Precious Time

After the blockbuster hit Crimes of Passion, Benatar and guitarist/future husband Neil Giraldo set about putting together Benatar's heaviest album to date. While it lacked the commercial firepower of the previous set, it still featured strong songs and a few hits: "Fire and Ice" and the expansive "Promises in the Dark," one of Benatar's most dramatic and effective tracks. Her voice is a powerful instrument, and with it she does justice to The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" and Paul Revere & The Raiders' "Just Like Me." The title track, written by Billy Steinberg, captured Benatar's sensual side, while Benatar and Giraldo delivered the perfect hard rocker in "Evil Genius," where she comes close to heavy metal. "Take It Anyway You Want It" and "Hard to Believe" work up a pop lather. Benatar would seriously revamp her music after this point. However, taken as the final album of her opening trilogy, Precious Time is the perfect consolidation of everything she learned as a rock 'n' roll singer.