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Synchronistic Wanderings

Pat Benatar - Synchronistic Wanderings Audio CD

A fair review of the Pat Benatar "Synchronistic Wanderings" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Pat Benatar reviews here, or go back to the Pat Benatar tabs.

Band: Pat Benatar
Title: Synchronistic Wanderings
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-10-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Heartbreaker 2: We Live for Love 3: My Clone Sleeps Alone 4: I Need a Lover [#] 5: In the Heat of the Night 6: You Better Run 7: Hit Me With Your Best Shot 8: Treat Me Right 9: Wuthering Heights 10: Hell Is for Children 11: Fire and Ice 12: Promises in the Dark 13: Precious Time 14: Shadows of the Night 15: Little Too Late 16: Looking for a Stranger 17: Anxiety (Get Nervous) 18: Love Is a Battlefield [#][Demo Version] 19: Love Is a Battlefield 20: Ooh Ooh Song 21: We Belong 22: Painted Desert 23: Outlaw Blues 24: Invincible (Theme from the Legend of Billie Jean) 25: Sex as a Weapon 26: Bel Age 27: New Dream Islands [#][Outtake] 28: Run Between the Raindrops [Live][#] 29: One Love (Song of the Lion) [*] 30: True Hearts [#][Outtake] 31: Let's Stay Together 32: All Fired Up 33: Shooting Star 34: Cancion Ooh Ooh [Version] 35: Payin' the Cost to Be the Boss 36: True Love 37: Good Life 38: I Feel Lucky 39: Please Come Home for Christmas 40: Tell Me Why 41: Crying [#][Outtake] 42: Sometimes the Good Guys Finish First 43: Somebody's Baby 44: Everybody Lay Down 45: Rise, Pt. 2 46: Rise, Pt. 1 [#][Outtake] 47: Temptation 48: Every Time I Fall Back [Remix][#][Mix] 49: Effect You Have on Me 50: Rescue Me 51: Strawberry Wine 52: I Don't Want to Be Your Friend 53: Here's My Heart - Pat Benatar, Pat Benatar 54: I Don't Want to Be Your Friend [*] 55: Here's My Heart [*]

The Best of Benatar's "Wanderings"
How many collections are out there now? By my counting there are 5 greatest compilations for her 12 studio albums. Ah, the Best of Benatar. So how do you know which one is worth your bottom dollar? Let me make an argument for this one.

With 1999's 3-CD set you get the absolute best of Benatar. Of course, you get all her hits, but the liner notes contain amusing and fascinating anecdotes about each song, narrated by her and her husband Neil. The songs on the first two CD's are in chronological order. In other words, as you're listening you are hearing a story unfold. You're getting to experience her evolution of a shy cabaret singer into her metamorphosis of a hard lady rocker, and back.

THEN, on disc 3 you get the real goods - the B sides, the demos, the soundtracks, and stuff that wasn't featured on ANY of her other compilations. Included in this gift bag is a demo of the song "Crying" which features Benatar's astounding operatic range, and acting ability. Her quivering voice evolves into a strong and angst-filled painful outburst of emotion and pain. If "Crying" doesn't bring tears to your eyes, then you are a robot.

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Easily the best Pat Benatar compilation out there
If you're unsure of which to get, go with this more inclusive collection. I own both "Synchronistic Wanderings" and "Pat Benatar Greatest Hits", and I must say "Synchronistic Wanderings" does a much better job of covering her career. For only a few more dollars you can get this collection (used), but you get two extra CD's worth of material, including rarities and tracks from her 90's albums "True Love" and "Gravity's Rainbow", not to mention a biographical booklet with commentary by Pat and Neil (her husband/guitarist).

Also, some of the tracks from her "Greatest Hits" album have been shortened by a few seconds to fit as many songs as possible into one CD. It's only a minor annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless. On this collection all the songs are their original length.

"Synchronistic Wanderings" is a great collection, by one of the greatest rock singers of our time.

A Great And Easily Affordale Boxed Set
She had an amazing voice, was incredibly sexy, and made some great music. Pat Benatar is, in my mind, the greatest female rock singer of all time. Up until now, my only introduction to her was the single disc "Greatest Hits" album released this past June. It had some amazing stuff on it. But I wanted more.

So, I went searching through Amazon, and I found the three disc boxed set "Synchronistic Wanderings". I saw it and went, "I got to get this". And when I saw how cheap it was, I said, "I have to get this now.

Well today, I finally found it. I popped it into my cd player. My thoughts? Read on for the practically inevitable positives and negatives.

Positives:
-Three discs filled with nothing but Pat! What more can you ask for? This cd has all the big hits, including "Heartbreak", "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", "Hell Is For Children", "Shadows Of The Night", "Love Is A Battlefield", "We Belong" and "Invincible" are all included.
-Many underrated album cuts and rarities are incuded as well, including b - sides, demos and live performances.
-Fantastic liner notes.
-Great remastering job.
-No edits! All songs are in their original length.
-This set is CHEAP! I thought I had to shell out a good sixty or seventy dollars for it, but I got it for less than forty bucks. That is one offer you should not pass up.

Negatives:
-While the remastering job is great overall, there are one or two songs that sound a little flat, namely "Ooh Ooh Song" and "Invincible. But other than that, everything sounds great.

Overall, this is the best Pat Benatar compilation on the market. If you're a casual or beginning fan, than this is the collection to own.

Sonically outstanding
(Steven Stolder, don't give up your day job. Disk two and three are the best, after Pat and Neil had a chance to mature. ) Bolth ear candy and social commentary. can't get enough!! Best song is the Freeking Rocking All Fired Up.

It's all here
In terms of extras, the demo versions and b-sides are very cool. For my money this box set lacks nothing. My personal favorite inclusion is the song "Shooting Star" from the Harry Chapin Tribute. If you saw the concert on PBS, it was a moving night to begin with- and when she first appeared she seemed almost out of place with the folksy stars like Judy Collins and CSN. Then she belted out this tune and turned the theater upside down. Probably my personal highlight of the show and I'm thrilled to have a copy on something other than an old VHS tape. Well worth the relatively inexpensive box-set-price.

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.