Benatar, Pat

It's taken six years for another Pat Benatar record to be released (not counting a plethora of live and greatest hits albums which I ignored). My wife and I went to see Pat Benatar in concert on Aug 9th 2003, and it was wonderful. They had her new album for sale (when we were at the concert, hadn't yet been released). So I picked it up. Listened to it in the car on the way home, and on first listen, there's quite a lot of really good stuff on it. Go, Girl, Have it All, are amongst the highlights. A definite must buy - it's quite bloody good!

Update 1: As I update this in October 2004, I have to say this album is a great mix of her new adult rock style, with some smatterings of her older styles thrown in. Not to say she's returned to the 80's but this is more a rock album than Innamorata is. Right up there with Innamorata, in my opinion.

Update 2: As I update this yet again in April 2007, this album has grown stronger. When most people think of Pat Benatar, they think of what they remember from the 1980's. Now there's nothing wrong with the music from then, but remembering someone as an 80's artist pigenholes them into what they can be perceived in doing. Go destroys that. As some of the other reviews here have stated, Go is an ignored album. Ask your average rock fan if they have this, they'll likely say no, followed by "She's still making records", and then most likely think about the "80's stereotype". That's a damn shame. I run a website for the band Black Sabbath. I point that out, because I should, by the stereotype be the last person to love this album. The heck with that - great music is great music. This is a brilliantly strong record from start to finish. There's no filler here, and I cannot recommend this album strongly enough. It's hard to pick out individual tracks for praise because I like so many of them, but if I had to, my favorite is "Brokenhearted". But it's all good.

By far Pat's best album. Innamorata is the culmination of her musical progression that started back in 1987 with the Wide Awake album (and even further back with the song We Belong from Tropico). This album is frickin brilliant - not a weak song on here anywhere. A very beautiful album, definitely makes you think well beyond just the music - one of the most enjoyable albums I own.

Pat leaves her older style of rock music behind after returning to rock music. This has some very wonderful, very adult music on it - absolutely nothing like Heartbreaker & Hit me with your Best Shot here. Wonderful solid album. Lots of greatness, but a particular highlight for me is "Everybody Lay Down", along with "Disconnected" and "Somebody's Baby".

Probably the most different album Pat has ever done (or will do). This is not a rock album, this is a jazz/blues album (that's what I call it, anyway). I know this album didn't do well, but that's a shame, because most people can't get past the fact that someone would do an album that's is an absolute different animal than what they're known for. Great stuff here, too.

My wife and I saw Pat Benatar live in 2003 right before the Go album was released, and they hit one song from this album. I have to say it was one of the highlights of the night live. Give this album a chance. You might find you really surprise it.

A good way for me to cover the earlier Pat Benatar albums. It's not your typical greatest hits album (at least not at the time) - it was one of the first to include new songs on a GH package. A common practice now, but when this came out, it was a new thing.

The start of Pat Benatar's climb from her early music into her far more sophisticated material. This album was current when my wife and I first met in the mid/late 80's, so a lot of these songs have an emotional tie to them because of that. They're quite good too - but when I listen, I have my own meanings to the songs based on what my (then) girlfriend (now my wife) and I made of them. It appears to be out of print - that's too bad.