Seven the Hard Way

Seven the Hard Way
Cover photography by Moshe Brakha
Studio album by Pat Benatar
Released	October 30, 1985
Recorded	1985
Studio	Capitol Studios, Cherokee Studios, Conway Recording Studios and Oasis Studios, Hollywood, Soundcastle Studios, Los Angeles, MCA Whitney Recording Studios, Glendale, California
Genre	Rock, hard rock
Length	37:05
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	Neil Giraldo, Joe Chiccarelli Mike Chapman ("Invincible")
Pat Benatar chronology
Tropico (1984) Seven the Hard Way (1985) Best Shots (1987)
Singles from Seven the Hard Way
"Invincible" Released: July 6, 1985 "Sex as a Weapon" Released: November 4, 1985 "Le Bel Age" Released: January 20, 1986

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(positive)[2]

Seven the Hard Way is Pat Benatar's sixth studio album, and her seventh album overall, released in 1985. It debuted on the US Billboard 200 album chart the week of December 14 and peaked at No. 26,^[3] producing the hits: "Invincible", "Sex as a Weapon", and "Le Bel Age".^[4] The album sold approximately 600,000 in the US and was certified Gold.^[5]

The Grammy nominated single, "Invincible" was produced by Mike Chapman and recorded for the soundtrack of the Matthew Robbins' movie The Legend of Billie Jean, which, although doing poorly at the box office, became a cult classic to MTV fans in general. The song became a hit single and was included in the album, despite its musical style being quite different from Benatar's current one and more reminiscent of her earlier efforts.^[6] Benatar often commented at her concerts before performing the song that it "is from one of the worst movies ever made."^[7]

Seven the Hard Way was the last Pat Benatar album to feature bassist Donnie Nossov, who along with drummer Myron Grombacher went on to play with Lita Ford on her breakthrough album, Lita (1988) and on the supporting tour. Grombacher would return to Benatar's band for her follow-up album, Wide Awake in Dreamland, released after the three-year hiatus that followed Seven the Hard Way.

BGO Records reissued Seven the Hard Way on CD with Tropico.

Track listing (Vinyl)

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sex as a Weapon"	Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg	4:15
2.	"Le Bel Age"	Guy Marshall, Robert Tepper	5:11
3.	"Walking in the Underground"	Neil Giraldo, Myron Grombacher	4:39
4.	"Big Life"	Giraldo, Grombacher	2:40
5.	"Red Vision"	Giraldo, Grombacher	3:50

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"7 Rooms of Gloom" (Four Tops cover)	Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland	3:33
7.	"Run Between the Raindrops"	Giraldo, Grombacher	4:27
8.	"Invincible" (Theme from The Legend of Billie Jean)	Simon Climie, Holly Knight	4:28
9.	"The Art of Letting Go"	Philip Allen Brown, Richard Feldman, Grombacher	4:02

Personnel

Band members

• Pat Benatar – vocals
• Neil Giraldo – guitars, producer
• Charlie Giordano – keyboards
• Donnie Nossov – bass
• Myron Grombacher – drums

Additional musicians

• Lenny Castro – percussion
• The Uptown Horns – horns
• Frank Linx, Tuffy Cummings, Maxi Anderson, Phyllis St. James, Rose Banks, Tom Kelly, Tommy Funderburk, Von Ciele Faggett, Gean Johnson, Carmen Twillie, Táta Vega – backing vocals

Production

• Joe Chiccarelli – associate producer, engineer, mixing
• Mike Chapman – producer of "Invincible"
• William Whittman – engineer and mixing on "Invincible"
• Daren Klein, Dave Hernandez, George Tutko – engineers
• Brian Scheuble, Charlie Paakkari, Gary Hollis, Mark DeSisto, Paul Ericksen, Richard McKernan, Robert Corti, Samii Taylor, Scott Church, Steve Himelfarb – assistant engineers
• George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York

Charts

Album Year Chart Position 1985 Australian Albums Chart[8] 19 Billboard 200 (USA)[3] 26 German Albums Chart[9] 42 UK Albums Chart[10] 69 1986 New Zealand Albums Chart[11] 2 Swedish Albums Chart[12] 32 RPM100 Albums (Canada)[13] 36

Singles Year Title Chart Position 1985 "Invincible" Mainstream Rock (USA)[4] 4 RPM100 Singles (Canada)[14] 6 Ultratop Belgium Chart (Flanders)[15] 9 Billboard Hot 100 (USA)[4] 10 New Zealand Singles Chart[16] 15 GfK Dutch Chart[17] 18 Australian Singles Chart[8] 23 German Singles Chart[18] 31 UK Singles Chart[10] 53 French Singles Chart[19] 94 "Sex as a Weapon" Mainstream Rock (USA)[4] 5 Billboard Hot 100 (USA)[4] 28 RPM100 Singles (Canada)[20] 30 1986 New Zealand Singles Chart[21] 26 Australian Singles Chart[8] 33 UK Singles Chart[10] 67 French Singles Chart[19] 70 "Le Bel Age" Mainstream Rock (USA)[4] 19 Billboard Hot 100 (USA)[4] 54 Australian Singles Chart[8] 86

Certifications

Country	Organization	Year	Sales
USA	RIAA	1986	Gold (+ 500,000)[5]
Canada	CRIA	1986	Platinum (+ 100,000)[22]

External links

• "Seven The Hard Way" at discogs

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pat Benatar - Seven the Hard Way review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
2. Holmes, Tim (January 16, 1986). "Album Reviews: Pat Benatar - Seven the Hard Way". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
3. "Seven the Hard Way Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
4. "Pat Benatar Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
5. "RIAA Searchable database: search for "Benatar"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
6. Grein, Paul (January 11, 1986). "Benatar's Music, Image in Transition". Billboard. 96 (2): 48. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
7. Ponti, Aimsel (April 21, 2012). "Review: Benatar rocks the State". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. "Album – Pat Benatar, Seven the Hard Way". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
10. "Artist Chart History – Pat Benatar". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
11. "Pat Benatar – Seven the Hard Way (album)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
12. "Pat Benatar – Seven the Hard Way (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
13. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 43, No. 18, January 25, 1986". Library and Archives Canada. January 25, 1986. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
14. "Top Singles - Volume 43, No. 1, September 14, 1985". Library and Archives Canada. September 14, 1985. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
15. "Pat Benatar – Invincible". Ultratop (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
16. "Pat Benatar – Invincible (song)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
17. "Pat Benatar – Invincible (song)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
18. "Single – Pat Benatar, Invincible". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
19. "infodisc.fr Note : You must select Pat Benatar". infodisc.fr. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
20. "Top Singles - Volume 43, No. 16, December 28, 1985". Library and Archives Canada. December 28, 1985. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
21. "Pat Benatar – Sex as a Weapon (song)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
22. "Gold Platinum Search for Pat Benatar". Music Canada. Retrieved July 16, 2014.