| Pretenders
Other products by Sire Ratting 5.0 Out of 5.0 Special Offer Total New 26 Use |
|||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||
| Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [amazon.com or endless.com, as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. | |||||||||||||
Buy Low Price From Here Now
Amazon.com
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!.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
Technical Details
See more technical details
By Tom Benton (North Springfield, VT USA)
The Pretenders' debut is one of the most well-endowed arguments for gender equality in rock music. Rock `n' roll is the most predominantly masculine genre in popular music. Its appeal is unisex, but its foundation is strictly masculine. So a performer like Chrissie Hynde is a precious release from a style of music chiefly populated by men: Hynde is woman just as Mick Jagger is man, her sex an attribute of herself rather than a political tool. I bet Hynde could throw down with Jagger, too: she's similarly focused, clever, funny, aggressive, and--here's the deal-sealer--human. She digs tattooed love boys, wonders about the lovers of today, and wishes he'd realize she doesn't care about his private life via reggae that could compete with reggae-rock pioneers the Police. I love her Kinks cover as much as I appreciate her sense of humor: "His face went berserk and the veins bulged on his ... brow." The band's good, too.
By Joe Bob (Berkeley, CA United States)
If you're even considering the gold disc, there's probably no reason to talk about how great the music on the Pretenders' first album is. I haven't heard it in a few years, and it rocks harder than I remembered.
There's been a lot of discussion about the compression on this disc. Yes, it's misleading if there is compression/clipping if they say there is not, but if you can get over that, this disc sounds great - definitely better than any other CD version. Haven't compared the vinyl side-by-side yet, so I can't say how they compare. I don't have a super-high-end system, but I do love my vinyl and I think I have a decent ear for CD quality. Sounds great to me.
By Debby Stuart
This CD was received in a cracked and broken crystal.
It was a gift and even if for myself, this is an unacceptable
condition.
I sent 3 emails to the vendor and I never
received any response.
By Timmothy R. Acheson (Denver, CO)
The Pretenders - The Pretenders (AFZ 052)
This CD has two issues:
1. A "phone ring" sound effect is missing from the song "The Phone Call".
Steve had stated that the master tape did not have the sound effects on it. The sound effects were to be "flown in" using a digital workstation.
From an email that I received from Marshall:
"As to the ringtone, we used the original English master, which did not have the phone ring. The ring was added later."
2. The disc has compression on it that is not found on the original Sire CD. Regardless of ones opinion of the sound, AF CDs should not have compression on them, per the statement on each CD "The original dynamic range of this recording has not been maximized, brickwalled, limited or compressed in any way during remastering".
Steve was not around the forum during the discovery of the issues by forum members. A few weeks prior to the discovery, he had stated that his PC "blew up" and that he wouldn't be around for awhile. He came back to the forum after a few days of discussion regarding the issues on this CD and said this:
"Hi everyone,
So how do we like the Pretenders so far?
Kidding.
Obviously I can't talk about it.
If you like the sound of the disk, keep it and enjoy it.
If you are on the fence and sort of like it or are a collector, keep it as a unique item.
If you don't like what happened to it, just return it as defective, it's sold out of the run anyway.
Trust me, this FUBAR situation won't happen again on anything I master. This is not AF's fault.
Once again, if you like it, keep it, if you don't, return it as defective.
Please don't ask me any more questions as I can't answer them."
By Kevin M. Kaptain
This is a must own CD if you are a Pretenders fan. When this album first came out, I played it so loud that my landlord nearly evicted me.
Images Product
Read more Pretenders