All Fired Up: Very Best of [Import]

Pat Benatar | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 1, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Import
• ASIN: B000003JCX
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,177 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. I Need a Lover

2. If You Think You Know How to Love Me

3. Heartbreaker

4. We Live for Love

5. You Better Run

6. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

7. Treat Me Right

8. Hell Is for Children

9. Fire and Ice

10. Promises in the Dark

See all 16 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. We Belong

2. Ooh Ooh Song

3. Temporary Heroes

4. Invincible (Theme from the Legend of Billie Jean)

5. Sex as a Weapon

6. Le Bel Age

7. All Fired Up

8. Don't Walk Away

9. Let's Stay Together

10. One Love

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

International edition of 1994 compilation that's out-of-print in the U.S., the definitive collection of the popular mainstream rocker. 33 tracks, including all her Billboard Top 40 hits released between 1980 & 88, 'Heartbreaker','We Live for Love', 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot', 'Treat Me Right' ,'Fire & Ice' ,'Promises in the Dark', 'Shadows of the Night', Love Is a Battlefield', 'We Belong', 'Ooh Ooh Song', 'Invincible', 'Sex as a Weapon'& 'All Fired Up'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All chopped up - the very least of Pat Benatar, May 24, 2003

By 

who1zep (Kentucky Wildcats!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All Fired Up: Very Best of (Audio CD)

This is a great selection of songs. However, if the record company could find a shorter version than the original to put on this collection, they did it. The same thing happened on David Bowie's singles collection. The following is the full version's time followed by the chopped version's time.

If you think you know how to love me 4:23 > 3:43
We live for love 3:57 > 3:35
Shadows of the night 4:20 > 3:40
Love is a battlefield 5:24 > 4:00
All fired up 4:27 > 4:08
One Love 5:12 > 4:30
Invincible 4:28 > 4:00

I do not have all her albums, but I do have the first three (the big three): In The Heat Of The Night, Crimes Of Passion and Precious Time. All the songs on the first two albums and most from the third are worthy of having, so I would recommend buying them outright. I also have a copy of Best Shots (1 disc), so those were the songs that I was able to compare above. Best Shots also contains the song Painted Desert, which is beautifully haunting and definitely worth having (from the Tropico album but left off of All Chopped Up).

The All Chopped Up booklet has the picture sleeves from the 45 rpm singles. There were a lot of 'em and they are nice to look at (obviously!).

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'd Better Listen!, October 14, 2003

By 

F. Gentile (Lake Worth, Florida, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All Fired Up: Very Best of (Audio CD)

At the age of forty eight, I seem to be going through mid-life crisis right on schedule. Lately, I have been purchasing the music of the years of my youth, those so called "prime" years of the twenties and early thirties. The only mistake I've made so far was "The Best Of Loverboy"....don't know WHAT I was thinking there!(must be high testosterone levels, gotta have that checked out.) However, I was pleasently surprised by Pat Benatar's "All Fired Up", a collection comprised of most of her hits, and some not so well known tunes. Though we did listen to her way back when, and certainly acknowledged that this girl had a fabulous voice, we used to make fun of her. Most of her songs we found terrible. And, her what we perceived to be "tacky" style wasn't for us, she just wasn't avante-garde, like our beloved Deborah Harry. Also, her career was born around the same time as MTV, and though this certainly helped create her immense stardom, the videos themselves were pretty, well....bad. No, though she could belt out songs better than almost all of them, her image was for the straight boys and girls with big hair. She was someone you could picture tossing down a beer at the bar between sets. I guess you could say she was just too REAL for us. Re-visiting her songs, as I have with this collection, it is now easier to forget about silly "image", and, just concentrate on the music. I have come away with the conclusion that she has one of the most underrated voices around. Though she was a huge-selling star, indeed, one of the biggest of her day, I suspect that much of her material just wasn't good enough for her incredible voice. There are numerous top of the chart hits here, such as "Heartbreaker", the song that not only introduced her to the public, but, made everyone sit up and say "WHO is that?!" This collection covers her whole career, from around 1980 to the early '90s. There are some surprises here also. Most of the public did not take notice of her excellent jazz effort released in the '90s. Before she became a major rock queen, she was an opera trained jazz singer. Her songs, such as "True Love", show she is an impressive, expressive jazz singer, who could give Norah Jones a run for her money (don't laugh.) Some have complained that there are shortened versions of her most famous hits here. This may be true, however, I was not bothered by this. I now find these are great songs, made so by the versatility and talent of this wonderful singer whose voice is as powerful and perfect as a laser. Pat Benatar is still touring, still happily married to band-mate Neil Geraldo, and still seems to love what she was born to do, sing. She is one neat, balanced, and, yes, stylish lady. The only thing different is that, I no longer make fun of her. Because, she's just GREAT.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST best of Pat Benatar., March 6, 2005

By 

Matt - See all my reviews

This review is from: All Fired Up: Very Best of (Audio CD)

(the short version...)

ALL FIRED UP: THE VERY BEST OF PAT BENATAR is the most complete and only chronological overview of Pat Benatar's career as a singles artist, accurately presenting the songs in the mixes found on their original single issues. This is an official release, not one of the numerous, dreaded, generic issues that have flooded the market in recent years. The entire package is well designed, and the sound quality is superb.



(The long version...)

This is an entry explaining what you'll be getting on this collection moreso than a proper review of its content. All Fired Up: The Very Best Of Pat Benatar is a 2 disc singles collection spanning her years on the Chrysalis record label (1979-1993).

