Pretenders Precious The Phone Call Up The Neck Tattooed Love Boys Space Invader The Wait Stop Your Sobbing Kid Private Life Brass In Pocket Lovers Of Today Mystery Achievement credits releases reviews New Musical Express January 12, 1980 The Pop Games People Play by Tony Stewart So at last this is The Pretenders' debut album, one of the first releases in the '80s from last decade's new rock rulers; so eagerly anticipated, yet ironically not one which will make or break reputations. No, Pretenders — for the public at least even if not those tetchy pop paper people — floats on the snug assumption that The Pretenders are a major act. But considering they've achieved pop acceptability with only three consecutive hit singles, then it is remarkable so much can be established by so little. Thanks principally to the overzealous thrashings of Melody Maker — a music paper desperate to create for itself '70s credibility and often miscalculating to the extent of overkill — Chrissie Hynde and her boys were "hot property" and — ahem — front page news long before they did anything to justify such acclaim (and some would argue that they still have that to do). In any case, the hits "Stop Your Sobbing," "Kid" and "Brass In Pocket" are all included here, as are two of the B-sides. So what we have is not so much an "eagerly anticipated debut album," but an LP of which half is greatest hits history and the other seven tracks probably their next three singles. Excuse the cynicism, but when rock'n'roll was supposed to restore some of its own dignity and values at the end of the '70s, these sort of business shenanigans hardly do the cause much good. In fact, so much about The Pretenders is reminiscent of '60s pop games that any claim they are innovative is completely invalid. Simply their success and new rock "credibility" is a result of their own conceit and the image that has created. Of the three singles, the first was a cover of a tremendous Ray Davies song (and a very good impersonation of Sandie Shaw), the second ("Kid") was an appalling mix of Shadows and Blondie and "Brass In Pocket" was — well, brilliant. The Pretenders' greatest moment or more importantly, Chrissie Hynde's. Like everything she does, there is something familiar about it. Her music invariably reminds you vaguely of something in pop history, and on this album we have a collection of influences from the Velvets ("The Phone Call") through The Beatles (on Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott's instrumental, "Space Invader"), the 60s British beat boom, right up to Blondie and The Police. Certainly the white reggae base of "Private Life" echoes Stewart Copeland's drum style; yet with a tough, intelligent and sensitive lyric from Hynde and delivered with superb vocal phrasing, it's the best thing on the set. Unfortunately there is not a lot of competition. The new, unreleased material — all seven songs, but we'll discard "Space Invader" right now for having all the instrumental dexterity of a bricklayer with two left hands — usually has something distinctive, but the band seem unable to give it an edge. That's what prevents The Pretenders being a brilliant rather than an enjoyably ordinary band; and it's also what prevents the material being "classic." In a way, Chrissie Hynde's efforts with "Precious," "The Phone Call" and the plaintive "Lovers Of Today" are almost wasted by the insensitivity of Pete Farndon (bass), John [sic] Honeyman-Scott (guitar) and drummer Martin Chambers. Although there are times when they have their moments (Farndon's is on "The Wait" and Scott's on "Private Life"), quite often they sound as if they're playing under a wet blanket — which has little to do with Chris Thomas' production because he does an excellent job in bringing out a staggering range of textures in Hynde's voice. Perhaps the band aren't in Hynde's league. Despite being unable to disguise her influences — "Mystery Achievement" works on a riff not a whole lot different to the Spencer Davis Group's "Keep On Running" — she has a rare and special talent both as a performer and a writer. Unlike so many other women in pop, she manages to combine an obvious sensuality ("Up The Neck" conjures up an image of her writhing about the floor) with intelligence and a sensitivity to a wide range of emotions. Lyrically her songs are successful enough to suggest she'd make a great actress too. But maybe all that publicity bullshit, her arrogant stage manner and the rather elitist attitude that surrounds the band makes me judge this album too harshly. It doesn't justify their reputation — but then very little could. Circus 1980 by Shel Kagan Led by Akron-born Chrissie Hynde, Pretenders start their album with the same dreary 4/4 tempo we've heard from every punk group to come down the pike. But they soon dispel the illusion of conformity with "Up the Neck" and the old Kinks' song "Stop Your Sobbing," which are rock songs in the best Phil Spector tradition. The crescendos in "Lovers of Today" might offend some purists but I like big-assed symphonic rock with balls, and this is it. It's hard to tell if the shards of '60s girl-groups, like the Ronettes and the Shangri La's, are to be credited to Hynde or to producer Chris Thomas, but in the end, no doubt, the collaborative effort is the answer. This is a superb first album (it's been to the number one spot on the British charts) and shows singer-guitarist Hynde as a singer with original and creative ideas. Let's hear more. Rolling Stone Twentieth Anniversary Special Issue August 27, 1987 The 100 Best Albums of the Last 20 Years On the hit single "Brass In Pocket," Chrissie Hynde succinctly declares, "I'm special." On the rest of the Pretenders' first album, she proves it. Until this album came out in 1980, their previous output had been restricted to a few well-received British singles. With Pretenders they showed a range, depth and confidence that suggested a far more mature band: the record includes both bracing, nervous hard-rock songs and lovely, lilting ballads. Hynde immediately developed a persona as vivid and three-dimensional as that of any woman (or man) in rock & roll; on Pretenders she's aggressive, introspective, sexually confident, compassionate and full of intriguing contradictions rather than obvious clichés. In his review of the album for Rolling Stone, Ken Tucker wrote, "Indeed, the songwriting of the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde is the first indication I've had that we've finally progressed beyond the Me Decade. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Hynde and her exceptional band examine and refute so many socio-liberal pieties — replacing them with personal, hard-earned lessons and unfashionable conclusions — that Pretenders stands as some of the freshest, most provocative music around." The Pretenders' lineup may have changed plenty of late (Hynde is the only remaining original member), but when they made their first album, they were a genuine band, made up of three British rockers and a former journalist from Ohio who lived in London. The late guitarist James Honeyman-Scott underlined Hynde's moods with precisely the right combination of raunch and delicacy. And the rhythm section — bassist Pete Farndon (who died in 1983) and drummer Martin Chambers — was capable of rocking out ferociously, even in 7/4 time. The songs that made Hynde and the Pretenders instant heroes were brassy, derisive rockers like "Tattooed Love Boys" and, especially, the scornful anthem "Precious." To Hynde, there was nothing unusual about a woman leading a hard-edged rock & roll band. "There's nothing butch about me," she said. "See, that's the big myth, you know — the 'loudmouthed American.' I am the loudmouthed American — no one can be meaner, and no one can be more of a cunt than I am. But I don't want to be. It's a front, you know? I just do what I do to get what I have to get." And there certainly was another side to Hynde, who proved herself equally capable of compassion ("Stop Your Sobbing," "Kid") or confusion ("Up the Neck"). From the start, Chrissie Hynde knew how to convey honest, believable emotion, and the band knew what that emotion ought to sound like. (#42 of 100) Guitar Player January 1997 Discs of Destiny "Six staff editors...endeavored to choose the single most important and influential (guitar record) for each year. ...the top choices and runners-up have confronted the instrument's possibilities with uncompromising individuality." The Pretenders first album was chosen for 1980. A great new wave guitar record, with James Honeyman-Scott spicing Chrissie Hynde's unique rhythms ("I can't count her beat half the time," Jimmy confessed) with catchy hooks, abbreviated solos, power chords and percussive rhythms. Pete Townshend described the effect of the LP's provocative, sexually candid lyrics and hard-driving beat as being "like a drug." Sadly, the lighthearted Honeyman-Scott OD'd in '82.