
DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060071

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   87 lines

BENATAR TAKES A SHOT AT THE CLUB CIRCUIT

FOUR YEARS AGO, Pat Benatar took maternity leave to give birth to her second daughter. The time away proved fruitful in other ways, too.

One, she decided to part with Chrysalis Records, the label that signed her in 1977. Two, other than tours with Fleetwood Mac (1995) and Steve Miller (1996), she's been a homebody the past two years - Mom to Haley, 12, and Hana, 4; collaborator with husband/guitarist/ producer Neil Giraldo.

The payoff was last June's rewarding ``Innamorata.'' One of the best albums of her career, it benefits from Benatar's experience in and out of the arena.

She still rocks with the vigor she did when she was discovered two decades ago at New York's Catch a Rising Star, but some songs employ Spanish guitar and strings.

``We wrote most of the songs on acoustic guitar,'' Benatar said. ``That's different; we usually write on piano and electric guitar. Neil and I also listen to a lot of music at home. We love the Gypsy Kings and the blues. I was going to be 45, so my perspective is different. All those things make a contribution to where you are in life.

``But I truly believe the most influential thing (in making the disc) was for the very first time we were allowed to make it in peace. There was no one breathing down our necks making us write 25 songs. We had more time to let the songs develop, as they should always do.

``It makes me crazy. If they had left us alone all the time, who knows what we could have done?''

This from the woman who won four straight Grammys from 1980 to '83 as rock's best female vocalist.

Not that Benatar is one to trade on her past. This tour offers a little of everything: some hits (``Love Is a Battlefield''), some rarities (``So Sincere''), some choice tracks off ``Innamorata,'' even some blues (``Payin' the Cost to Be the Boss'').

As for touring, it's unusual to find her on the road this time of year. Since becoming a mother, she's gone out only in the summer, when the kids aren't in school.

``I really think if you have children, you have to participate,'' she said last week from Scranton, Pa. ``Both Neil and I are hands-on parents. We're very traditional. We don't want nannies raising the kids; we take time to be with them.''

The girls will be in Norfolk for Friday's Boathouse show, the midway point of a 32-date club tour. Surprisingly, it's Benatar's first tour headlining smaller venues. ``We went right from opening for other bands in clubs to arenas, things like that,'' she said.

(Part of that club time was spent in Richmond, in the '70s.)

In some ways, the environment for female pop/rock artists has improved since Benatar released her multiplatinum debut, ``In the Heat of the Night.'' In other ways, she said, women still face ``the same struggle.''

This summer, Benatar played two dates on the well-received Lilith Fair, the traveling festival organized by Sarah McLachlan that featured Fiona Apple, Joan Osborne, Jewel, Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin and Suzanne Vega.

``It was a remarkable experience, especially for a woman from my age group,'' she said. ``The difference between the first wave (of women rockers), when I came through, is light years. This group is so comfortable. There's this incredible sisterhood. They're very empowered (and) into refining what they're doing.

``We were doing the gauntlet - there was not a lot of room for refinement. We just wanted to get through the week. It was like war all the time.''

Sometimes, it still is. The classic rock radio stations that play her hits to death don't want to add new material. The alternative stations aren't interested in ``Innamorata'' because they consider Benatar a ``vintage act.''

``There is no place for bands like us with new stuff that aren't rehashing their old stuff,'' she said. ``It's been the same struggle my whole life.''

How's she dealing with it? By drawing on experience. ``I was a relentless (one word, 12 letters). That's what I'm being again.''

Benatar laughed.

``The environment is better for me because I'm a 45-year-old mother of two that no one gives s--t to. At this stage, it's not very smart to give me any trouble.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

CMC INTERNATIONAL

Pat Benatar with her husband, guitarist-producer Neil Giraldo, who

collaborated with her on her latest album, ``Innamorata.''

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

Who: Pat Benatar with Kyle Davis

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Where: Boathouse, Norfolk

Tickets: $10 plus service charge; order at 671-8100 KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY MUSIC