Fretplay.com Pat Benatar guitar tabs CD reviews Seven the Hard Way

Pat Benatar - Seven the Hard Way Audio CD

Band: Pat Benatar Title: Seven the Hard Way Rating: Release Date: 1990-10-25 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Sex as a Weapon 2: Le Bel Age 3: Walking in the Underground 4: Big Life 5: Red Vision 6: 7 Rooms of Gloom 7: Run Between the Raindrops 8: Invincible (Theme from "The Legend of Billie Jean") 9: Art of Letting Go

Pat Benatar: SEVEN THE HARD WAY (1985)
I felt the title of this album fit perfectly, since, after all, it was her seventh album. In 1985 (the year I was born), Pat Benatar released her seventh album entitled, SEVEN THE HARD WAY. This album is purely amazing. Every song on this album will not disappoint you.

SEX AS A WEAPON
Second single from the album. An awesome song.

LE BEL AGE
Third single from the album. This song is actually my all-time favorite songs from Pat Benatar. I have many favorite songs from Pat, but this one is my personal favorite out of them all.

WALKING IN THE UNDERGROUND
Great song.

BIG LIFE
Great.

RED VISION
Great.

7 ROOMS OF GLOOM
Amazing.

RUN BETWEEN THE RAINDROPS
Great.

INVINCIBLE
First single from the album. Theme from THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN. Great song.

THE ART OF LETTING GO
Amazing.

Turning On The Rock
In between the two albums she had what would unfortunetly be her last top ten hit with "Invincible" from the film The Legend Of Billie Jean. Pat's mild mood of 1984 and her Tropico album was long gone by the time she released Seven The Hard Way in November of 1985. When the new mother Pat wanted to take a bit of time off, Chrysalis called upon her old contract which stipulated she had to make a new album every 9 months or she would forfeit her profits until the new album was completed. Meaning the time she spent to herself, her residual checks from all her previous hits wouldn't go to her. Nice huh? So Pat, angry and forced to make another album headed to the studio with Neil. According to them, everyone involved hates this album but to me I think it's actually quite refreshing after Tropico. There's a new spirit to it all, if Pat was pissed off it only improved her vocals, beginning with the single "Sex As A Weapon" Pat found a song to give her interpretation of modern consumerism and it's reliance on the naked bodies and sex to sell products including her own record company, the critics and perhaps the public didn't buy it and just liked the titalation of it all. It was voted one of the worst singles of all time by some schlub whose only criteria for that was Pat's insistance that it meant more than what it seemed. I think it's one of her more overlooked singles, though I know the video was on MTV all the time and still appears on VH1 a lot. For a more obscure and overlooked single we go to the second track, the absolutely brilliant "Le Bel Age", a rock styled ballad with full on drums, major overdubs of Pat's voice and some great lyrics written by Robert Tepper - "There comes a time when we should see things clear/ free from the innocence/ there is no circumstance too severe. . . Le Bel Age/ only our love will remain/ Le Bel Age/ close to the truth once again" and from that point Pat just keeps singing and singing blowing it out for a full five minutes. From there are three great classic rock songs, full of seether and burning energy "Walking In The Underground" and "Red Vision" are probably two of the darker songs Pat has ever done, in between them is a 3 minute rock gem "Big Life" which was sent to radio for promotion but never did much. The songs are all on the gritty side of the Benatar mobile and the lyrics are dark but to me they make up some of the best stuff she had done up to this point. "Walking" begins with a muffled trumpet blowing before Pat chimes in "Cold sweat/ sweat it out in the land of the midnight sun" while "Red Vision" tells a dirty tale of anger taking over by beginning with a winding guitar and crazed drum roll loop before breaking into a choppy beat and Pat's pissiness, the song has some of my favorite lyrics Pat ever sang, "Mind like a steal trap/ heart like a prison/ with tears of rage you've wept in our red vision". Next up our girl covers the 4 Tops "Seven Rooms Of Gloom" which to me is a fairly obscure Motown song to cover but then I discovered Blondie also covered it and it just brings this whole strange feeling to me, like why are these two bands so connected in my world? Anyhoos, Pat's is the stellar version of my two girls as her voice is full of fire and the mummified horns and grinding guitar and drums makes this thing more horror than desparate love song. If you check on You Tube you can find a live performance of the song that Pat did on MTV Awards in 1985 in a crazy gold wig, but be prepared she rocks the house, and sings live! "Run Between The Raindrops" is a beautiful little song Neil wrote for his new little girl Haley - 'you've got to run between the raindrops if you want to see the sun/ run, run, run between the raindrops/ you're treading water on a river of tears/ and I don't know what to do/ I can take a beating/ but I ain't gonna let it happen to you. . . " Though Pat didn't want to do it, Chrysalis put "Invincible" on the album, which I'm sure helped sell it but Pat, at the time felt it didn't fit in with the rest of the album. Perhaps not, sure the lyrics are full of fire and passion like most of the album but the Mike Chapman production does have a little more melody and less darkness than the rest of Seven The Hard Way but it hardly stands out like a sore thumb or anything and actually moves you into the final cut "The Art Of Letting Go" which is a kind of combination of the dark sounds here and the light pop on Tropico, so it has that sort of "Invincible" type of mass appeal.
.

