Tag: Pat Benatar

The Original vs. The Cover – “You Better Run”

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For this version of The Originals vs. The Cover, we are tackling the Young Rascals 1966 song “You Better Run” off their album ‘Groovin'”. The song was written by Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavalliere both members of the band. The song was considered a disappointment for them as it only went to #20 on the Billboard Charts. The disappointment was due to their previous song going #1, “Good Lovin'”. The Cover version is by Pat Benatar and hers didn’t do as well only going to #42 just missing the Top 40. But hers is famous because it is the 2nd Video ever played on MTV, yep, right after ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’. And since MTV didn’t have a lot of videos back then, it got played a lot.

The song is a kiss off to a bad relationship. Some girl did one of the guys wrong and it was telling her to get lost, run and hide and get away from him. As well as it worked for them, Pat Benatar took and gender reversed it and now she’s telling the guy to the same and it was a great twist to the song. Let’s get to the battle and see who needs to run after this one. Before we do that, I want to thank Barry Gropman for his email and recommendations for ideas for this series.

THE YOUNG RASCALS:

The first thing you notice with their song is that bass guitar. It is the driving force as that repeated chord patter takes you up and down and back again. It is great. The song is really simple for them, with that bass line, the guitar riff and the great drumming by Dino Danelli. Felix’s vocals are filled with pain and that delivery of the vocals is so superbly deliberate and well paced. He makes it sound serious and full of anger. The harmonies on the chorus are great as well. Really killer track.

PAT BENATAR:

Pat Benatar’s version turns up the guitar with Neil Giraldo and Myron Grombacher’s drums are slamming. The bass is there, but now it is a full on guitar rocker and the guitar takes over that part. Pat’s vocals are…well…amazing. There is so much anger in her vocals and she is a total badass ready to kick this guys ass if he shows up again. It would make me run. She totally modernized the song to be a pure hard rock anthem and she totally made it her own as I didn’t realize it was a cover until years later.

THE VERDICT:

You could go either way with this one. The Young Rascals original is a classic track. I love the bass work and Felix really delivers a great vocal as I really love his approach on the lyrics. Pat turns it in to a total hard rock, almost metal, song. Her vocals are unmatched by anyone and Neil’s guitar is really the driving force. But for me, it is always Pat Benatar. It was her version I heard first, her version I always think of when I think of this song and I never tire of hearing her. So Pat Benatar for the win here for me, but I know you all might have different views, so lay them on me.

I am really interested in hearing what everyone else thinks of these two songs.  Let me know which version you like the best and why.  Feel free to leave a comment and talk about the song and tell me how right or wrong I am on this one.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

LYRICS:

“You Better Run”

What you tryin’ to do to my heart?
What you tryin’ to do to my heart?
You go around tellin’ lies
You’re runnin’ ’round with the other guys
What you tryin’ to do to my heart?

You better run, you better hide
You better leave from my side
What you tryin’ to do to my soul?
What you tryin’ to do to my soul?
Everything I had was yours
And now I’m closin’ all the doors
What you tryin’ to do to my soul?

I love you girl, I love you so
Can’t you see and don’t you know?
I can’t stand your alibis, your tellin’ lies, you drop me wise
Myself, I can’t stand anymore
Oh, what you tryin’ to do to my head?
What you tryin’ to do to my head?
Now I gotta draw that line
You’re not gonna take my mind
What you tryin’ to do to my head?

You better run, you better hide
You better leave from my side
What you tryin’ to do to my soul?
What you tryin’ to do to my soul?
Everything I had was yours
And now I’m closin’ all the doors
What you tryin’ to do to my soul?

I can’t stand anymore, leave me alone, woman!
Go way, too much, have mercy!
I need you, I need you!

