Pat Benatar - Go (2003)

Pat Benatar practically invented female empowerment in rock, so it's a good to see she is back with her 17th album. Produced by her guitarist husband Neil Giraldo, Go shows that Benatar hasn't lost any of her swagger or punch. She's still the mistress of the emotional watershed as she pinpoints the precise moment when a long-suffering protagonist implodes and decides she will no longer be a victim of love. The kinetic and lyrical power released during those exchanges is still staggering, and songs like "I Won't" and "Go" visit the same teeth-gnashing terrain as "Love is a Battlefield," and "Hit Me with Your Best Shot." The only times she stumbles out of her stilettos is when she shows a softer side on the regretful "Sorry," which finds her splendidly ragged voice drowned in a sea of limpid Spanish guitars, and the Motown-esque "Please Don't Leave Me." But for most of the disc, Benatar is a hard-glittering rock gem who still can rage with the best of them. --Jaan Uhelszki