After a brief Go-Go's reunion, Belinda Carlisle returned to her solo career in 1996 with A Woman and a Man. And with her return to her solo career came the abandonment of any punky pop hooks -- after all, she had outgrown that nonsense. So, A Woman and a Man is a measured, mature collection of adult pop, with cool keyboards and subtle arrangements that often make the record sound like background music. However, Carlisle has rarely been in better voice, and the music is certainly appealing, even if it's a little too relaxed. A Woman and a Man demonstrates that Carlisle should be able to grow old gracefully, and that was a possibility that looked unlikely around the time of Real.