When shopping for either groceries or CDs, you are wise to bring a list and stick to it. That is not what happened for this next review, when I went ahead and made an impulse purchase of an album despite having previously explored the artist’s discography quite thoroughly and ruling it out.
Trust your original instincts in these moments, dear reader. Do not be drawn in by the magical allure of a killer single and the visage of the noble owl.
More on both those temptations below.
Disc 1780 is…Tropico
Artist: Pat Benatar
Year of Release: 1984
What’s up with the Cover? Look at Ms. Benatar’s lovely evening gown, and isn’t that black and white checkerboard floor delightful?
Oh, who am I kidding. There is only one thing to look at here, and that is the OWL!. That owl is seven kinds of cool. Not only is it posed in “ready to swoop” mode, it is so damned glorious its wings are generating a localized lightning storm.
OWL!
How I Came To Know It: I grew up with Pat Benatar and while I didn’t have this particular album I did know and love the big single that was released from it. More on that later.
How It Stacks Up: I have five Pat Benatar albums. One of them has to be last, and that one is “Tropico”. And since this is my last Benatar review, here’s the full recap:
- In the Heat of the
Night: 4
stars (reviewed at Disc 667)
- Precious Time: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc
784)
- Crimes of Passion: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 801)
- Get Nervous: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1762)
- Tropico: 2 stars (reviewed right here)
Ratings: 2 stars
No matter how great the artist, not every album can be a winner. Pat Benatar is one of rock and roll’s great voices, but “Tropico” does little to let her soar, drowning the power of her instrument in overcooked and unnecessary production.
Apologies to Benatar’s husband and longtime collaborator Neil Giraldo, who as producer usually knows exactly what to do with her considerable talent. But here we instead have the horrors of all that mid-eighties production has to offer: drum machine, bangs, whistles and a generally Madonna-esque pop quality that does not mesh well with Benatar’s rock and roll soul.
Lyrically the record also fails to inspire, with one song even mailing it in and just going with a sound for a chorus (that would be the “Ooh Ooh Song”). There are efforts at narrative tales, like on “the Outlaw Blues” but while Benatar has the beginnings of an intriguing character here, she prefers to skate with just the general idea of an outlaw, rather than fully exploring who that outlaw might be. The Production on this one is particularly tough as well.
Yet, despite all these songs that dabble and dance around what could’ve been great, there is a gem among the stones. Yes, I speak of the song that made a million people (including me) buy this record: “We Belong”.
“We Belong” is hardly classic Benatar fare. In place of Giraldo’s signature guitar licks, we’ve got a synthesizer/organ situation dropping electronic rhythms, followed by a bunch of hand claps and eventually a bit of choir action near the end. But where all this experimentation fails us elsewhere on “Tropico”, here everything lands just right. If you ever long to feel that you belong, then listen to the song and feel love in all its heart-wrenching overwrought awesomeness.
I also enjoyed “Love in the Ice Age” which has some annoying eighties arrangements, but the composition has good bones and even allows Benatar to have a bit of a minor belt of two in places. Was this me just looking hopefully for something else good? Maybe a little, but I liked it, and its cold themed imagery goes well with the cold nature of the production. I would’ve given this song a bit more guitar growl but alas, it was not the style of the time.
My copy of this album is a Japanese reissue, complete with an insert of Japanese liner notes. This was almost enough for me to keep it right there, and I applaud Japan for continuing to embrace the CD as a musical medium. However, I know that outside of “We Belong” this record is just not ever getting played ahead of the other four albums I list above. I will reluctantly part ways with it and let it find a happier home than mine.
Best tracks: We Belong, Love in the Ice Age
No comments:
Post a Comment