"Music and archaeology have always been my two passions," Carlisle said in a recent phone interview. "Now that I'm slowing down in music, I'm pursuing archaeology a little bit more."

Carlisle, who just turned 39, is filming a 26-episode documentary with maverick archaeologist David Hatcher-Childress. The as-yet-untitled series will air on British television in early 1998.

"I'm the student-slash-celebrity that asks questions about these megaliths," said Carlisle, who lives in London with her film producer husband, Morgan Mason, and their 5-year-old son, James. "I ask the questions in laymen's terms so people can understand them. It's really amazing. I just got back from a big dig in Korea."

It doesn't take much digging to figure out Carlisle's spot in music history. As lead singer of the Go-Go's, she was part of the first all-female band to top the Billboard album charts. The group dissolved in 1985 after three albums that sold more than 7 million copies. They re-formed briefly in 1990, then again three years ago in an attempt to capitalize on IRS Records' two-CD "Return to the Valley of the Go-Go's" retrospective. But the reunion ended almost as soon as it started.

"I think all of us felt that it was better to leave things alone," Carlisle said. "We didn't want to cheapen the legacy of that band. It was great for the time, but we all have our own lives and families now."

Carlisle is now promoting "A Woman & a Man," her sixth solo album and first for Miles Copeland's new Ark 21 label. The signing represents yet another reunion for Carlisle, who was signed by Copeland to IRS while a member of the Go-Go's.

"Miles has a track record with me," Carlisle said. "With pop not being in vogue, it's hard for artists like me to get an album released. So it was great to sign with someone who was enthusiastic about working with me."

While David Trickle's lavish production mirrors some of Carlisle's previous recordings, "A Woman & a Man" also takes a step forward by presenting Carlisle in a more sophisticated pop setting. Spearheaded by the lush single "In Too Deep," much of the material on the ballad-heavy album is in sharp contrast to bubbly Carlisle hits like "Mad About You," "Heaven Is a Place on Earth," and "I Get Weak."

"Every album takes its shape as you record the tracks," Carlisle said. "So this time we ended up with something that was a little more adult and mature."

Standout tracks include the string-laden "Love in the Key of C" and the peppy "Always Breaking My Heart," a song written and co-produced by Roxette's Per Gessle that reprises the Go-Go's sound.

Carlisle's favorite track is "California," a biographical account of the singer's departure from her native California five years ago. The song gave Carlisle the opportunity to work with Brian Wilson, whose layered background vocals appear on the track. Wilson arranged and recorded his performance himself.

"It was amazing and debilitating," Carlisle said. "It was impossible to work after watching him do what makes him such a genius. You can't follow that."

Carlisle and her Go-Go's band mates had trouble following their own success after their debut album, "Beauty and the Beat," reached the top of the Billboard Albums Chart early in 1982. The album, which yielded the hits "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat," spent six weeks in the No. 1 position. According to Carlisle, it was a level of success no one in the band was prepared for.

"We didn't expect that at all," Carlisle said. "Our expectation was to make a record, sell maybe 100,000 copies, and be cool. All of a sudden it exploded and people were dressing like me."

Carlisle took pride in her group's legacy this summer through the all-female Lilith Tour. Although none of the Go-Go's were on the bill, she feels the group played a role in the tour's success.

"The Go-Go's definitely opened doors for women," Carlisle said. "I hope people remember that."