Pretenders - Self Titled Debut
Listen to an audio version of this review by Greg
Punk music? I’m not sure if this is. It may be what would eventually become ‘70s punk mixed in a blender with ‘80s New Wave. The Pretenders are underrated. Never on my radar. Always knew about them, and knew they existed but never took the time to focus and listen to their albums. I just heard their radio hits.
The band, Pretenders was formed in the UK in 1978. American musician Chrissy Hynde left the US and started playing the music club circuits in London. It was there she interacted with bands such as The Sex Pistols.
Original Lineup: Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals and guitar), Pete Farndon (bass), James Honeyman-Scott(guitar), Martin Chambers (Drums).
Farndon and Honeyman-Scott both died of drug overdoses within 1 year of each other, Honeyman-Scott in 1982, and Farndon in 1983. After the shock and horror of losing two of her band members, Chrissie decided she was not going to make a fuss to the public about their deaths and she’d just take the band and move on.
Chrissie said in an interview:
“Most of the radio hits have been more “poppy” and simple. The Pretenders are more of a rock band. I want us to be remembered for our roots, which is more cutting, raw rock n’ roll”.
Notice how she doesn’t use the word “punk” in there? I wonder why?
Chrissie grew up in Akron, Ohio. As a teenager, she watched northeast Ohio change before her eyes, as the rubber factories fell victim to the automobile factories. The automobile industry was working to decrease public transportation, build highways, and increase the need for cars. The downtown areas were collapsing and becoming a wasteland. A lot of her music was written as a response to this cultural change in her hometown.
Chrissie on her preference of punk over prog rock and soft rock; “Let’s forget about the excellence and let’s get out there and just go crazy a little bit. You really couldn’t be in a punk band if you played very well. I think that’s why it was perfect for me”.
Chrissie moved to London in 1973 at 22 years old. She desperately wanted out of the Midwest and the US. She wanted to be in the epicenter of all the music she grew up listening to.
While in London, Chrissie worked at a clothing store called, “Sex”. It was during this time, she met members of the Sex Pistols, coincidentally. She befriended Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and bassist Sid Vicious. Chrissie had an opportunity to mingle with the band before they became a household name in punk history. In fact, at one point, Chrissie was so eager to stay in London long term, that she proposed to Pistols lead singer, Johnny Rotten, then known only as John Lydon. When Lydon said no, bassist and certified crazy man, Sid Vicious agreed to marry her in exchange for two pounds. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, the two gathered the necessary papers to marry. On the day they were planning to go to the Registry Office, it turned out to be closed. The two planned to return the following day, but Sid had a prior summons to court for assault & battery. Therefore, they never ended up going through with it.
One day Chrissie was talking with her friend Lemmy Kilmister. She shared her frustration with Lemmy about how her music career had not been taking off. Lemmy recommended to Chrissie she look out for a guy on the London scene, a drummer named Gas Wilde. Lemmy felt that Gas and Chrissie would hit it off musically. Chrissie did eventually find Gas walking through Hereford, outside London, and insisted they jam together.
It was through Gas that she met the other musicians, Pete Farndon, and James Honeyman-Scott. Through Farndon and Honeyman-Scott, Chrissie would eventually meet drummer Martin Chambers. Once Chambers agreed to join the band, the Pretenders were born.
As the story goes, Pete was the first to be recruited by Hynde. In an early 80s interview, Pete recalled his first rehearsal with Chrissie; she asked him to play a country western song, then a soul song (most music created by African Americans in the 1970s was categorized under the genre, “soul”). After these jams, they played The Phone Call, which would later be the second track on their debut. Farndon was so impressed with Hynde’s writing he was hooked. He said that drew him in. It was fast punk rock, loud and rude but it had some of that Hynde “soul” mixed in.
