36
4. "East Meets West" (Wiedlin) – 3:36
5. "Somebody's Going to Get Into This House" (Randall Kirsch) – 3:43
6. "Forever" (Wiedlin, Michael Lord) – 5:08
7. "Modern Romance" (Wiedlin, Kieffer) – 5:15
8. "I Will Wait For You" (Kevin Hunter) – 3:47
9. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (Wiedlin) – 4:43
10. "Where Can We Go" (Wiedlin, Kevin Hunter) – 4:12
11. "My Travelling Heart" (Wiedlin) – 4:07