Track Listing

1. Precious
2. Phone Call
3. Up the Neck
4. Tattooed Love Boys
5. Space Invader
6. Wait
7. Stop Your Sobbering
8. Kid
9. Private Life
10. Brass in Pocket
11. Lovers of Today
12. Mystery Achievement

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14456 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
2009 U.S. only audiofile gold disc pressing of one of the single greatest albums of the '80s! The album features Chrissy's signature vocal styling, James Honeyman-Scott's melodic and uniquely inventive guitar work, great songwriting and a pulsating backbeat supplied by the rhythm section of Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers. Needless to say, it's a classic and now sounds better than ever!.

Amazon.com
This nearly perfect debut album showcases both the extraordinary songs of Ohio-born singer Chrissie Hynde and the rhythmically complex performances of her U.K.-bred band, Pretenders. The band tramples through the sexual aggression of "Precious," "Up the Neck" and "Tattooed Love Boys"; the classic pop of "Kid" and "Brass in Pocket"; and a brilliant cover of the Kinks's "Stop Your Sobbing." Hynde's sneering vocals add resonance to these tales of sexual revenge, abuse, and longing appropriately fleshed out with blood, guts, and guitar. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews

The First & The Best. Possibly The Best Debut Album Ever.
The problem with the first Pretenders record was that it was so damn good it set expectations of the band incredibly high, and Scott & Farndon cracked under pressure.

In this album, you have the perfect mix of four musicians at a time when it was satori for them to get together.

First,Chrissie, who was at here cocky I'm-a-woman-of-the-world-and I'll-kick-your-ass-if-you-abuse-me-again best voice, sounds like a dominatrix with a hidden heart of gold & not the PETA militant we get now (although you can see it coming on this album, but it seems like it would be more). She has the perfect balance of rage AND sensitivity on this album. It's watching oragami fragile idealism wrapped in Kevlar armor with leather & studs over it. It's fascinating as to how the combo got wedded together. She sings tender-but-wary ballads ("Kid") along side of fever sex dreams that show that the mystery of sex still outweighs the mistrust ("Mystery Achievement", "Up The Neck", "The Wait") and tales of survival ("Tatooed Love Boys", "The Phone Call") & confidence ("Brass In Pocket", "Private Life").

Secondly, you have James-Honeyman Scott. Why, oh why, you a**hole did you have to O.D.? Didn't you know you were probably the greatest new wave guitar player this side of Tom Verlaine?
This album is rife with extrodinarily economic but blistering riffs. JHS was old enough to rock out melodically like guitarists of yore, but added enough punkish noise to the fuel like Nostradamus's match, predicting the coming of Sonic Youth & Nirvana. The use of the atmospheric harmonic line from "Tatooed Love Boys" is STILL brilliant. And, my god you played like a hot rod drives: foot on the floor to the end of the quarter whether you were going to explode or not. Maybe it's not a wonder that you flamed out...

Lastly, you had Farndon & Chambers. It's such a cliche to put the rythm section together, but they really did work as a unit. Like Scott, they mixed the best old school with a brave new edge of the new. Best of all, they were learned in the thump of R&B which kicked the Pretenders to the top of the heap in playing. Having been an O.P. (origional punker) in those days, let me tell you, it wasn't the snottiness or the aggression that made bands bad, it was the fact that they didn't GROOVE. These guys, however, had it in SPADES. Tragically, Petey decided to follow Jimmie & loaded the essence of poppy flower in his veins once too many times. So, after one more album, Chambers sounded lost without his groove mate.

One of the other reviewers was talking about the philosophy that old school punk was an attitude. This is SOOO true. This album was the first living proof that you could sell an album with it. It just took street smarts.

A classic.

Audio Fidelity's Claims are Untrue
If you're thinking of buying the Audio Fidelity version because you believe it won't have any compression, don't because it does. Despite the marketing claims on the cover there is compression. The cover states "The original dynamic range of this recording was not maximized, brickwalled, limited, or compressed in anyway during remastering." Just put up Space Invader (as and example) from this release in any garden variety audio editing program and compare it to the 1980's cd version and you'll see that some substantial limiting and compression has be done.

Audio Fidelity and Steve Hoffman have really tarnished their image with this one, and the fact that emails to AF have not been answered makes me think they don't care what they're selling. So if the 'no compression' thing is deceptive, what else about this reissue also is? Is it from the master tapes? Personally, I'm not going to buy anymore AF or Hoffman releases because I don't like being lied to and I no longer trust them.

BTW, the one star is for the AF release, not the music which is 5 stars all the way.

Flawless Debut; One of the Greatest Albums of All Time
The Pretender's first LP is one of the single greatest debut albums ever. Chrissie Hynde snarls when she wants to and doesn't feel the need to paint herself into a struggling female, instead a strong human. The Pretenders don't paint within the lines, instead coloring their first album with a range of influences from ballsy punk ("Precious") to vampy R&B ("Brass In Pocket"). Few albums make punk rock this accessible and immediately appealing. One of the greatest of all time and a massive entry in the rock and roll history books. Best tracks: "Precious," "Kid," "Stop Your Sobbing," "Brass In Pocket" Rating: 10/10