Customer Reviews

In The Heat Of The Night/Crimes Of Passion

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm so glad that this CD did not make the error the Tropico/Seven the Hard Way CD made, which is to edit about 3 of the songs from those albums to squeeze the radio edit of Love is A Battlefield onto the CD. This CD instead offers all the full length album versions of her first two albums, which are probably her best because they lean more towards a melodic new wave, almost Blondie-esque sound. My only disappointment is that I was hoping that In the Heat of the Night would--by a fluke--have the impossible to get on CD mix of We Live For Love that was available on some of the initial pressings of the original album. It was a much more new wave sounding version that removed much of the guitar and had a more pulsing bassline. I've sampled every Pat Benatar CD I come across to see if any compilations features that version, and have yet to find one. I would love to have both versions of the song on CD so I could get rid of my old vinyl album. But, having said that, this is still a 5 star CD.

At the height of my testosterone-storm adolescence came the perfect rock star for my state of being: Pat Benatar.
Just looking at her first album cover, I saw this sexy/pretty pouting tough-waif, and in the grooves of the record I found an operatic rock voice (dropping into a sexy growl from time to time) fronting a crack band playing contemporary new-wave power-pop rock and roll with gusto.
Everyone knows the single "Heartbreaker", but there are several other songs on the first album that are it's equal. Benatar has relied on covers throughout her early career, and here there are many, including Mellencamp's early song, "I Need A Lover".
The synthesizer rock element comes to the fore with the goofy "My Clone Sleeps Alone", and there's a sexy coquettish-ness to "Rated X".
"So Sincere", an exhilarating rocker, ends the first album proper with style.
This stupendous remaster includes BOTH albums on one CD, sweetly remastered.
"Crimes of Passion", for many their introduction to Ms. Benatar, is one of the iconic albums of the era.
The single "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" was all over the radio, as MTV was only just getting started. Other singles likes "You Better Run" followed, and she went "topical" with "Hell is For Children" ( a better-than-you'd-expect tale of child abuse). To her credit, it worked.
She gets slinky with the sinuous bass and drum lines of "Never Wanna Leave You", and overly dramatic with "Wuthering Heights". She goes for old-fashioned bar-band rock and roll with "Prisoner of Love" and again ends her album with a lacerating pop-rocker, "Out-A-Touch".
This two-fer remaster is clearly one of the best deals available, and brought me back to my junior high/high school days with a vividness and clarity that was jarring. And terrific at the same time...I was both proud and embarrassed that I remembered every lyric, every musical cue or riff...I knew instinctively which song was coming next.
But I bet you I haven't heard this album in over twenty years...it just goes to show you.
Exactly WHAT it shows, I'm not sure...but it HAS to be something! There are brain synapses that formed a quarter of a century ago, that are still there, just waiting for that first chord of "Heartbreaker" to set them afire...

This is an excellent buy as far as content. Both Pat Benatar's debut, In the Heat of the Night, and her sophmore effort, Crimes of Passion are excellent albums. Crimes is the best record she ever made and Heat isn't far behind. The only problem that I have with this release is that the remastering claimed by the manufacturer is only marginallly good compared with other remasters of Pat's work and with remastered products in general. If you don't care about the sound quality as much, then this is very highly recommended as you get 2 very good 80s rock albums for the price of one. As far as Benatar goes, these are the best ones along with her third release, Precious Time and 1993's Gravity's Rainbow. If you like quality remastered sound, then spend the extra money and get the single album remasters instead. The 3 stars are only for the remastering, with the content getting 4 and 1/2 stars.

If you're looking at this CD.....you are already very familiar with Pats legacy and impact on female rock....so no need to review each track.

What you are getting is her 3rd and 4th albums....gloriously remastered like you never heard her before....the sound is strong and clean....the highs just sparkle...alot of effort went into the remastering of these tracks....the liner notes are fantastic...all the lyrics included.

You wont be disappointed..guaranteed!!!!

I admit to never having been a fan of Benatar's beyond a point. I would still rather listen to her than Britney or Gaga or any of the recent divas. Beyond Benatar's first two albums I might have "Best Shots" or one of the other compilations The first two albums were really the only ones that I ever really cared for and that's why this is an obvious choice for my collection. I admit also to having never followed her very closely. I'm supposing that after this she became another MTV act of the 80's and I honestly can't remember much about that since I avoid MTV like the plague. Basically, this is a bargain simply for the reason that it's two for the price of one and most of the songs are enjoyable, in other words not as overplayed as some of the others to come and with less filler.
This isn't my favorite artist or anything by a long shot but after I auditioned for the guitar spot in a tribute band a few years back and found that 90 perecent of the band's material was on these 2 albums I bought this and downloaded the others from the web and kind of got familiar with her early material (apparently the favorite of her diehard fans). I kept the cd and still once in while when the mood strikes me I get it out and jam along with it and find that it holds up remarkably well all things considered.

These are Pat Benatar's first two albums remastered on a single CD. Rating: 4.5 stars. The albums are of course well-known. In the Heat of the Night (four stars) was an ambitious debut, with some outstanding material, although a bit uneven in places, with perhaps too many cover versions. Crimes of Passion (five stars) was steadier and more consistent, a pleasure from beginning to end. The sound quality on this edition is significantly better than on the original CDs, although not as good as on some of the recent remasters. Nevertheless, this is an outstanding value for the price.

This is really a great combination CD. Two of the very best Heavy Rock albums of the 80's in one place. I bought these albums separately before, but this one is a real cost-effective way to get truly Pat Benatar's best albums.
Listening to the songs on these albums. I was impressed again with Benatar's powerful voice. She punches right through on each song, and she can be just as effective on the Heavy stuff like "Heartbreaker" and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", as she can be on the more softer stuff like "In The Heat Of The Night" and "Wuthering Heights" (a real under-rated performance, much better than the Kate Bush version - and SHE WROTE IT!).
Throughout both albums, though, it is clear that Pat's secret weapon is guitarist Neil Geraldo. Man, this cat rocked! I really liked his solos on "Heartbreaker" and "Out Of Touch". I'm glad he had the self-awareness and respect for Pat Benatar to unselfishly contribute to each song without going on the ego-trip of - say - a G.E. Smith (Hall And Oates) or that guy from Van Halen! A real rocker, and so cool!
I had only one comment about this CD, though. With both albums packed so tightly on one CD, my player had difficulty loading individual songs, but it worked out after a few tries.
These may be Pat Benatar's best albums, but check out "Precious Time" and "Get Nervous". They continue her winning combinations.

In the Heat of the Night is Benatar's best record, IMHO.
But do NOT purchase this CD.
The "remastering" job done on this release borders on the criminal, in that it doesn't sound appreciably better than the first CD releases.
I understand they released another remastered version of these records in 2006. If you're buying these records for the first time, buy the later remasters.
As for me, luckily I had the original vinyl versions, which sound 5x better than this mud when I digitized them myself with an $8 adapter from Radio Shack. Still, I wish I had legal recourse for wasting $20 on this CD.

Heartbreaker as an album is a little weak, in my opinion. This CD luckily contains Crimes of Passion, an album that contains some of Pat's greatest recorded moments. Ironically, the singles are not the songs that impress here, but rather the unknown yet awesome songs like Wuthering Heights, Out a Touch and Prisoner of Love.

Pat Benatar, 70's/80's pop chanteuse, whatever...Don't you find it just a LITTLE hypocritical that you follow (sic) "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" with "Hell Is For Children?" Thanks for "Fire And Ice," though; I "got lucky" because of it a couple of years after it came out.