I have no idea when or why I bought this LP ( although I can see I paid £5.99 for it ! ). I can't say I was ever a fan of Pat Benatar although I will admit to quite liking "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and "Love Is A Battlefield". Looking at the album sleeve I would say I would expect to also remember "We Belong" and "Invincible" but the rest is a blank. Of course I remember "If You Think You Know How To Love Me" as a big hit for Smokie in the 1970s but I can't think why Pat Benatar recorded it.
Going onto YouTube, one problem was that the full album of Best Shots wasn't there, perhaps because there have been so many Pat Benatar compliation albums ? As a result I needed to play each song individually.
The first thing to say is that I enjoyed listening to the songs more than I thought I would, and I even played several songs again ! Some of the songs clearly should have done better than their UK chart positions, even if they did much better in the US. For instance, I was gobsmacked to see that "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was not even a hit in the UK, when I thought it was her most famous song. It was also a surprise to see that her highest chart placing in the UK was only number 17.
The songs on this compliation demonstrate Benatar's great vocal range and her powerful delivery, and she could teach a lesson or two to the current best selling female singers. In the 1980s she was a pioneer as a female singer performing US radio friendly, arena rock anthems whilst being safe and not too subversive.
The LP contains all the features of 1980s mainstream rock, great vocals, nice bass riffs and guitar hero solos. There are a couple of memorable songs, a lot of good, solid numbers and a couple of terrible songs.
As soon as "Shadows Of The Night" started I remembered it, being a little slower than most of the songs here and with a decent chorus. The line "You can cry tough baby" reminded me of the Lils Lofgren song......
Similarly I instantly remembered "Sex As A Weapon" and its great hook, although I never realised that it was a protest song about the way she was marketed earlier in her career, and "Stop" should have been added to the start of the title ! At times her vocal here sounds a little like Annie Lennox, particularly when hitting high notes, and I have to say she looks so much better with the pixie cut and being soberly dressed rather than the skin-tight outfits !
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" is a mid-tempo number with a great riff, and "Love Is A Battlefield" has a good beat. The video though, has an embarassing Michael Jackson "Beat It" group dancing best avoided ! I liked "Invincible" which has more good bass, a nice chorus and a particularly satisfying fade at the end of the song.
If these are the high points then there a a couple of low points on the LP. In particular, "If You Know How To Love Me" is an awful cover, a rocked-up version where Smokie's acoustic version is so much better. Chris Norman's vocal is more suited to the song and Benatar's version suffers from the lack of vocal harmonies and an unsuitable pace and tone. I can safely say that this version would not go down too well in Bulgaria, where Smokie were hugh when I went there in 1999 !
"You Better Run" was apparently the second ever song played on MTV, but it is mediocre and forgettable. "Treat Me Right" is solid but nothing special but there is a decent guitar solo. The guitar at the beginning sounds a little like Blondie's "Atomic".
"Fire and Ice" has a nice bass riff at the beginning with a hint of AC/DC's "Touch Too Much" and has a decent chorus, but it could easily be a song by any one of a number of 1980s bands eg Europe, Bon Jovi, Boston, Foreigner, Journey......you get the picture ! There is a great vocal though.
"Heartbreaker" has a good guitar riff but the "You're a heartbreaker" refrain is a bit of a let down, and the guitar solo is predictable.
"We Belong" is nice, with a slow tempo verse and a rising chorus, althoug the child choir isn't really necessary, and "We Live For Love" is an OK song, sung higher than the other songs here, demonstrating Benatar's classical training.
In summary, this LPs justifies Pat Benatar's importance in the history of female singers, and is worth a listen.
Track Listing :
1. Hit Me With Your Best Shot ( 1980 - )
2. Love Is A Battlefield ( 1983 - No 17 )
3. We Belong ( 1984 - No : 22 )
4. We Live for Love ( 1980 - )
5. Sex As A Weapon ( 1985 - No : 67 )
6. Invincible ( 1985 - No : 53 )
7. Shadows Of The Night ( 1982 - No : 50 )
8. Heartbreaker ( 1979 - )
9. Fire And Ice ( 1981 - )
10. Treat Me Right ( 1980 - )
11. If You Think You Know How To Love Me ( 1979 - )
12. You Better Run ( 1980 - )
Released 1987
UK Chart Position 6
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