Pat Continues Down the "Arty" Path, but Gives it a Rock Twist
continuing to forge ahead as artists. This 1985 record heradled Pat's continued commercial decline (marked by the "only platinum" sales of "Tropico"), but found Pat & Co. After the slightly successful, but confusing (for some fans at least) "Tropico", Pat found herself in a corner of sorts. The label wanted another record immediately & she found herself wondering which direction to continue. It was clear that Pat was proud of her rock roots, but had enjoyed the art detour that the "Tropico" project offered.

So, "Seven the Hard Way" was hastily assembled. Infused with the arty experimentalism of "Tropico", but the rock fervor of her previous four albums, "Seven" had a very spontaneous, yet slightly throwaway quality. This isn't a bad thing. Some of Pat & Co. 's freshest material came from this album, look no further than the first three tracks.

"Sex As A Weapon", "Le Bel Age", & "Walking In the Underground" all possesed what some would call her trademark rock grit, but was still showcasing the tight focus of her arty material. These to me are some of Pat's best songs in my opinion.
The almost operatic quality of "Le Bel Age" to the underlying jazz smoulder of "Walking In the Underground" found Pat trying to find a middle ground, & doing it successfully.

The core of the record however finds the record's shortcoming's exposed. The three middle tracks tend to blend together, sounding like ideas or moreso polished jam sessions committed to tape, which gives the mid-section a bit of a sagging quality. Good ideas mind you, but ones that never really reach fruition. Pat recovers with the surprising uplifting soul infused "Run Between the Raindrops" which ranks as one of her most endearing ballads. Which moves me to my next point: Pat's voice.

Pat always sounds so enthused & really into the material she is given. I really like how she understands how to manipulate her voice to make it emulate emotion without sounding too dramatic. She captures anger, love, passion altogether in an almost seamless whole.

Overall, "Seven the Hard Way" finds Pat & Co. able to put together a rather strong album under hectic circumstances, which resulted in some of their freshest material. Even with the weak mid-section, the other songs still manage to up this typical 'four star' album to 'five star' status. The follow-up 1988's "Wide Awake In Dreamland" had more of a planned 'arena rock' vibe to it. I highly recommend this to 1980's music freaks, rock fans, & pop fans because there is something here for everyone.

This is one of my all-time favorite Pat records, along with "Tropico", "In the Heat of the Night", & "True Love". Definitely prime choice Pat Benatar. Remember! Don't buy the combo pack of "Tropico/Seven the Hard Way" the songs are edited from their fuller album versions! .

Some great songs, some good songs, some weak songs
The album was Benatar's seventh release (thus the title - "Seven the Hard Way"). Pat Benatar's 1986 album, "Seven the Hard Way" was an album that would mark the last of her major hits. Benatar had put together a string of solid albums during the 1980s that would yield several successful and well-known singles. These albums were: "In the Heat of the Night" ("Hearbreaker", "I Need a Lover"); "Crimes of Passion" ("Treat Me Right", "Hell is For Children", "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"); "Precious Time" ("Promises in the Dark", "Fire and Ice", "Helter Skelter"); "Get Nervous" ("Shadows of the Night"); "Live From Earth" ("Love is a Battlefield"); and "Tropico" ("We Belong"). This album "Seven the Hard Way" would bring three more successful singles. Throughout her career, Benatar always remained true to her hard rock roots. On her previous studio album, "Tropico" - Benatar showed signs of moving toward a Top 40 artists while not abandoning her Rock and Roll roots. On "Seven the Hard Way", Benatar's Top 40 direction with hard rock roots will continue. In addition, Benatar explores some other areas that will eventually continue in her post - "Seven the Hard Way" career. The result is mixed - this collection has its ups and it has its downs.

