Customer Reviews

The Singles

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have only heard "I'll Stand by You," then you know the sound of the Pretenders, but what you don't know YET is that this band has produced some of the greatest music I've ever heard. I love their sound -- the mark of a great group is that you can listen to a song you've never heard before and say, "That's the Pretenders." And yet, all of the songs are so different, exploring some interesting and thought-provoking themes to powerful, outstanding melodies.

This CD is full of awesome songs, and it's a CD you can play all the way through without skipping a single song. My favorites include "Hymn to Her," the haunting song, "I Go to Sleep," and "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" (listen to the piano music at the beginning of this song -- I love it!).

But who am I kidding? Each and every one of these songs is hum-worthy. And that's the Pretenders.

What a delicious dish of melodic rock and pop! From the opening number Stop Your Sobbing to their lovely interpretation of I Got You Babe that closes the album, this is a non-stop feast for the ears.

Chrissie Hynde is an expert vocalist, perfectly capturing the mood of every song with her nuanced vocals, whilst the rest of the band moves in perfect synth. The guitar playing is amongst the best you'll find in any rock music from the 1980s. Almost all of the songs are masterpieces, but my special favorites include Stop Your Sobbing, Kid, Brass In Pocket, Talk Of The Town, Message Of Love, Don't Get Me Wrong and I Got You Babe.

The music is tender and sensual at times, raucous and ebullient at others. Those who enjoy The Pretenders might also like their contemporaries Pat Benatar, The Cars or Joan Jet. This album should however appeal to a wide spectrum of people who appreciate tuneful and intelligent rock music that is still in touch with its roots.

Thank god for Chrissie Hynde and "The Pretenders". The voice, the attitude, the hooks, they are fighting the good fight. They are simply, cool. This is a great 16 songs that includes everything it should, except for "My City Was Gone". It would also be nice to have "Night in my Veins" and "I'll Stand by You", but those were released after this. They can be found on the import "hits" though. Otherwise, this has the singles "Brass in Pocket", "Middle of the Road", and "Don't Get me Wrong", among others. One of the coolest songs is "Message of Love", it's so good. Another one that I love is "Hymn to Her". Overall it's an excellent 80's/classic rock collection, and will go great next to your "Cars" and "Pat Benetar" cd's.

For awhile my fanatic love for the Pretenders stopped after the first three albums & EP, so I didn't catch up on any of the later albums. After Farndon & Honeyman-Scott died, I considered the band to be The Chrissie Hynde Band, or The Pretending Pretenders.

However, Chrissie is still a damn fine songstress in many ways even without the one-two punch of the first band, so I bought this just to catch up on some of the highlights of what was essentially a solo career. I especially like the poppy "Don't Get Me Wrong" alongside all the greats.

If you really, truly want a Pretenders "Best Of.." then buy the first two albums & throw in "Learning To Crawl" for good measure.

I would kick this album's rating up another notch if they included the long lost "Extended Play" EP with "Porcelain" & "Cuban Slide" on it. Why the hell hasn't anybody mastered that to digital yet? In the meantime, I have to use my old vinyl copy.

I've since heard good things about the recent Pretenders albums and may become a big fan again. 'Til then, this album helps keep the spirit alive

"The Singles" is a true "Best of" collection. It wisely avoids the hard-edged punk of much of their early material, and focuses on the radio pop singles that most listeners want. There's hardly a bad track on the disc (except perhaps "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"), and nothing essential is missing - except for "My City Was Gone." A great single-disc sampler for the casual fan.

