Customer Reviews

In the Heat of the Night

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is absolutely no way you can think of great rock & roll women of the 70's and 80's without automatically thinking of Pat Benatar, she is the epitome of female rokcers of that era and still continues to be a staple in rock & roll music to this day.

'In The Heat Of The Night' is the album that started it all by introducing the world to the woman who whould top the rock & roll charts for years to come, and still remains one of her bset selling albums. The album itself was not an initial success, with the first two singles ("If You Think You Know How To Love Me", "I Need A Lover") pretty much bombing, but upon the release of the albun's 3rd single "Heartbreaker", Pat was off to a roaring start. The album's 4th single "We Live For Love", although popular in it's own right, did not achieve the success of the prior single, but was still a noteworthy release.

One can honestly say there isn't a bad cut on this album. Her covers of John Mellencamp's "I Need A Lover" and Alan Parson's "Don't Let It Show" far surpass the original recordings, and her seductive twist on Nick Gilder's "Rated X" is priceless.

If you have never heard any of Pat's albums. This is probably the best place to start. Even though her 2nd LP 'Crimes of Passion' was a bigger seller, this one showcases her vocal range better than any of her future recordings.

Wow! What an upgrade! I could go into many details as to why this is an excellent album in terms of arrangement, production, and lyrics. However, my 5-star review is based on the sound quality alone. It is simply stunning! It's amazing to hear so much crisp, clean sound tweaked out of 1979 recording. Like the other 2006 Benatar remasters -- 'Precious Time' (1981) and 'Crimes Of Passion' (1980)-- mastering engineer Mark Chalecki has restored 1979's 'In The Heat Of The Night' to new heights, sonically. Now we finally get a hint as to what the album sounded like when originally recorded! Previous masters have really left the album flat and empty, sonically. Now is the chance to hear it like it was meant to be heard. Rock at it's best!

Check out "My Clone Sleeps Alone" with it's soft piano intro. Then, suddenly, boom! Those roaring drums and electric guitars come flying at you! This is my favorite track to listen to when experiencing the remastering upgrade. The stereo field has been greatly expanded here, bringing depth and width to the audio. IT SOUNDS AMAZING!!! Or what about "Heartbreaker" and "I Need A Lover"? I could ramble on and on about the sound on every track. I can't believe how good this album sounds! Mark has really made these tracks shine like never before!

I highly recommend this release in addition to the other 2006 remasters if you wish to hear Pat like you've never heard her before. Now, Capitol, can we get the next batch of remasters rolling along?

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Pat's early vocal texture is so raw and powerful--whether the song is a hard rocker like "Heartbreaker" or a delicate "Don't let it show" she presents both with equal fervor. She single-handedly changed the way rock programmers approached female artists with her string of hits, and opened doors that no other female artist of the time was able to--being taken seriously as a hard rocking feminine artist who was completely in control of her own career. (Grammies 4 years in a row for Best Female Vocalist!)

Her voice still sounds as powerful and beautiful as ever and these old albums never fail to bring back wonderful memories of that era.

Growing up, there were only three albums I knew all of the lyrics to because I listened to them so much: Queen's Jazz, Styx's The Grand Illusion, and Benatar's In the Heat of the Night. What does that mean as an album review -- it's been said by everyone above. It's just solid, solid, solid and, after all these years, still solid.

THIS IS THE ALBUM THAT INTRODUCED THE SUPER-TALENTED PAT BENATAR IN ROCK..CRIMES OF PASSION--PRECIOUS TIME--AND THIS ONE ARE THE BEST ALBUMS BY THE QUEEN OF ROCK..BEST TRACKS ARE--HEARTBREAKER--NO YOU DON'T--WE LIVE FOR LOVE--I NEED A LOVER--IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT,WHAT A GOOD ROCKING'ALBUM..

On this album Benatar displays an enthusiasm for melodic rock and pop with a surprisingly complex and enduring appeal. She tackles a variety of styles with great success to deliver an album that hasn't dated in any way. Powerful rockers like Heartbreaker, So Sincere, No You Don't and the rousing I Need A Lover rub shoulders with catchy ballads like Heat Of The Night, Don't Let It Show and If You Think You Know ... plus the beautiful trancey We Live For Love (echoes of Donna Summer?). Almost every track could have been a hit single. With such a strong debut album and equally good follow-up (Crimes Of Passion) it is surprising that Pat Benatar couldn't keep up the momentum. She certainly had the talent, the enthusiasm and an ear for a good tune, all backed by a superb vocal range.

Maybe her singing improved later. Still I think the debut album of Pat Benatar is her best. Every song here sounds excellent and fresh. My favourites are her first hit Heartbreaker, I Need A Lover, We Live For Love and Now You Don't. But I love all the other songs, too. I bet that even if you haven't listened to the album for several years, you would remember the melody of each song immediately by just reading the name.

On IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, Pat Benatar premieres her unique blend of Ian Hunter-style glam, Steve Miller-esque pop-rock, Cars-type new wave, and Ted Nugent-influenced heavy metal, with outstanding results, creating a sound that was revolutionary for a woman at the time. All of the songs are great, with particular standouts being the new-wavish "We Live For Love" and the hard-rock overdrive of "Heartbreaker." The next two albums would be just as good, but here, she starts at the top of her game, making it clear that this was a woman who was not going to let men push her around, a trait admirable even today.

It was 1979, and I was a young teenager about to enter the world of driving cars and going to High school. That's when the sexy queen of rock and roll burst onto the scene with her debut album In the Heat of the Night. With it's opening track: the hard rockin' Heartbreaker! Man, does that bring back memories of cruising in the Camaro jamin' my Alpine stereo.

I liked the whole album. Especially the title track In the Heat of the Night. A bluesy, bass thumping, slow, rock song that just cruises along with a great beat and Pat's fantastic vocals. It's a very dynamic song, that changes pace throughout.

No matter what "GreatesT Hits" package or "Best of" collection you might already own, In the Heat of the Night is always absent. Unless you spring for the 3-disc Box set Synchronistic Wanderings. Now that all of Pat Benatar's individual albums have been remastered by Capitol/EMI at very reasonable prices, there's no excuse not to just pick them all up.

Debut - In the Heat of the Night (1979)
2nd - Crimes of Passion (1980)
3rd - Precious Time (1981)

Precious Time is probably the most solid of all Pat's albums. I highly recommend it also.

I disagree with most of the people who say that "CRIMES OF PASSION" is better than IN THE HEAT.... I don't think so. The first album by Benatar, altough containing mostly covers, is very good and fresh, audacious and with great melodic rock.