Pat Benatar is one of the great female rock vocalists of all time. Taking nothing away from her vocal abilities, Pat has been aided by some terrific songwriting and guitar work from her husband, Neil Geraldo. (I think Geraldo is one of the music industry's most underrated guitar players). On this album, what you will notice is that Pat will shine on the best written songs. On the weaker songs, even Pat's vocals with some terrific harmonies cannot elevate these songs.

I think "Seven the Hard Way" sometimes gets an unfair rap. The Top 40 success of the three singles released ("Invincible", "Sex as a Weapon", and "Le Bel Age") are definitely more on the "pop" end of the spectrum than many of Benatar's previous releases. However musically, these songs are solid and each show some merit.
The first single "Invincible" was actually a theme song from the movie "The Legend of Billie Jean". The only thing negative about this song is that commercial radio in the 1980s overplayed this song quite a bit. There are a lot of good things about this song. I love the drums that kick off the song - followed by Neil Geraldo's guitar. Once again, the often overlooked Neil Geraldo shines on guitar as he has in the past. Of course, Benatar is the star of the song. She brings the same passion and intensity that she has brought on her previous songs.

One of my personal favorite Benatar songs of all time is the second single that was released - "Sex as a Weapon". This song features some outstanding guitar work by Pat Benatar's husband Neil Geraldo (or Giraldo). Benatar's vocals show incredible range as well as she talks from the female perspective about a male exploting Sex. I was surprised that this became my favorite since this wasn't a Benatar or Geraldo penned song. The third single that was released was "Le Bel Age". This one, like "Sex as a Weapon" is one of my personal favorites. Benatar's vocals are in as good a form as you will hear on this song. Geraldo's guitar is on its "A" game. This song has a very unique sound to it - one that makes it difficult to describe in words. The best way to put it is the song has a retro feel set to some very 80s music (this is evidenced by the music video that was set in a 60s nightclub - even though Richard Beltzer is in it!).

The retro theme comes to the forefront in the song "Walking in the Underground". This song has more of a supper club feel than "Le Bel Age" - although it does have a harder Rock finish. This is a song that show signs of things to come in Benatar's career - exploring future directions. Future -post "Seven" Benatar tunes such as "True Love" and "So Long" (from the album "True Love") have almost a Jazz/Supper Club like feel to it - while "Crazy" (from "Gravity's Rainbow") brings a blues like feel to it.

Another underrated tune on this album is the finale - "The Art of Letting Go". This song maintains Benatar's Hard Rock edge. It has all of the trademarks of a good Benatar song - solid harmonies and excellent guitar work by Geraldo. After the 5 songs mentioned above, the album's remaining tracks get weaker. "Big Life" has a good rock edge, but it is a short track and it doesn't really get me too excited compared to other Benatar tracks. "Red Vision" is the weakest track of the collection - I don't even think Geraldo's guitar work can save this particular track. On "Seven Rooms of Gloom" - while I don't think it is one of the better tracks of the collection, I like how Benatar uses the spoken word vocals (she should do this more often, she's very good at it - similar to what she did on "Love is a Battlefield"). As for the rest of the song, there isn't anything else that impressses me that much. "Run in the Raindrops" is an example of a Benatar song where she has excellent vocals, but the excellent vocals aren't good enough to elevate that particular song.

Despite some of the shortcomings of the last four songs I mentioned, there are still some good tracks on this collection. I also think that two of Benatar's strongest performances ("Sex as a Weapon" and "Le Bel Age") do make up for the weaknesses that are mentioned. Benatar fans will probably still get this collection - and the casual fan will probably still do well picking up this collection for the three hit singles.

You can see a complete list of all Pat Benatar discography, or go back to the Pat Benatar tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.