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5 out of 5 stars

An album that enthralls after 25 years. One of the best ever. October 28, 2006
43 out of 46 found this review helpful

The Pretenders' first album is one of the great rock albums.

Ever.

After a quarter of a century, your heart will still quicken and your blood pressure will rise. That same excitement you got back then will come right back.

Without an ounce of hyperbole, this nuclear-hot collaboration between an American expatriate and three profoundly talented Englishmen at the tail end of the punk movement resulted in a 12-song set that in it's quality, influence, vision, range, ambition and plain old rock & roll energy has yet to be matched.

You hear this album, you will think these guys could do anything they wanted. Punk to pop, country to new-wave soul. It's all here, and none of it sounds like genre-hopping. It's a totally organic sound. Instantly recognizable.

This album has not been remastered since its' original release, and now benefits from greater separation and clarity, yet it doesn't sound too harsh or over-detailed. It feels true to its' source. It's crisp. I had hoped after "Pirate Radio" (the recent box set) that their records would start to become available in newly remastered versions; here we have the first of two...a double CD at a double CD price point.

You have Chrissie Hynde's inimitable voice...part Dusty Springfield, part snarling cat. James Honeyman-Scott's precise, spare, efficient (but still thoroughly musical) style of playing was the sound of a punk rocker who took a lot of lessons. Pete Farndon's muscular, melodic bass was clearly influenced by British 60's rock...like the Who and the Beatles. Martin Chambers' drumming could go from a simple 4/4 backbeat to these unearthly tempo shifts and back without sounding like he's even trying.

This gem of a record starts with a count-off leading into the lacerating "Precious". Chrissie Hynde's vibrato purr over her compatriots' buzzsaw back-up tell us immediately we're in for something we've never heard before.
The now-famous four-letter exhortation spit at the listener startles you ("Not me baby I'm too precious...@#$% off!"), warning you to buckle up for the ride, as the album begins.

"The Phone Call", its' simple two-chord back-and-forth and punky spoken vocals, seduce you into listening more carefully..."what the heck is she saying" sorta stuff...as the incredibly tight rhythm section builds to a powerful instrumental coda.

"Up The Neck" shows a softer, more elegant musicality...with the bolder sound returning around the chorus. Many of the sounds and motifs flow over from "The Phone Call", especially the guitar lead.

In fact, this album sounds more of a piece...a true album versus a collection of songs...than any other of that era.
Of ANY era, actually. The pace and sequencing always invite you to listen "more"...to become involved. Whether that's bouncing around gleefully or pulling the headphones closer to decode murmured lyrics depends on the song.

"Tattooed Love Boys", one of the most original singles to come out of the post-punk/New Wave scene, has an acceleration that the most amphetamine-laced speed metal freak could only aspire to. The 15/8 tempo (or something close to that) keeps you off-balance yet hurtling forward at the same time. It's the sound of a runaway truck heading down an icy mountain with no brakes...
The sudden break in the middle is sublime. The exquisitely simple yet freakin' awesome guitar "solo" is an air-guitarist's dream. It is physically impossible to sit still during this song.

The thick bass of "Space Invader" introduces you to that rarest of all things: an interesting rock instrumental.

"The Wait" is pure bedlam. The opening "ker-whang" guitar chord perks your ears, the band thunders in, Miss Hynde grunts once...loudly...and we're off on a breakneck, thrilling rollercoaster of a punk ride.
Clean, crisp playing...never once overdoing it...every note and chord in perfect place. Pete Farndon's bass work would make John Entwistle smile. The song literally skids to a halt.

"Stop Your Sobbing" is a shock...a terrific Kinks cover with anthemic vocals by Chrissie Hynde that flirt with a little country flavor along with it's classic English pop sound. After the searing "The Wait", this is almost soothing.
A necessary reprieve.

"Kid" continues to show their ambition, their almost limitless prowess. It's a more conventional pop song, like "Sobbing". The sound is still urgent, and still powerful, but not as bruising.

