The liner notes to Capitol's 20-track retrospective of rock goddess
Pat Benatar's golden years are filled with testimonials from some of the genre's queens, both reigning (
Sarah McLachlan,
Tori Amos) and retired (
Jane Wiedlin,
Martha Davis). It's a fitting tribute to the artist, as her four-and-a-half-octave vocal range spewing arena-sized anthems has yet to be matched by anyone with as much rock & roll panache. "We Belong," "Shadows of the Night," "Promises in the Dark," and "Love Is a Battlefield" are all certifiable '80s classics -- not just guilty pleasures -- and even later semi-hits like "Sex as a Weapon" and "All Fired Up" don't sound as overwrought as one would imagine, having not heard them in some time.
Greatest Hits is just five songs longer than 1989's
Best Shots -- reissued in 2003 with an accompanying DVD -- but the inclusion of fan favorites such as "Little Too Late" and "Le Bel Age" make this collection the most effective to date. Fair is fair. ~ James Christopher Monger