The most striking thing about Get Nervous, Pat Benatar's fourth and easily best album, is her increased vocal power. As she throws darts at ex-lovers, Benatar manages to sound more assertive and cockier than ever by varying her phrasing and biting right into the lyrics. And because Benatar's commitment to her trademark I-will-survive-and-you-will-suffer approach is so strong, she generally is able to make one forget that these songs lack much in the way of emotional range.

Produced by Neil Geraldo and Peter Coleman, Get Nervous is immediately distinguished from Benatar's previous albums by its bigger sound. Geraldo's screaming guitar passages and rhythmic jabs are now matched by the bright keyboard and synthesizer work of new band member Charles Giordano, and the result is high-rent hard rock. Pushed by her powerful backing band, Benatar rises up against the men who've abused her, demanding to be treated right and vowing to break out on her own. "I need more than your bedside manner I need someone to love," she sings in "I'll Do It." Although she's nowhere as lethal as, say, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, Benatar projects plenty of strength here and sounds more comfortable with her woman-of-steel persona than on previous records.

In the end, it might be argued that the music on this LP takes no real risks; "The Victim," for instance, dredges up every heavy-metal cliché imaginable. But on its own terms, Get Nervous is a step forward for Pat Benatar. (RS 383)

MITCHELL SCHNEIDER