Crimes Of Passion
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Album Summary
Crimes of Passion came roaring out of Chrysalis Records in 1980, and honey, it hit like a thunderclap on a clear summer night. Pat Benatar's second studio album was produced by Keith Olsen and Neil Giraldo — Benatar's musical partner and soon-to-be husband — and the combination of their chemistry in the studio was something undeniable. Recorded during that electric moment when new wave was reshaping the sonic landscape of rock and roll, the album captured a woman and a band firing on all cylinders, blending hard rock grit with a sharp, polished edge that felt both urgent and timeless. This was not a sophomore slump — this was a declaration.
Reception
- Crimes of Passion climbed to #2 on the Billboard 200, a remarkable achievement that confirmed Benatar was no one-hit wonder but a genuine commercial force in rock music.
- Hit Me With Your Best Shot became one of the signature rock singles of the era, earning heavy rotation on radio stations across the country and cementing Benatar's status as a mainstream powerhouse.
- The album was certified multi-platinum and stood among the best-selling rock albums of its era, earning Benatar a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
Significance
- Crimes of Passion arrived at a pivotal moment in rock history and proved without question that a woman could front a hard rock outfit with the same authority, fire, and commercial muscle as anyone in the game — Pat Benatar didn't open a door, she kicked it off the hinges.
- The album's fusion of new wave sensibility with hard rock conviction helped define the sound of early 1980s rock radio, influencing the production aesthetic that would shape the decade's biggest acts.
- Hell Is For Children demonstrated that Benatar and her collaborators were willing to use their platform for something meaningful, addressing child abuse with unflinching seriousness and proving that rock and roll could carry a conscience without losing its edge.
Samples
- Hit Me With Your Best Shot — one of the most recognizable rock anthems of the 1980s, the track has been interpolated and referenced across pop and hip-hop culture in the decades since its release, appearing in numerous film and television productions and covered or sampled by various artists over the years.
Tracklist
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A1 Treat Me Right 135
3:24
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A2 You Better Run 125
3:02
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A3 Never Wanna Leave You 143
3:13
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A4 Hit Me With Your Best Shot 127
2:51
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A5 Hell Is For Children 132
4:48
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B1 Little Paradise 110
3:32
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B2 I'm Gonna Follow You 155
4:28
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B3 Wuthering Heights 128
4:28
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B4 Prisoner Of Love 117
3:05
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B5 Out-A-Touch 154
4:16
Artist Details
Pat Benatar burst onto the scene in the late 1970s out of New York, a powerhouse vocalist who fused hard rock grit with new wave polish and turned it into something that just grabbed you by the soul and wouldn't let go. She and her guitarist-husband Neil Giraldo crafted a sound that was tough, tender, and undeniably real, scoring massive hits like "Heartbreaker," "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," and "Love is a Battlefield" that made her one of the dominant forces of the early MTV era. She broke down walls for women in rock and roll, proving that a woman could stand center stage in a hard rock world and not just hold her own — she could own the whole room.
