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Crimes of Passion (Pat Benatar album)

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Crimes of Passion
Studio album by
Pat Benatar
ReleasedAugust 5, 1980
StudioSound City (Van Nuys, California)
Genre
Length37:35
LabelChrysalis
ProducerKeith Olsen
Pat Benatar chronology
In the Heat of the Night
(1979) 		Crimes of Passion
(1980) 		Precious Time
(1981)
Singles from Crimes of Passion
  1. "You Better Run"
    Released: July 8, 1980
  2. "Hit Me with Your Best Shot"
    Released: September 15, 1980
  3. "Treat Me Right"
    Released: December 29, 1980

Crimes of Passion is the second studio album by American singer Pat Benatar, released on August 5, 1980, by Chrysalis Records. It is Benatar's first album to feature Myron Grombacher on drums, beginning a long tenure in her band that would last into the late 1990s.

The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 for the week ending August 23, 1980, and remaining at number two for five weeks in January 1981, behind John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy.[1]

Crimes of Passion spawned three singles. "You Better Run" was the second music video ever aired on MTV in 1981, and peaked at number 42 in the US and New Zealand, as well as number 33 in Australia.[2] "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", considered to be Benatar's best-known song,[3] became her first top-10 entry in the US,[2] and entered the top 40 in Australia. "Treat Me Right" became a top-20 entry in the US.[2] The album also contains a cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights".

Crimes of Passion was critically well-received and became Benatar's best-selling album, having been certified four-times Platinum (for shipments in excess of over four million copies) in the United States and five-times Platinum (for shipments of 500,000 copies) in Canada.[4][5] It placed at number five on Billboard magazine's 1981 year-end album chart.[6] It peaked at number two in Canada and number six in New Zealand. It was also Benatar's highest-peaking album to that point in Australia (number 16) and her first album to chart in Sweden (number 27).

In 1981, Crimes of Passion earned Benatar her first Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.[7] The album was reissued and remastered on Capitol Records in 2006.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
MusicHound[9]
Rolling StoneMixed[10]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]

Crimes of Passion was generally well-received. Billboard wrote in a 1980 review that the album "finds Benatar in an even more rock vein with her powerful yet sensuous vocals blazing a ferocious rock path" and called it "a most credible follow-up to Benatar's near-platinum debut."[12] J.D. Considine, writing in (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide, awarded the album 3 of 5 stars, saying that "Hell Is For Children" "proves [Benatar's] mettle as a writer" and offered praise for her vocals and the album's production.[11] Eric Deggans, writing as part of MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it one of Benatar's most consistent albums, and said that its singles such as "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" "cemented her reputation as a toughie with pipes of solid brass".[9]

Track listing

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Treat Me Right"
3:24
2."You Better Run" (The Young Rascals cover)
3:02
3."Never Wanna Leave You"
3:13
4."Hit Me with Your Best Shot"Eddie Schwartz2:51
5."Hell is for Children"
  • Giraldo
  • Benatar
  • Roger Capps
4:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Little Paradise"Giraldo3:32
7."I'm Gonna Follow You"Billy Steinberg4:28
8."Wuthering Heights" (Kate Bush cover)Bush4:28
9."Prisoner of Love"Scott St. Clair Sheets3:05
10."Out-A-Touch"
  • Giraldo
  • Benatar
  • Myron Grombacher
4:16
Total length:37:35

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crimes of Passion.[13]

Musicians

[edit]

Technical

[edit]

Artwork

[edit]
  • Ria Lewerke-Shapiro – art direction, cover design
  • Billy Bass – direction
  • Leon LeCash – photographs

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[4] 5× Platinum 500,000^
France (SNEP)[20] Gold 100,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[21] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[5] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Pat Benatar Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Pat Benatar Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Theakston, Rob. "Pat Benatar - Crimes of Passion Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Canadian album certifications – Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion". Music Canada. April 1, 1981. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "American album certifications – Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion". Recording Industry Association of America. November 6, 1984. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  7. ^ "Grammy Awards: Best Rock Vocal Performance – Female". Rock on the Net.com. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 146. ISBN 1846098564.
  9. ^ a b Gary Graff & Daniel Durchholz (eds), MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1995; ISBN 0787610372), p. 57.
  10. ^ Cohen, Debra Rae (November 13, 1980). "Album Reviews: Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  11. ^ a b Evans, Paul; Miles, Milo; et al. (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 60. ISBN 0743201698.
  12. ^ "Billboard's Top Album Picks Ending 8/16/1980" (PDF). Billboard. Billboard Publications, Inc. August 16, 1980. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  13. ^ Crimes of Passion (liner notes). Pat Benatar. Chrysalis Records. 1980. CHE 1275.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4703a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Albums". RPM. Vol. 34, no. 6. December 20, 1980. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  19. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. Vol. 35, no. 22. December 26, 1981. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  20. ^ "French album certifications – Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved November 22, 2019. Select PAT BENATAR and click OK. 
  21. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Pat Benatar – Crimes of Passion". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
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