If there is a weak spot, the moody "Private Life" might be it. It's atmospheric, but after eight unbelievable songs, it's a little boring and a little long. It's over six minutes. There's a lot to like in it...and I rarely skip it, but I rarely hit "repeat" if you know what I mean.

But then there's the chiming intro to "Brass In Pocket", the classic single with it's loping, insistent beat, simple guitar and bass lines and straightforward drumming. "I'm special...so special" Yes indeed, Miss Hynde. After the tempo explorations of the earlier tunes, this song's clarity and beauty shine in context.

Again...all of a piece.

"Lovers of Today" is another lesser effort...having the unfortunate spot after "Pocket". It's slow, and indulgent, something which The Pretenders had yet to be on this album.

The martial drumming of Martin Chambers opens the finale, "Mystery Achievement", a dark rocker with a sinuous bass hook. Great vocals, great sing-along chorus...fiery guitar breaks...the call-and-response between Scott's slashing chords and Chambers' drums...what a way to end the album!

We get a second disc of stuff, led off by the Bo-Diddley-ish "Cuban Slide" that is so good I wish it had replaced "Lovers of Today". It's slight, but it sounds like they're having a load of fun...listen to Chrissie sing those Latin "Ay-yi-yi's"!
"Porcelain" is another rave-up...an exercise in tempo shifts, crashing guitars...and this got left off?
A number of demos are informative, but mainly show that these guys were ready from the get-go. "The Wait" starts off faster, if you can believe that...and "Brass" is too slow.
Don't miss the swaggering instrumental "Swinging London". Why I have a vision of Austin Powers right now I don't know. Also check out the country lament "Tequila".
There are a handful of live tracks that will cause your speakers to blister.
Then there's the live "Sabre Dance"...yes, THAT one...the song from a thousand cartoons and commercials...with Chrissie Hynde chirping in some "Sobbing" lines...it's an odd way to end the "odds and sods" disc, but kinda hilarious. I can only imagine what the live audience was thinking...

The CD package comes in a lovely gatefold with terrific liner notes...and...wait for it...

LYRICS!

Yup. There really are lyrics to some of these blurs. I gleefully started to peruse them, but I liked my own, timeworn interpretations better, the stuff I THOUGHT they had been saying all these decades. Use them at your own peril.

There are few female rock singers today that do not owe their careers to this record. The Pretenders took punk's raucous energy & simplicity and fused it with pop sensibility & intelligent musicianship.

There are few records that retain the ability to enthrall over time. This one remains endlessly fascinating. You find yourself, in near-disbelief, thinking, "MAN is this an awesome record!"

My enthusiasm for this album has not diminished for over 25 years.

5 out of 5 stars

Hey, where's IN THE STICKS?? October 14, 2006
17 out of 26 found this review helpful

First off, I need to say something about the impact that this album has had on the course of popular rock music, both at the time, and still today. From the moment the PRETENDERS first album came out, it was hailed by critics and fans as an immediate rock and roll classic. Perhaps because of the various styles each song explored, while still having a unique sound as a band, you could tell right off, that this was not going to be a gimic band that would come out with a couple of albums and disappear. With talented musicians, the intellegent lyrics tinged with eastern spirituality, and the post punk energy matched up with cutting edge new wave sound production, this band had it all. One song is reggae (PRIVATE LIFE DRUMMER), one song has jazzy, avant guarde time changes thruout the song (TATTOOED LOVE BOYS), you have beautiful ballads (LOVERS OF TODAY) next to high energy punk (PRECIOUS), top fourty BRASS IN POCKET pop perfection, and just a general sense of COOLNESS that vibrates all thru this record. One can tell a good album, because it transcends its time, and whatever the current sound might be, to reach back in music history, and grab parts of all that came before, while still breaking enough new ground, to point towards future possiblities. PRETENDERS did that. So, the real question is, you have the CD already, maybe the LP as well, so do you fork over up to 25$ for a new copy?