Pat Benatar – “We Belong” (1984) – 7″ Single

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I’ve had this one in the collection for awhile and finally got the urge to write about it. It is from one of my favorite singers, Pat Benatar. The early 80’s saw her on a massive win streak. Everything she touched turn to gold including the lead single to her 1984 album ‘Tropico’ which is “We Belong”. The song did really well and went to #5 on the Billboard charts which tied the success of her massive hit “Love is a Battlefield”. The song was a success all across the world as well and even earning a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She didn’t win as she was up against some other powerhouses such as Linda Rondstadt, Madonna, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston. Dang that is a pretty impressive category right there.

The song was written by Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro (his first cousin is Dave Navarro if you are interested in knowing that fact). The song was inspired by Dan as he was sitting around lamenting on an old flame. He wanted to get the point across that although there are more important than them, they however belong together. My copy of the single is a standard U.S. release so nothing special, but I like it.

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My Sunday Song – “Hell is For Children” by Pat Benatar

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For My Sunday Song #108, I am going to discuss the song “Hell is for Children” by powerhouse singer Pat Benatar.  The song was recorded in 1980 and released on her album ‘Crimes of Passion’ which went to #2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.  The song itself was never released as an official single, but became a hit nonetheless.

The song was inspired by an article that Pat had read in the New York Times that told the story of child abuse.  She was so moved by the article that she started writing this song.  In a time when no one was speaking publicly about child abuse, it was really groundbreaking for an artist to tackle such an intense subject.

The lyrics capture the sadness and despair the children of abuse face each day. Just read the opening verse:

“They cry in the dark, so you can’t see their tears
They hide in the light, so you can’t see their fears
Forgive and forget, all the while
Love and pain become one and the same
In the eyes of a wounded child”

The lyrics go on to talk about the abuser telling the kids not tell mommy and to lie to everyone about what happened while they apologize for what they had done yet continue to abuse.  It doesn’t get more raw than this song, so powerful.

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“My First Time” with Pat Benatar’s ‘Wide Awake in Dreamland’

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Pat Benatar had been around for almost 10 years by the time I got around to buying my first Pay Benatar album.  I had seen her videos and heard a lot of songs on the radio, but I had never bought an album.  That changed in 1988 with the release of one song…”All Fired Up”.

That was the song that did it for me.  I heard that song and finally decided to go out and buy the CD.  The album ‘Wide Awake in Dreamland” was My First Time with Pat Benatar.

Pat Benatar has one of the finest voices ever in Rock music, but for some reason I always hesitated buying her stuff.  There is no one out there with her octave range or her talent. This album showed me that she was untouchable when it came to vocals.  It was this album that caused me to go back and get her entire collection over the next few years.

I was out at the record store a month back and came across this album and had to have it on vinyl.  The cool thing about the album I found was that it was a “Promotional Only” album and not supposed to be available for resale.

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Turntables & Vinyl

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Turntables & Vinyl.  Did you ever think they would come back in style?  I guess I must have thought so because I found a box  in a closet that was full of vinyl albums from the 70’s & 80’s.  However, I don’t own a turntable anymore.  What do I do?

Well, I went out and bought a turntable. My oldest daughter has been wanting a turntable as that is the new fad for kids her age, I guess.  That got me to thinking maybe I should get a turntable.  I didn’t want to spend too much as I didn’t know how much it would get used by her or by me.

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We were at the mall and I found this turntable at some trendy clothes store for young people (I was the oldest person in the store).  Don’t know if it is any good and honestly, don’t care.  It will be a fun experience I can share with my daughter and maybe teach her what real music sounds like.

We started shopping for albums afterwards and the first thing I noticed was…THE PRICE!!! HOLY CRAP!!  When did albums become so expensive.  $25, $35 and up to $50 for a freakin’ album.  Well, I guess my daughter won’t be getting one anytime soon.  She will have to listen to mine until I can take a 2nd mortgage out on the house to buy a new album. Luckily, the store had a limited selection so there was nothing either of us had to have right then.

We get back home and I run upstairs to grab the box of records.  We take it into my office along with the turntable.  I get the turntable plugged into the wall and into my stereo system and found the setup to be extremely easy.  Thank goodness as I wanted to put on some music.

