Wide Awake in Dreamland

Wide Awake in Dreamland
Studio album by Pat Benatar
Released	June 1988
Recorded	Spyder's Soul Kitchen, Ocean Way Recording
Genre	Pop/Rock
Label	Chrysalis Records
Producer	Peter Coleman, Neil Giraldo
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone link
Pat Benatar chronology
Seven the Hard Way (1985) Wide Awake in Dreamland (1988) Best Shots (1989)

Wide Awake in Dreamland is Pat Benatar's eighth album, released in 1988. After a string of successful albums, this was her last rock-oriented album of the 1980s, before she would go on to try a blues-based sound. The album's lead single "All Fired Up" reached a high of #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and was the last of Benatar's singles to reach the U.S. Top 40.

Background and writing

The album was primarily recorded at Neil Giraldo's studio, with most of the songwriting by Giraldo and drummer Grombacher. Four of the tracks are also co-written with Benatar (who is credited as Pat Giraldo). One of the two songs from other songwriters was "Cerebral Man" written by Tully Winfield and well known stick player Don Schiff. In an interview from 2002, Schiff recalled how this track was added to the album: "Tully Winfield and I demo-ed songs at what was becoming a very popular studio in LA (Woodcliff Studio)... we had just recorded "Cerebral Man". If I recall correctly the demo just had Tully's voice, stick and drums. Peter Coleman was producing Pat's next album for Chrysalis and happened to be the next session in and heard the tune. He asked if he could take the song to Pat Benatar and hopefully put it on her next album. Her camp liked it and they did a wonderful job with the song. I thought Tully and I would get a few more songs on that album as they liked the style of our song but at the last minute she decided to go back to her more familiar rock style, leaving our song the only one stylistically like it on the album. "^[1]

Track listing

1. "All Fired Up" (Kerryn Tolhurst, Myron Grombacher, Pat Benatar) - 4:27
2. "One Love" (Neil Giraldo, Grombacher) - 5:12
3. "Let's Stay Together" (Giraldo, Benatar) - 4:50
4. "Don't Walk Away" (Nick Gilder, Duane Hitchings) - 4:35
5. "Too Long a Soldier" (Giraldo, Grombacher) - 6:42
6. "Cool Zero" (Giraldo, Grombacher) - 5:26
7. "Cerebral Man" (Tully Winfield, Don Schiff) - 4:40
8. "Lift 'em on Up" (Giraldo, Grombacher, Benatar) - 4:54
9. "Suffer the Little Children" (Giraldo, Benatar) - 4:10
10. "Wide Awake in Dreamland" (Giraldo, Grombacher) - 4:58

Singles

Album credits

Personnel

• Pat Benatar - vocals
• Neil Giraldo - guitars
• Myron Grombacher - drums
• Fernando Saunders - bass
• Frank Linx - bass, background vocals
• Kevin Savigar - keyboards
• Charles Giordano - keyboards
• Bo Castro - percussion
• Nick Gilder - background vocals on "Don't Walk Away", "Cool Zero"
• Carmen Twillie - background vocals on "Lift 'em on Up"
• Phyllis St. James - background vocals on "Lift 'em on Up"
• Maxine Water - background vocals on "Lift 'em on Up"

Notes

1. ^ Don Schiff interview - Global Bass, 2002

Link

• "Cerebral Man" - the original demo version by Winfield and Schiff