This was her last official release on that label under contract, and since then Chrysalis has been swallowed by Capitol records. Due to this, the majority of her releases have gone out of print in the United States, including this collection. Fortunately other territories later put this excellent collection into print.

Here's hoping that sometime in the near future Capitol records finally releases the cancelled remastered albums that were scheduled for release last summer. This was done for Blondie in 2001, and it would be great to see Pat's classic albums brought up to todays standards.

Back to this set. 33 singles are spaced across the two compact discs in chronological order. Many people have complained that songs here are "chopped", which in some instances is certainly true, but the reason for this is that this collection accurately uses all of the versions issued on her original 7" (45rpm) singles. THESE ARE THE HIT VERSIONS, not newly altered mixes made just because some record executive felt like it. Most collections since have opted to use the original album versions, making this an essential release for the collector or casual fan who wishes to have the familiar versions that made these songs hits in the first place.



Here is a detailed tracklisting for those curious as to what versions have been included...

Disc One
FROM "IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT" (1979)
- I Need A Lover - non-US single, released promotionally in US, and received heavy airplay after Heartbreaker broke as a hit
- If You Think You Know How To Love Me (Single Edit) - non-US single, released promotionally in US
- Heartbreaker
- We Live For Love - an edit of the rock radio remix which replaced the original album version soon after it was first issued in 1979, and has become the standard version. It's also worth mentioning that the non-US collections "Best Shots" (1987) and "The Very Best Of" (1994) instead feature the 1985 "Tropico"-ized remix first found on the "We Belong" 12" single.

FROM "CRIMES OF PASSION" (1980)
- You Better Run (Specially Mixed) - mono version, presumably to lend a retro vibe to this cover song
- Hit Me With Your Best Shot - the album version, though the non-US single features a punchier remix with additional bursts of guitar on the beginning and end. This version can be found on the international Best Shots CD from 1987, and the single disc collection The Very Best Of from 1994
- Treat Me Right - this fades 20 seconds early, and it's not even noticeable.
- Hell Is For Children - not a single release, but received a ton of radio play and has become a live staple

FROM "PRECIOUS TIME" (1981)
- Fire And Ice
- Promises In The Dark - the album version, though an edit which removes the lengthy guitar solo exists on a promotional release

FROM "GET NERVOUS" (1982)
- Shadows Of The Night (Single Edit)
- Little Too Late (Single Edit)
- Looking For A Stranger
- Anxiety (Get Nervous) - non-US single, video only release in the US

FROM "LIVE FROM EARTH" (1983)
- Love Is A Battlefield (Single Version) - a dramatically edited version that is also a subtle remix. In recent years, retro radio has gone back to spinning this version
- Lipstick Lies - non-US single, video only release in the US

Disc Two
FROM "TROPICO" (1984)
- We Belong (Single Version) - the album version with ad-libbed singing over the intro, also used in the video
- Ooh Ooh Song - the album version, though an edit exists on a promotional release
- Temporary Heroes (Single Version) - non-US single, promotional release in the US

FROM "SEVEN THE HARD WAY" (1985)
- Invincible (Single Edit)
- Sex As A Weapon
- Le Bel Age (Single Edit)

FROM "WIDE AWAKE IN DREAMLAND" (1988)
- All Fired Up (Single Version) - specially remixed intro...a shorter edit of which appears on a promotional and import CD
- Don't Walk Away (Single Edit)
- Let's Stay Together (Single Edit) - slightly remixed
- One Love (Edit) - released as a single in the US to promote the 1989 stateside release of Best Shots. Issued as a single elsewhere a year prior to promote "Wide Awake In Dreamland"

FROM "TRUE LOVE" (1991)
- True Love - non-US single, released promotionally in the US
- Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss - non-US single, released promotionally in the US
- So Long - non-US single, released promotionally in the US

FROM "GRAVITY'S RAINBOW" (1993)
- Everybody Lay Down (Edit) - non-US single, though it received a ton of airplay and was on track to being quite a success. Released promotionally in the US
- Somebody's Baby (Edit)
- Crazy (Edit) - released promotionally in the US
- Every Time I Fall Back (Remix Edit) - this is an edit of the remix (later found in full on the boxed set Synchronistic Wanderings) for the planned single and video release in the US...all of which was cancelled. The video has since been lost.



(for the completist...)

WHAT'S MISSING:
Rated X (non-US Single, from "In The Heat Of The Night")
I'm Gonna Follow You (video-only release, from "Crimes Of Passion")
Precious Time (video-only release, from "Precious Time")
Painted Desert (non-US single/video, from "Tropico")
Big Life (promotional single, from "Seven The Hard Way")
Please Come Home For Christmas (released promotionally, later included on the "True Love" CD) - though nothing is worse than xmas cuts on "best of" collections



(and for the hell of it...)

ADDITIONAL SINGLES RELEASED SINCE THIS COLLECTION WAS ISSUED:
Strawberry Wine (Life Is Sweet) (Radio Edit) - from "Innamorata" (1997)
At This Time (promotional single, from "Innamorata") (1997)
Papa's Roses (promotional release, from "Innamorata") (1997)
Christmas In America (see "Please Come Home For Christmas", later included on "Go") (2001)
Have It All (promotional release, from "Go") (2003)
Go (cancelled promotional release, from "Go") (2003)



The artwork is extremely well done, devoting a 2 page spread to each of her albums from the period covered, along with song information, single covers, and tons of photographs. There is no denotation of versions used or chart positions, but this is a minor quibble.

The sound quality is fantastic. The songs on these discs were remastered and are loud, clear and as perfect as they could possibly have been.

A must-have.