Retro Spins: Pat Benatar - Seven The Hard Way

Today I'm checking off my last Pat Benatar album of the 80's. Though not officially her last of the decade, I've already played through 1988's Wide Awake In Dreamland.

Benatar noted that her sixth studio album, Seven The Hard Way cost the most out of all her releases to date but sold the least. It would become her first in the USA to no reach platinum status, selling "only" 600,000 units. It did, however, continue her trend of platinum albums in Canada. Despite being less popular in the US, the album would go on to be another major success for her, spawning the hits Invincible (Theme From The Legend Of Billie Jean), and Sex As A Weapon, peaking at number ten and thirty-eight, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100.

Things return to a more hard rock sound, and with it comes the aforementioned hits, which are the tunes I bought Seven The Hard Way For. Though that's not all to be found here.

I really dug the jazzy and atmospheric Walking In The Underground. It kind of conjures up images of Jim Henson's Labyrinth for me. I'm not sure exactly why, but I'm going to go with it.

Shortly after its release, Donnie Nossov, and Myron Grombacher would depart to work with Lita Ford for her breakthrough album, Lita. However, Grombacher would return by 1988 for Wide Awake In Dreamland.

Red Vision, though not her best work, does offer a unique punchy industrial hard rock sound, all led by a crunchy guitar. Meanwhile, things go to the opposite spectrum with the haunting lyrics of Run Between The Raindrops.

Prior to this last studio album, Benatar would release the massive selling Best Shots, the 1987 compilation featuring a slew of hits, coupled with a select variety of live versions. Much like her prior albums, it would fly into platinum status.

She's continued to release albums, being one of the few artists of the era to survive the 90's but stopped in 2003 with her latest release to date, Go. Though she continues to tour, she announced in 2022 that she would stop performing her hit, Hit Me With Your Best Shot. While I respect her ability to do that, I guess I just don't see the point to virtue signal when you're seventy-two years old, and let's face it, clinging to the past for your bread and butter. Just sing the songs the fans want to hear. I'm looking at you, Rolling Stones!

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
November 26, 1983

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
November 26, 1988