Seven the Hard Way

Track Listings

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

Tracks:

Diamond Field
We Belong
Painted Desert
Temporary Heroes
Love In The Ice Age
Ooh Ooh Song
The Outlaw Blues
Suburban King
A Crazy World Like This
Takin' It Back
Sex As A Weapon
Le Bel Age
Walking In The Underground
Big Life
Red Vision
7 Rooms Of Gloom
Run Between The Raindrops
Invincible (Theme From The Film 'The Legend Of Billie Jean')
The Art Of Letting Go

Album Description

The hit vocalist's fifth & sixth studio albums together on one CD. Respectively released on Chrysalis in 1984 & 1985, the platinum 'Tropico' reached #14 & 'Seven The Hard Way' peaked at #26. The two offer a combined total of 19 tracks, including the top five 'We Belong', the top 10 'Invincible',the top 40 hits 'Sex As A Weapon' & 'Ooh Ooh Song', and the single 'Le Bel Age'. All tracks are digitally remastered from the original master tapes. Also features the original cover art of each record, plus additional sleeve notes. 1998 release.

Album Details

Another Twofer Remaster.

Customer Reviews:

If You're a Pat Benatar Fan, Buy This!.......2007-03-09

This British two-fer is a very good collection, sans the editing choices. I never bought these albums when they originally came out because I was a little kid, though my older sister did own "Heat", "Crimes", and "Precious Time." I never heard the original versions, so I don't know how much I'm missing: You can tell that "Diamond Field" is cut off before it could be over, which is unfortunate...other reviewers are correct, good song, great vocals! "We Belong" we all know about..."Painted Desert", excellent song (great guitar intro by Neil Geraldo), why wasn't this a single?! "Temporary Heroes" great vocals...there are no bad songs on the album..."The Outlaw" has great guitar work and vocals..."Suburban King" seems like probably the most shortened song in the group, still, what's here is good to listen to...This album, "Tropico" also has to have the best cover art of all the Benatar albums. I love evocative, theatrical covers like that (don't think I've ever seen an album with an owl on the cover); the liner notes say it's "Kate Bush-like"; to me, it's more "Stevie Nicks-like" -- look at "Belladonna", then look at "Tropico." Surprised that more hits didn't come from the album. It's a mellower album, and a welcome change from the concertedly- "New Wave" "Get Nervous"(still, a pretty good album)...it was good that Pat went for a more adult-contemporary, pop-rock route, which expanded her range...remember, people, she was not originally training for Rock N' Roll at Julliard. Note: The one drawback of the Brit. Two-fers is that they don't feature lyrics for both albums...only the first album, "Tropico" gets printed lyrics, due to lack of CD space, which is so annoying for any music lovers in to lyrics, or what the singer was saying. But, that's better than the great new domestic remasters (mindblowing sound!) that don't feature any lyrics whatsoever, WHY??? The sound is great for both albums. "Seven The Hard Way" is just as good an album, but more rocking...Pat's voice doesn't age from 1979 to 1985 at all, it's only stronger! Highlights, "Le Bel Age", "Walking...Underground" "Seven Rooms" (Note, this song was probably covered, at the suggestion of Mike Chapman, since he was already familiar with Blondie's live cover from the 70s (who he was producing while working with Pat), not an attempt at falling back on R&B because she was at a loss of what to do.) Yet, again, the b-sides or album tracks are just as good, if not better than the singles released, remember that. Enjoy!

Two good Pat B. Lps- deserve better treatment..........2005-11-10

I agree with the previous reviewer in that the inclusion of Love is a Battlefield is a moot point here. That single version is available everywhere and does no justice to the song and really doesn't fit in here. La Bel Age is one of my fave tracks and to have it faded so soon on a full length CD release is just stupid. The other edits aren't quite as noticeable, but they really should have stuck to the American release versions instead of cramming edits just to get more tracks here. Otherwise, the two-fer approach is always a good idea when it works.

fhc

BGO Come on...........2005-06-30

Just to let you know, this is now available only as a pro-pressed CD-R. I opened my copy today and was a bit miffed, though it sounds decent. Just full price is not worth a pro-pressed CD-R,....

SONGS ARE EDITED!!!!.......2005-04-16

La Bel Age loses a whole minute!!!! Painted Desert is 20 seconds shorter than on the original CD, and Invincible is 10 seconds shorter. The bonus track, Love is a Battlefield, it is the 7" version, not the full length version on her Live from Earth CD (this due to the fact that Love is a Battlefield was released at a very different time overseas, and this import matches that version of the releases). They should have just left it off the CD and given us back the time stolen from the other tracks!!! What a bummer. Otherwise, I'm all for this 2 in 1 compilation idea.

I WANT THIS CD!.......2002-11-14

An admitted Benatar junkie, I have to buy this CD. THese are two incredible albums whose highlights, in my opinion, are the strong album cuts, not the singles released. This is a GREAT start to a fine Benatar collection. Her versatility as a singer is very apparent in these albums and you will not regret getting this.

In the Heat of the Night (Original Release)

Average customer rating:

In the Heat of the Night (Original Release)
Pat Benatar
Manufacturer: Chrysalis Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000NFK912

Product Description

This is the original 1984 release on the Chrysalis label. Tracks are: 1. Heartbreaker 2. I Need A Lover 3. If You Think You Know How To Love Me 4. In The Heat Of The Night 5. My Clone Sleeps Alone 6. We Live For Love 7. Rated X 8. Don't Let It Show 9. No You Don't 10. So Sincere

Average customer rating:

Turning On The Rock
Pat Continues Down the "Arty" Path, but Gives it a Rock Twist
Some great songs, some good songs, some weak songs
A Great CD!!
Masterful songwriting and production.

Seven the Hard Way
Pat Benatar
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Arena Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Tropico
Wide Awake in Dreamland
Innamorata
Live From Earth
Go

ASIN: B000008DDE
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Sex as a Weapon
Le Bel Age
Walking in the Underground
Big Life
Red Vision
7 Rooms of Gloom
Run Between the Raindrops
Invincible (Theme from "The Legend of Billie Jean")
Art of Letting Go

Customer Reviews:

Turning On The Rock.......2007-04-11

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. 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. 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.......2005-09-29

This 1985 record heradled Pat's continued commercial decline (marked by the "only platinum" sales of "Tropico"), but found Pat & Co. continuing to forge ahead as artists. 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.......2004-10-25

Pat Benatar's 1986 album, "Seven the Hard Way" was an album that would mark the last of her major hits. The album was Benatar's seventh release (thus the title - "Seven the Hard Way"). 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.

A Great CD!!.......2004-08-13

When this lp came out Pat couldn't do nothing wrong as far as I was concerned!! this cd ROCKS!!! It's one of my Favorites!! Pat's voice is so strong and Neil guitar playing still moves me!! everytime i listen to this cd it takes me back to 1985 a year i miss!! Pat & Neil thanks for this one!!!

Masterful songwriting and production........2004-02-29

This is the best Pat Benatar CD. She and Neil Geraldo her husband-guitarist-songwriter-producer are on top of their game.
The guitar work on this one is clearly amazing. If you like U2 Joshua Tree you will love the same type of sophisticated guitar delay repeat, tasteful beautiful melodic keyboards harmonizations/textures and most of all just great songs one after another. In the vocal dept Pat Benatar delivers passionate strong emotional performances song after song. This cd is what "Raised on Radio" is to Journey, underrated but clearly the best cd of the band.

Average customer rating:

Tropico/Seven the Hard Way
Pat Benatar
Manufacturer: Bgo Records/Ka
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002B67ZE
Release Date: 1999-02-23

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

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