I have to admit, I often have to look up the exact capitalization of titles because I don’t understand the rules, and I don’t pretend to know why “Is” is capitalized here, but so be it. I think damn near everybody knows this song, one of the biggest hits for Pat Benatar and never deep into any eighties station’s lineup, but I’m going to urge you to listen very closely to it this time. Released in 1983 on a live album but obviously a studio mix, it showcases Benatar’s voice and energy extremely well, and if you need to hear what she really brings to it, look up Holly Knight’s version; Knight was one of the writers of the song, and while the tune is undeniably dynamic, Knight lacks nearly all of the energy in delivering it that Benatar provides. Benatar runs the gamut from crooning through pleading, desperation to defiance, sounding appropriate in all of them. It’s no secret that great vocalizing is a key to gaining my attention, and this song travels up and down the registers as if choreographed, never abrupt, never strained.
But the music cannot be ignored, and the mix is fabulous. Sit back and listen to the instruments, see if you can determine how many there are, and realize that nothing takes dominance or becomes overpowering. So many little flourishes and insertions have their guest spots, from grinding motorcycle guitar chords to soft backing vocals, bass tom drums (likely synth) that dance between your ears – headphones are recommended – to accentuating keyboards at the top of the beat… even a bar or two of whistling. None of it seems out of place at all, every bit adding to the atmosphere of the song, the things that make it completely unique. The ‘main melody,’ if it can be called that, is provided by a fairly quiet electric bass, relinquishing center stage at times to a guitar, but curiously, numerous drums actually do more than you usually hear in pop songs, not just marking the beat or filling the transitions, but actually serving as a melody by themselves. I tried to find who deserves credit for the studio mixing job but such things are never listed, which is a shame, because this is at least as much talent as the vocalists that receive top billing.
Love Is a Battlefield – Pat Benatar
It’s funny – we all know this song, can recognize it instantly, but how often do we recognize all of the elements that have been there all along? I admit to being surprised listening to it one day a few weeks back, when I realized just how much was within and needed to draw attention to it; it’s easy to imagine that so many instruments and riffs and stings would make a godawful mess, and I’ve heard much worse from far fewer instruments, but this is like a perfect recipe, not half as good without the basil and a squeeze of lime. While I’ve tried to feature lesser-known works or artists in the past (and will continue to do so) – there’s even a little part of me that feels guilty highlighting someone who’s won as many awards as Pat Benatar – this is a composition that I suspect goes past many without impinging on them consciously. Maybe it’s just me, I dunno, but either way, kudos to everyone involved.