Benatar Sings the Blues--and She’s Thrilled About It

You might say Chrysalis Records was a little shocked when Pat Benatar delivered her comeback album . . . and it turned out to be a collection of obscure blues songs.

“Whenever you come up with something completely different they always have a heart attack,” Benatar says cheerfully. “Then you give them a little oxygen and they calm down.”

Give Benatar credit. After enjoying a string of hits in the early and mid-1980s, including “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “Love Is a Battlefield,” the feisty rock singer’s career has been on the wane. Rather than simply churn out stale rock fodder, Benatar, like Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon and other pop veterans, has decided to try a new direction.

“I really had begun to feel boxed in,” she explains. “After 12 years of doing rock, it was time to move on. I’m 38 and a mother. I’m light years away from the person I was when I started out.

“The problem with success is that it after a while it strangles your creativity. You start worrying too much about chart numbers and sales figures. I felt locked into the same old rock attitude. When you have a certain amount of recognition, you just can’t go out and make mistakes gracefully. So finally I just said, ‘OK, here we go. Let’s do it!’ ”

Neil Giraldo, Benatar’s husband and longtime musical collaborator, had always been a blues fan. “We’ve always listened to blues at home, it had just never occured to us to play it. I don’t know if loving it is the same thing as singing it, but it’s worth a try.”

The result, “True Love,” due out April 9, features the couple accompanied by Roomful of Blues, a respected blues band that will hit the road with Benatar and Giraldo later this year. Aside from three new songs, the record features such gems as B.B. King’s “Paying the Cost to Be the Boss” and “I’ve Got Papers on You,” Wyonie Harris’ “Blood Shot Eyes” and Albert King’s “I Get Evil.”

“I love singing blues songs,” Benatar says. “The music swings and it doesn’t wreck my voice. It’s just more comfortable . To me it’s like the difference between being in love when you’re 15 and being in love when you’re 32. You finally know what it’s all about.”

That doesn’t mean Benatar’s brimming with confidence. “When I first finished the songs, I was so nervous I was playing the tapes for anyone I could torture for 20 minutes. My mailman’s heard it. I even made my daughter’s kindergarten teacher listen to it!”

Still, many industry observers are skeptical that a blues album, released by a fading star, can make a real dent in today’s tightly formatted pop marketplace.

“They’re missing the point--albums like this are concept driven, not hit driven,” says Danny Goldberg, who manages Benatar and Bonnie Raitt. “Bonnie’s album went No. 1 without even a Top 50 single. Paul Simon’s new album went platinum without a hit. This is the start of a second career for Pat. I think the record will be accessible to the same adult, baby-boom generation that has been buying albums by Bonnie, Sting, Paul Simon, Don Henley and Bette Midler.”

Chrysalis President John Sykes is equally optimistic.

“We were really surprised when we first heard the record but everyone here thinks it’s great,” he said. “The difference is that you can’t play by the traditional rules with a record like this. We’re going to look for exposure from VH-1, the press and retail in-store play. Especially in this era of disposable artists, we think that if you offer Top 40 radio a great record--and one from an artist they’re familiar with--they’ll get behind it.”

Benatar has her fingers crossed. “It’s scary because you feel like you’re starting from zero again,” she says. “You find yourself saying, ‘What the hell is going to happen?’ ”

She laughs. “I’m a little scared, but hey--that’s what makes it so exciting.”