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Next, I grabbed the box and opened it like I was a kid on Christmas.  I couldn’t wait to go through and see what all I had.  I knew what a lot of the albums were in the box, but not everything. What I did know for sure is that the first album to be played on the turntable was going to be Van Halen’s self titled debut from 1978.  I remembered that album was in the box along with several Kiss albums.

The Van Halen album sounded amazing!! And now as I am typing this post up, I am listening to Kiss Alive! and I have it cranked! (No one is home right now) Not a bad way to spend my afternoon.  Here is a list of albums that were in my box that I will definitely be putting on heavy rotation.

  • Van Halen – Van Halen
  • Kiss – Alive!
  • Kiss – The Originals (Special Edition with the first 3 albums)
  • Boston – Boston
  • Boston – Don’t Look Back
  • Eagles – Hotel California
  • Eagles – Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975
  • The Beatles – The Beatles / 1967-1970
  • Mother’s Finest – Mother’s Finest Live
  • ZZ Top – Tres Hombres
  • Billy Joel – Glass Houses
  • Black Sabbath – Mob Rules
  • Kiss – Unmasked
  • Kiss – Hotter than Hell
  • Billy Idol – Billy Idol
  • Loverboy – Lovin’ Every Minute of It
  • Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion
  • Styx – Caught in the Act Live
  • Def Leppard – On Through the Night
  • Grease – Soundtrack
  • Star Wars – Soundtrack

The biggest surprise included in the box was the first vinyl album I ever bought.  If you have read the “About” section of my blog, you know what that album was.  My mom ordered it for me off the TV from a commercial during the TBS reruns of “The Monkees” back in the 70’s.  It was simply called “The Monkees”.  I almost teared up (actually I teared up from all the dust in the box as it flared up my allergies).

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A lot of these albums I am sure were my brothers’ albums and I somehow ended up with them. I hope they aren’t too disappointed that they are not getting them back.  That is not true, they can have them back.  They just need to come to North Carolina from Georgia and pry them from my cold, dead hands.

Also discovered in the box were some of my wife’s childhood albums.  There were some old Disney albums (and I mean old) and then some from a few of her favorite teen idols.  There was Andy Gibb, Leif Garrett and her personal love, Shaun Cassidy.  When she looked at the album, I hadn’t seen that look in her eyes since WE first met.  I think I should be jealous.  I have a feeling she will be listening to those while I “Da Doo Ron Ron” off to work.

The next day, my daughter and I found a great little record store in Charlotte and we went and picked up a couple albums.  They had those expensive albums like what I mentioned above, but they also had used albums that were a lot cheaper.  Since I had the first two Boston albums on vinyl, I went ahead and picked up Boston’s Third Stage ($10) and my daughter picked up James Bay’s latest album for only $20 (which I still think is too much).

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I need to make a list of what albums I want because I walked around that store for almost an hour and couldn’t decide on anything but the Boston album.  Too many to choose!!!  My daughter, who takes hours to pick out a shirt had her album picked in 5 minutes.

When we got home and put the James Bay album on, the cheap record player we bought the day before wasn’t working properly.  It can’t seem to keep the appropriate speed and the song tends to slow down.  All the excitement from the first day fizzled out fast. I knew I should have just waited and bought a decent player right out of the gate. Sometimes I am too cheap.   So, I guess I do care if the record player is any good.

Well, I am researching a decent player now and can’t wait to get one.  Any recommendations?  I am anxious to listen to the whole set of albums from the box.

Women that Rock – Playlist

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Most of the rock albums I have are sung by men.  However, there are a lot of great rock songs and albums with female lead singers.  I was sitting here listening to Janis Joplin and started thinking about who were some of my favorite female lead singers that could rock it out.  Below is my list of my favorite Women that Rock.

Here we go.

“Piece of My Heart” – Janis Joplin

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