Pretenders II - Dark Publications

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•	The Pretenders
•	Learning to Crawl
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•	Last of the Independents

Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A blast from the past with a full vintage concert (from 1981) and bonus tracks January 26, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I finally broke down and bought this reissue. I purchased the boxed set (which is essential if you're not going to rebuy their remastered albums). The concert did it for me. It gets a fifth star (the orignal album rated a four and 1/2)for the live show.Enhanced with a second CD with the bulk of the concert the band played in Santa Monica, CA in 1981 (I wasn't there but I did want to go--couldn't get tickets at the time)along with a some wonderfully clunky demos for "Talk of the Town", an outtake/demo version of "I Go To Sleep" and a remix of "Pack It Up" that repeat the experiment that Lennon did for "I Am the Walrus" and "Glass Onion" incorporating random radio ads and programs. It's bizarre and truly only something that Chris Thomas might actually consider worth releasing.

This version of the album is the keeper if only for the concert alone. This terrific follow up to the band's first album had a few weak songs but overall carried on developing the band's sound (and Hynde's songwriter muscle). The only thing missing here is the take of "Precious" which was released on the "Talk of the Town" EP just prior to this album's release. We do get a live version of "Precious" here but if I'm not mistaken, it's a different version entirely from a different show.

The only thing I dislike is that the two CDs slide into the cardboard sleeve without any protection. The booklet is nice with complete lyrics, an overview of the recording and where the band was at the time along with some really cool pictures. I'll probably break down and buy the first album as well (my other favorite Pretenders album aside from the third "Learning to Crawl").

As much as I love "The Pretenders" (the band's first album), I love "Pretenders II" more. Why? Because in addition to some of Chrissie Hynde's most melodic songs ("Talk of the Town", "Message of Love", "Birds of Paradise"), a killer cover of a classic Ray Davies tune and a rockin' closer called "Louie Louie" (no, not the better known one covered by every bar band in America), crunchy rockers we also get some naughty songs as well. "Bad Boys Get Spanked" isn't a great song but I have to admit I crack up when I hear it. "The Adultress" with it's classic line "I'm the adultress/I didn't want to be/But I'm convienent/And I make good tea" sums it all up. Oh, and let's not forget the great James Honeyman Scott on guitar. This is the classic line up (although the latest edition comes a close second).

5 out of 5 stars

Worth the upgrade March 1, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Sometimes reissues are worth plunking down money for, and this is one of them. The packaging and sound are great, disc one is the album as originally issued (no extras), and the extras on the generous disc two are good to great (most of it is a vintage live show, with a couple of demos and outtakes at the end of the disc). The live stuff is pretty hot and sealed the deal on my satisfaction with this purchase. To the reviewer who complained about the cardboard album jackets, i often have the same problem: sometimes they scuff the disc or the disc is hard to get out without damaging the sleeve - I think i found the solution. Since the packaging is slightly oversized, if you go get a packet of paper cd sleeves (available from a number of places on the net, like Bags Unlimited), they should fit into the pocket and protect the disc, and allow for easy removal and protection of the disc. i've had to do this with several 'mini-lp' reissues and the Pretenders reissues have jackets big enough to accomodate the sleeves without any trimming. (I also recommend upgrading to the 2CD reissue of the first album, too - Rhino did a bang-up job on these. The Box set (Pirate Radio) is also quite good).

5 out of 5 stars

My Message of Love November 7, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I love this re-release of Pretenders II with its bonus disc of many live classics from a great band! It is a must have, I can't get myself to take it out of my car's CD player now that I have it there. Every day is a great listening experience!

It is weird reflecting on this, because back when this was first released as an LP I was hoping The Pretenders could blow me away as much as they did when their debut LP was released. But that wasn't a realistic expectation. And I was overly critical, feeling they need more songs like The Adultress (which reminded me of The Wait) and less like I Go To Sleep (which I felt the commercial success of Brass In Pocket distracted them from their real calling). Yet I have come to see that the music on this CD also stands the test of time, just as their debut does. The first two LPs were classics, of a band with the greatest of potential which suffered a tragic short career together. The two discs capture this, and are a must have for any music lover.

The Pretenders were a great, GREAT band! And they still are (have you seen The Pretenders & Friends on VH1?)!

4 out of 5 stars

Okay - I bought the re-issue... December 4, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I wasn't gonna, but then I did...I broke down and bought the re-issue. I'll probably go back and buy the re-issue of the debut album, too, because I enjoy the hell out of this one!
The music itself is still as fresh and rocking and pleasing as it was when I first bought the vinyl version way back when it was released. Seeing them on that tour in Pittsburgh was one of my favorite concert experiences as well. Now, with the extra concert bonus stuff on disc two, it is that much more difficult to stop listening to it over and over and over! I get just as frustrated as the next working stiff when I face the prospect of buying a disc I already own just to pick up more stuff, but this is a legitimate case for dropping the dime. If you need to, sell the original to a store that buys back used discs and get some in-store credit towards something else or better yet, a few bucks for some refreshments! If you like this album, you'll love the re-issue. Viva the Pretenders!

4 out of 5 stars

You guys are the pits of the world! November 9, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

So snarled Chrissie Hynde on The Pretenders' second full force album.

I have to admit, I held off on buying this because I never felt it measured up to either the brash originality of the debut or the defiant sense of odds-breaking that propelled Learning to Crawl. But then I bought both of those remastered CD's and just knew I needed this (and Get Close) again. I admit to grievously under-rating "Pretenders II."

While the sting of the debut may have raised expectations for the follow-up to a level I could not accept less than at the time, this sophomore album has all the great things the debut offered. There is Chrissie as the tough/tender woman whose voice could tremble seductively ("Two Birds of Paradise") or snarl dismissively (the aforereferenced "Pack It Up"). The group displays a solid understanding about what being in a rock band is all about, coyly referencing classics like "Louie Louie" or "Day After Day" for titles, and then actually covering a classic (again, turning to The Kinks for "I Go To Sleep"). Sadly, Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott maybe understood it too well; they would both be dead of drug abuse within two years.

There is also Chrissie and The Pretenders' true secret weapon in evidence here, and that is their uncanny early knack to turn catchy, classic singles loose with ease. Both "Talk of the Town" and "Message Of Love," while not US hit singles, have become classics in their own rite. The playfully naughty "The Adultress" ("but I'm convenient, and I make good tea" is one of the best couplets in rock, ever) and "Bad Boys Get Spanked" sound better today than they did 27 years ago. It makes you remember that this classic line-up of The Pretenders only held together for two albums, and it's a packet of music that holds up beautifully. Honeyman-Scott's clever guitar riffs have since received the accolades they deserve, and "Pretenders II" has, as well. "Pits of the world?" Hardly. Maybe I held off on buying this reissue early, but I'm glad I have it now.

Yet there is even more to this; That second full length concert disc. Even with the three superfluous demo/outtakes, the bonus CD could have made its own four star stand-alone offering. This was the classic early line-up playing with gusto to win a Santa Monica live audience over (plus recording the show as a college radio music special - I used to actually have the LP, dangit!) to the new material plus three songs from the debut. It should probably be re-emphasized that those two albums were all the band had to draw from at this stage of the game, and the powerful line-up was a monster, live. When Chrissie cuts loose with a banshee wail on "Bad Boys Get Spanked" and Honeyman-Scott fires off a scorching solo during "Up The Neck," you'll realize just why The Pretenders were one of the great rock and roll hopes of the early 80's.

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