Hey, are you a die hard fan or not? I saw this band live in THE TOWER THEATER down in Philly, during the early part of 1981, and that band blew me away. IT was all there, sound, hip image, great song writing, everything. I had been listening to PRETENDERS for about two years by that time. I had the first album, and EXTENDED PLAY, a USA only EP released right before the second album. The EP had a couple of my all time favorite songs by the band, PORCELEAN, and CUBAN SLIDE, (only released on that EP) as well as MESSAGE OF LOVE, and TALK OF THE TOWN from the upcoming album. The EP closed with a killer live version of PRECIOUS from Central Park in the summer of 1980. I was always disappointed that this EP was forgotten. However, with these extended versions of the first two PRETENDERS albums, it's now possible to listen to those songs again. (Actually, I found the first two songs on the bonus CD a long time ago, on a German import BEST OF, but besides that, i dont think they were ever issued on CD domestically, until the Box Set.) One thing that the BONUS CD allows you, is an overhead view on how the first album was created. Much the way the VU and DOORS box sets, showed how THE DOORS 1st LP and VELVET UNDERGROUND's first albums arrived with such an advanced level of direction and sound, so does this Bonus CD show the early history of the band. Each part of the bonus CD fascinates. From the earliest demos (THE PHONE CALL from 1977), until the live songs from early 1980, and the EXTENDED PLAY tracks, the first three years are musically represented. Most songs are as good as anything that rests on the first album. Some songs are instrumentals, which were the B-sides from the Singles that PRETENDERS released. SWINGING LONDON is just that, a 60s-retro instrumental, and NERVOUS BUT SHY an instrumental too. (tho that song might be the weakest on the album.) It's with these B-sides, that IN THE STICKS should be found. It was B-side to LOUIE LOUIE from the second album, but the bonus CD for PRETENDERS II was pretty full, so why not throw it on the bonus CD for the first album? It too is an instrumental, written by Martin Chambers. It's not an especially great song, no different that NERVOUS BUT SHY, but it would have made the output of the early band all in print on CD, in one place. (Isnt this the point of these reissues anyway?) Maybe because of Chrissie's problems with Martin over the years, and the fact that he was the only writer of the song, explains it's absense. Oh well, whatever. The unreleased songs far outweigh that deleted song however. TEQUILA, written by Chrissie, experiments with the band's COUNTRY MUSIC chops. YUP, parder, yer herd it here first. Jimmy Scott plays beautiful slide guitar, while the band holds together a good imitation of punkabily until the end, when they start to rock out a bit. I NEED SOMEONE, is Chrissie using her pipes for one of those spell binding covers of old R&B she does so well. (It's the initial indication of how she would perfect her ability to sing heartringing rhythym and blues covers like THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE, and MAY THIS BE LOVE, among many.) On the live CD on PRETENDERS II, Chrissie belts out HIGHER AND HIGHER, with a horn section no less. Many of the demos, and live songs differ vastly from the studio versions. KID, for instance, is much faster, while BRASS IN POCKET clocks in at a much slower tempo. As for that live SABRE DANCE number, all i can say is that Jimmy Scott liked to show off his guitar prowness from time to time. That song shows what PUNK ART ROCK would have sounded like, had it existed at the time. (I was reminded the way ELP would copy the classics. Between the country song and this, i found that the band was even more versatile than i had imagined.) In any case, if you are in for an alternate version of one of the true classics of rock, I think that with the demos, BBC radio shows, LIVE versions, and B-sides, you can program an alternate version of the first album. It's a perfect oppotunity to learn how this ATHENA of an album jumped out of the head of ZEUS fully formed.

One last remark, that may be of interest to potential buyers. The design of these reissues dumps the JEWEL CASE format, and exchanges it for those mini-album designs. The Mini-LP cover opens up like a Triplych, with the inside central panel showing the album sleeve artwork (remember the boy with the toy robot?), along with photos of each band member, two on this first CD, and the other two on the insides of Pretenders II. So, consider buying both of these together. They make an art statement together. However, that might be a lot of money to lay out unless you are a huge fan, or just happen to keep company with hundreds of GRANTS and JOHNSONS at a time. In any event, I didnt feel too aggrivated being forced to buy the first two albums a second time on CD to get the bonus discs. This improved mini-LP artwork, along with the revealing essays, fully printed LYRICS, and well annotated recording information, is worth it. Personally, major fans at the VERY LEAST ought to have been drooling the moment they heard this was released, and will buy it no matter what i write.

