🎶 ALBUM VAULT #251 🎶
The Concert Journey continues…
Pat Benatar – Tropico — 7/10
💿 Original Black Vinyl
I was lucky enough to see Pat Benatar last November at the Allstate Arena, opening for Bryan Adams.
WHAT A HELL OF A SHOW.
Seriously, after all these years, Pat can still absolutely bring it.
And what a legacy.
Pat Benatar helped kick down a LOT of doors for women in rock. That voice could go from beautiful to absolutely nuclear in about two seconds, and Neil Giraldo was right there helping create that unmistakable sound. Together they won four Grammys, piled up hit after hit, and were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Tropico came along in 1984 and was a little different.
This wasn’t quite the full-throttle Pat of “Heartbreaker” or “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” She and Neil started stretching things out here, going a little more atmospheric, melodic and pop.
And then there’s…
“We Belong.”
What a song.
It hit #5, and honestly it’s one of those records that doesn’t seem to age.
Then you’ve got “Ooh Ooh Song” — #36, plus “Painted Desert,” “Diamond Field,” “Temporary Heroes,” “Love in the Ice Age” and “A Crazy World Like This.”
The album itself reached #14 and went Platinum.
Not my favorite Pat Benatar album, but there’s a lot to like here, especially hearing her and Giraldo starting to push outside the hard-rock box people had put them in.
And seeing her live all these years later?
DAMN.
She earned every bit of that legacy.
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