Last Of The Independents Hollywood Perfume Night In My Veins Money Talk 977 Revolution All My Dreams I'll Stand By You I'm A Mother Tequila Every Mothers' Son Rebel Rock Me Love Colours Forever Young credits releases reviews The Cleveland Plain Dealer May 27, 1994 by Michael Norman Akron native Chrissie Hynde may call herself a "chick" but she's no bimbo cheerleader type, a la ditzy Shelly Tambo of TV's "Northern Exposure." The 43-year-old leader of the Pretenders comes from chickdom's leather-clad rocker school, a rough-and-tumble world where women walk proudly and carry the big sticks. Being one of the few women in rock to succeed on her own terms, Hynde has become something of a role model for today's new crop of women rockers and riot girls. It's a position she's not entirely comfortable with; the press material for her latest Pretenders album, "Last of the Independents," includes a sarcastic page of advice to "chick rockers." Among Hynde's pearls of wisdom: "Don't moan about being a chick, refer to feminism or complain about sexist discrimination. We've all been thrown down stairs and (expletive) about, but no one wants to hear a whining female. Write a loosely disguised song about it instead and clean up ($)." That sums up Hynde's mood on "Last of the Independents," a swaggering collection of in-your-face rock and pointed balladry that ranks among the best work in the Pretenders impressive 14-year history. The hook-laden, radio-friendly material ranges from sexy, uptempo rockers ("Hollywood Perfume," "Night in My Veins," "Rebel Rock Me") to lushly produced and orchestrated ballads ("977," "Revolution," "I'll Stand By You"). There are also a few strategically placed message songs dealing with the aforementioned "chick" issues, including "I'm a Mother" and "Every Mother's Son." Some may find the production and orchestration a bit too extravagant in spots. Strings and a gospel choir adorn "I'll Stand by You," a catchy ballad that Hynde sings in a style reminiscent of Bette Midler's "The Rose." Hynde doubles as her own choir on the yearning, gospel-tinged "Revolution," while overdubbed and echoed vocals decorate the cryptically titled ballad, "977". (A song that also includes an obvious musical and lyrical quotation from Jimmy Ruffin's '60s hit "What Becomes of the Broken-hearted.") But the sound never gets too syrupy or middle of the road, in large part because the songs are so well crafted. Hynde, whose inspiration has always been '60s rock and soul, has a knack for writing melodic, rhythmically infectious songs. It's her raw vocals — the rock 'n' roll equivalent of steamy phone sex — that gives the material its raunchy, underground attitude. Last of the Independents pairs Hynde with two new Pretenders — ex-Katydids guitarist Adam Seymour and ex-Primitives bassist Andy Hobson. The Pretenders' original drummer Martin Chambers returns full time for his first album since 1986's Get Close, while the group's longtime guitarist Robbie McIntosh contributes on the funky "I'm a Mother." This one has hit written all over it. Rolling Stone June 2, 1994 by Barbara O'Dair Chrissie Hynde has always walked the line between gender stereotypes. She has taken what she needs from each camp — chops and attitude from one, throb 'n' sob tenderness from the other, sexual bravado from both — refusing the world's insistence that she choose between them. This tenacity has given her the distinction of being one of the first of the independents, a bold role that has made her the hero of a whole new generation of aspiring female rock stars. (If Patti Smith is Polly Harvey's spiritual mother, Hynde is surely Liz Phair's and Courtney Love's). For her sixth studio album, Last of the Independents, Hynde reunites with the other surviving member of the original Pretenders, drummer Martin Chambers. Add in guitarist Adam Seymour (a James Honeyman-Scott sound-alike) and bassist Andy Hobson, and the result is so vintage Pretenders, it's 1980 all over again. With enough jangle, thrum and power-pop production to fulfill its "alternative AOR" format, Last's greatest gift is Hynde's vocals. More wise than snide, less cocky than clever, Hynde still drops a deft putdown even as she murmurs like a mourning dove. Rock clichés like "neon sex and doom/Hollywood perfume" sound alarming good rolling around in her mouth. With this brass in pocket, Last outlines the life of a woman who grew up wanting to be a boy ("Every Mother's Son") and then discovered she could bear children ("I'm a Mother") and nurture them ("Money Talk") without jettisoning some rock & roll requisites ("Tequila," "Rebel Rock Me," "Night in My Veins"). Hynde's admirable assertion of female power notwithstanding, what really sticks are the album's moments of pure pop joy, in songs like "Night in My Veins" ("He's got his hands in my hair/And his lips everywhere/Oh, yeah/Alright/It's just the night in my veins"), the sweet shades of "Love Colours" and the lulling ambivalence of "Revolution." For all of her symbolic resonance, Hynde has never been easy to figure. She sings the puzzling ballad "977" — "He hit me with his belt/His tears were all I felt...When I saw my baby cry/I knew that he loved me" — so prettily, it's hard to tell where the irony is. And there are some major fades to gray: The humdrum anthem "I'll Stand by You," the album's first single, is predictable. And Hynde's instinct for excellent covers falters with yet another version of "Forever Young." It might be hard to remember what it was like when Hynde came out in the late '70s in her Keith Richards-inspired black rooster mop and leathers — was she a Runaway, a Vivienne Westwood refugee, a darker Deborah Harry? Hynde quickly proved she was no mere gun moll; she herself was loaded. While she may no longer be ahead of her time, 14 years later Hynde shows she still knows — and owns — her independent mind. (Rating: 4 stars = Excellent)