5 out of 5 stars

Let's Hear It For The Girl! August 6, 2008
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

The obvious dilemma facing any female who fronts an otherwise all-male group is that she can easily be classified as nothing more than eye candy either onstage or on the subsequent CD covers. Such is not the case with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders anymore than it is the case with Debbie Harry of Blondie or Theresa Starr of the Echoes. All three ladies plainly govern their groups with their musical partners often being interchangeable, save for Martin Chambers of the Pretenders, Chris Stein of Blondie, or Mark Alexander of the Echoes. Just as behind every great man there stands a great woman, each of the aforementioned males lends both moral support and strong instrumental backing behind the stellar seductresses who front their acts. On the Pretenders' debut disc, Hynde finds herself backed by expert musicianship and two ready-made hits with "Brass In Pocket" and the Kinks' classic "Stop Your Sobbing," produced by none other than Nick Lowe. Hynde would try to mine the Ray Davies' catalog yet again on the group's second release, but it would be this remake that garnered the most attention and that Hynde would sing at Wembley Stadium during her Live Aid set several years hence.

3 out of 5 stars

If It's Not Broke October 20, 2006
9 out of 13 found this review helpful

I love the record. But was really disappointed in the remastering.
It's thin and on the high end, and I seem to remember the orignal sounding better.

5 out of 5 stars

Debut album sounds terrific in deluxe two CD edition with rarities, b-sides, outtakes and deluxe packaging January 28, 2007
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

This deluxe reissue of the band's classic first album features the original album remastered plus a second disc of b-sides, outtakes, demos and live tracks. The original album sounds terrific here--much warmer and with much more detail than the previous CD version and captures the feel of the original vinyl release much more accurately than the first CD version.

The second disc consists of songs recorded as b-sides such as the classic "Cuban Slide","Porcelain" (both of which originally appeared as both a b-side and on The Pretenders "Extended Play" release that follow this album but preceded "Pretenders II")and "Swinging London". It's missing "In the Sticks" a Martin Chambers b-side which I suspect was probably just overlooked. The two former tunes sound much better than the previous CD release on the budget import "Don't Get Me Wrong" odds and ends/hits CD. "The Wait" showed up on the boxed set previously in demo form and again here. We also get "The Phone Call", a cover "I Can't Control Myself", "Kid", "Stop Your Sobbing", "Tequilla" (which is a different earlier version with the original line up as opposed to the one from the boxed set which featured the Hynde-MacIntosh-Chambers-Foster version of the band), "Nervous But Shy". We also get five tracks recorded for a BBC radio cast. " I Need Somebody" (which has been on various bootlegs over the years), "Mystery Achievement", "Precious" (again different from the boxed set version), "Tatooed Love Boys" and James Honeyman Scott ripping through a hit for Dave Edmunds' old band Love Sculpture "Sabre Dance" as the concluding track.

The artwork includes all the original artwork for the album as well as a booklet with a insightful essay on the origins of the band and the recording of their first album. We also get the lyrics for all the songs (a first for this album). My only complaint about the design of the packaging (which mirrors an LP sleeve although it folds out unlike the original release)is that the two CDs don't come in plastic protective covers which would prevent them from being scratched in the cardboard housing. It's a curious oversight from Rhino.

The Pretenders debut album had it all in spades. Great songwriting, singing, production and a unique mix of a harder rock sound mixed with the melodic bands (The Kinks, The Beatles) that songwriter/singer Chrissie Hynde admired. Hynder's songwriting always struck me as much closer to someone like John Lennon in that there was an emotional directness to all of her songs (and sexuality)that made it feel as if she was connecting with the listener individually. This is a great debut album and certainly one of the top 50 albums of all time. Highly recommended

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