We Belong of Pat Benatar
After four hard rock studio albums, Pat Benatar began a more conventional turn in 1983 with one of her biggest hits, Love is a Battlefield, her first top 5 on Billboard as well as a big hit in Europe.
Moving away from hard rock
Encouraged by this general enthusiasm, the young singer would soften the tone a bit. «I wanted to start making songs that had a little more emotional impact. When we’re older, I’m not saying we’re rocking in our rocking chairs, but I wanted to inject something more mature. I wanted to make sure I could take on these songs over time,» he explained in October 1984 when he released We Belong.
In terms of rhythm and melody, the songs have more depth than usual. The Tropico album was made in eight months with her usual group of musicians (including her husband, songwriter and incidentally artistic director, Neil Giraldo), only bassist Roger Capps was replaced by Donnie Nossov.
Authors of We Belong
Almost all of the new songs are written and composed by the band, with the notable exception of We Belong, an outside contribution by songwriting tandem Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro.
Dan and Eric had a band, but things didn’t go as planned. Dan, who lends a hand in the family business, is not as devoted to the group as Eric would like, who then asks him to leave. After a reconciliation, they write We Belong in an hour and a half.
Worldwide success of the song We Belong
Almost exactly one year after writing We Belong, the song, inspired by a love disappointment, was a musical top.
The text has an eminently universal scope and the composition draws attention in particular with the vocal harmonies of the singer and the percussions that make the refrains take off, turning the ballad into a true hymn.
Ranked fifth on Billboard, We Belong is ninth in Germany and 22nd in the UK. In the U.S., Tropico will be Pat Benatar’s last platinum-certified album. In 1990, Dan Navarro and Eric Lowen covered We Belong on their first album as a duo.
