Old Enough to Forget

After four albums it was time for the mandatory live record. Coming on the heels of Pat Benatar's Get Nervous Tour she released an odd hybrid album titled Live from Earth . The album was 80% live and two new studio tracks: the awesome "Love is a Battlefield" and the throwaway "Lipstick Lies" that is perplexingly bland. The band here was tight, Neil Geraldo on guitar, Myron Grombacher on drums, Roger Capps on bass and Charlie Giordano on keyboards. Neil runs the band through its paces, and for the most part the results are pretty decent, and in a couple of instances spectacular. His guitar tone at times was questionable and overly processed, but heck it was the early '80s and that was a thing. At the time it was cool. The album as you'd expect mines a little more from her latest album, but that's not a bad thing, it was top of mind to her audience. What was weird though was the omission of "Shadows of the Night" one of the best songs from th...

Oh man, my platter runneth over. I'm not complaining, but I am running out of room which sucks. However, over the last several months I've got more albums to listen to than I have time. Again, not complaining it's a challenge and as they say, "Challenge accepted." I probably should have spent more time with the Alex Harvey as this was my introduction to his music, but I'm holding out until I can find something by SAHB, then I'll wax and pontificate on shit I know nothing about. It won't be worth the wait, but you never know. Pat Benatar - Get Nervous (1982) Alex Harvey - The New Band - The Mafia Stole My Guitar (1979) Rough Trade - For Those Who Think Young (1981) Men at Work - Two Hearts (1985) Don Henley - I Can't Stand Still (1982) Pat Benatar - Get Nervous (1982) Other than the single "Shadows of the Night" I really had no idea what to expect on Get Nervous . It's unfair I know but I never really thought much of her. Oh the...

Funny I thought I'd written about Pat Benatar before ... apparently not. Well, let's make up for lost time and start with her 1984 album Tropico . This was a gear change and an attempt to sort of stay ahead of the curve. Now to be fair, despite always liking some of the songs I heard on the radio - especially those early hits, I'd never picked anything up by her. Over the last couple of years I've found most of her early efforts, and for the most part they were good albums. It was the combination of Pat's vocals, and Neil's music that really worked - even when it was a cover, like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" written by Eddie Schwartz. Considering the treadmill the band was on, cranking out an album a year like sausages from 1979 to 1985 and the consistency of the band's output is nothing short of spectacular. Seriously. By 1984 the rock and roll of the late '70s was moving toward big hair, and the early new wave had already crashed to the beac...