The Pretenders, like other female driven bands of the 1980's (Heart, Blondie, Patti Smith, etc), were full of piss and vinegar in their early years. Chrissie Hynde proved that she can do it all - write, perform, produce, and handle extreme adversity. A rock band with a punk influence was most noted on their debut in 1980 and follow-up in 1981. By their 3rd release ("Learning To Crawl") in 1984, the Pretenders figured out the formula for commercial success... five tunes are featured on this "Singles" release from "Learning To Crawl". The band leader, Chrissie Hynde, could have gone either way when guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon died drug related deaths... and back-bone-of-the-band drummer Martin Chambers may have been scratching his head wondering if his number was up next. This "Singles" collection is a mixed bag. Sure, it grabs songs from each of their early albums... but some huge 'singles' like "Precious", and "My City Was Gone"; as well as 2 other standards "I'll Stand By You" and "Time The Avenger" are skipped over. "Singles" features 2 songs from their debute; 3 from their sophmore effort, 5 from LTC, and 3 from the uneven "Get Close", plus a few others including the annoying "I Got You Babe" with UB40. While you can't please everyone, I give this CD the benefit of the doubt (****) due to it containing "most" of their best work. I do recommend however their debute or "Learning To Crawl" as their best and most structured studio albums.

I have been reading through the reviews of this album, looking to see if anyone even NOTICED the song "Hymn to Her," an obvious dedication to the influx of Paganism and Goddess Worship in mainstream America and Europe. I had never listened to the Pretenders much before hearing that song. Oh, I'd heard "Brass in Pocket" and "Back on the Chain Gang" on the radio like everyone else, and if someone had asked if I liked them, I'd have said yes (it's actually hard to get me to say no to a band.) But once I heard the lyrics "the Maid and the Mother, and the Crone that's grown old" and "They will keep on speaking Her name, some things change, some stay the same" that my ears perked and I was hooked. I had found in Chrissie Hynde a voice in music, a mother, a fighter, and someone with soul. I even found influences of this woman's incredible talent in another band I love, Garbage, fronted by Shirley Manson. Their song "Special" from their album "2.0" contains a homage to Hynde and Co. as Manson sings "we were the talk of the town, I thought you were special..." in true idolatry to Hynde's vocals and lyrics.
This album is a great start, but she is so multi-talented you can't stop here, although this album is a great showcase for those of you out there wondering where to start. This is it...

Hardcore fans tend to gripe--and not without reason--that this compliation presents a one-sided picture of the band, omitting their punkier and more abrasive numbers in favor of pure pop. While I might be prone to agree, I'm so won over by the utterly magnificent music here that the point soon becomes moot. Pretenders is really just Chrissie Hynde and whomever else is available at the moment, a fact that neither negates the legitimacy of the first, tragedy-ridden incarnation of the band, nor says anything about Hynde herself except that she's obviously a team player. Regardless of whose backing her, the woman sings, writes, plays guitar, and kicks (...) with the best of them--matched only by "Parallel Lines"-era Debbie Harry and the legendary Patti Smith. Unlike both of those artists, however, she's managed to make consistently stunning, accessible rock for almost three decades, which must be a record of some kind. By now, everyone who has ever turned on the radio can attest to the excellence of "Brass In Pocket", "Back on the Chain Gain", "Middle of the Road", and "Don't Get Me Wrong". As such, I'd like to direct your attention to "Talk of the Town", "Message of Love", "Show Me" and the beautiful "2000 Miles", all of which add to her case as greatest female rock singer of all time. To put it another way, this is one record everyone should own.

I love this album, especially Side One. The earliest Pretenders were the best: youthful energy, no holds barred and, most of all, geniune emotion. It was effortless, natural, straight, and moving. Their first two albums are among my favorite recordings ever. Compared to young Chrissie Hynde, most of the young female singers who followed her have been mere pretenders to what she and her band could do.

As an admirer of talented musicians of both sexes, I'm afraid I may sound more than a little chauvinistic in stating that the list of truly great female singer/songwriters is a short one. Here's mine: Sinead O'Connor, Joni Mitchell, Liz Phair and - the all-time greatest - Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of the Pretenders.

If you are not a fan of the Pretenders, it is almost certainly because either you don't know them, never gave them a chance or don't like great music. This CD is a great way to acqaint yourself with the Pretender's immortal music!