PAT BENATAR – Live Is A Battlefield [KBFH / digitally remastered] (2016)
“Live Is A Battlefield” is the re-packaged / refreshed 2016 reissue by Cannonball / Soulfood of PAT BENATAR‘s 1981 performance for the famous King Biscuit Flower Hour, digitally remastered.
Taped in Austin, TX, October 6th, 1981, this concert captures Pat Benatar at her rocking best, with an excellent sound recording.
Arguably at the peak of her career in the early Eighties, Benatar had a string of successful albums behind her and cornered the market in female raunch-rock. Highly commercial, visually and aurally appealing, she couldn’t fail.
The now legendary weekly radio show King Biscuit Flower Hour covered a lot of ground (both musically and geographically) to bring great music to radio listeners.
For this “Live Is A Battlefield”, as usual, the recording quality is superb. There’s some amazing band performances, and Pat’s vocals are strong, perfectly pitched.
The line-up at the time still included Scott Sheets as a second guitarist, so that Pat’s hubby Neil Giraldo can stretch out.
1981’s ‘Precious Time’ might be seen as the pinnacle of Pat’s career and was released a month before this concert. That title track live version is glorious, and the humungous ‘Fire And Ice’ send hot and cold flushes through the predominately male audience.
There’s really kickin’ renditions of all of Benatar’s early hits including ‘Treat Me Right’, ‘Promises in the Dark’, or ‘Hit Me with Your Best Shot’, as well as a few oft-overlooked gems such as ‘Hell Is for Children’ and even a rocking Beatles cover (‘Helter Skelter’).
Then the 10-minute performance of ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ is a neat example of what arena-rock was all about.
Showcasing as it does one of the most popular live rock attractions of the early ’80s, “Live Is A Battlefield” does not disappoint, as it’s just as strong — if not better — than Benatar’s official label live release from the era (1983’s Live From Earth).
This is a GREAT live album; all her others, though generally good, pale in comparison. A great mixture of power and feeling totally ’80s.
Highly Recommended
01 – You Better Run
02 – Treat Me Right
03 – Fire & Ice
04 – Out-A-Touch
05 – I Need A Lover
06 – Promises In The Dark
07 – Hit Me With Your Best Shot
08 – Hell Is For Children
09 – Heartbreaker
10 – Precious Time
11 – In The Heat Of The Night
12 – We Live For Love
13 – Helter Skelter
BUY IT !
www.musicline.de/de/product/5081304356371
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