The group’s very first single was a Kinks cover called Stop Your Sobbing, which was released nearly a year before their first album. Kid would be the second single, again before the album was released. Stop Your Sobbing, a Kinks cover is baked in the early 1960s happy-go-lucky swing. The Pretenders version is a knock in the teeth. A hard-hitting melody loaded with a deep bass in the background, giving the song more body. Hynde’s singing is impeccable. While the recording seems to sound like she’s harmonizing with herself, Chrissie’s singing on this track gives it more muscle than the Kinks version.
Kid sounds like a song you would hear at an early ‘80s high school dance. It has a romantic feel to it. Hynde’s vocals are melodic and well-sung, not missing a key. Kid is a simply written song with a dirtier bridge that leads into another sweet, pleasant guitar solo. Each time I listen to it, I feel as if I’m back in time at a 6th-grade dance. I can remember the feeling of dancing with a girl, only to be shattered when I would later look up and see her dancing with another guy. I would think to myself, “Why didn’t I go up to her and ask her again? I’m so stupid!” The track certainly has an ‘80s junior high or high school heartbreak theme to it. Overall, the writing is solid. The bass guitar leads the charge, with the guitar being present but not taking over the song. Just a sweet, simple track that brings back memories, even if you’ve never heard it before.
Information on the album release date was all over the place. Many pieces I read noted December 1979 for the US release and January 1980 for the UK. Other periodicals stated specifically January 19, 1980. Spotify has it listed as January 11th, 1980. I even read January 4th, 1980.
So, let’s just say this researcher is going to note the release timeframe was between late 1979 and very early 1980. Regardless of the exact date, late 1979/early 1980 is an example of another unique time. There was a shift in popular music. Outside of heavy metal, punk music from the ‘70s was getting a little softer but still had an edge (i.e., The Police). Pretenders certainly have a sound to them representing this era. The music is fast, loud, and edgy with less complex chords, but Hynde’s vocals offer a different feel. She’s not an opera singer by any means, but her voice really led a charge for the 80s punk that mixed with what you might call “new wave”.
I’m once again delighted to be reading up on, researching, and watching interviews of these bands I review. As a 12-year-old, I was naïve about the drug use and violence a lot of my heroes were involved in as young rock stars. What comforts me, is hearing the intelligent and articulate nature in which they carry themselves today. Well, at least some of them! They enjoy reminiscing but admit they made some stupid decisions. Hynde is no exception to this. She is articulate, well-educated, reflective, deliberate, sober, and looking to put the old days behind her.
Produced by Chris Thomas and Nick Lowe, the band’s debut album kicks off with Precious. If you’re expecting this to sound like 70s punk, you’re on the right track, but you can hear something different in this song. Hynde wastes no time giving you a taste of what was to come in the 1980s. Pete Farndon’s bass leads the charge. Each time Hynde and Honeyman-Scott strum their guitars, the foundation of the song is led by Farndon and Chambers’ rhythm section.
There is no “hoopla” or special effects on this album. It’s raw, deliberate, and not overproduced. But unlike many ‘70s punk songs, Hynde’s writing is creative. Recorded in London from late 1978 into early 1979, the album is void of your standard 3-chord songs. Many of the tracks on this debut include time changes, directional changes, and harmonization that perks up your right ear but leaves your left ear wanting more.
To me, the third track, Up the Neck, is the album’s strongest, but there are eleven others if this doesn’t tickle your fancy. Up the Neck is a swingy, catchy melody with an infectious opening riff. When Hynde’s vocals break in, I feel like swinging my head from left to right, over, and over and over again. Later in the track, the guitar offers you a prog rock-like guitar harmony. This beautiful harmony is like one you’d usually hear Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Allman Brothers Band playing repetitively as two guitars synchronize with each other.
Tattooed Love Boys gives you more of that ‘70s punk feel. It’s fast with a distorted guitar that guides the song over the basic riff. Again, it’s simple but it’s not. From a musician’s perspective, it sounds as if many talented musicians could write these songs, but Hynde’s writing style is distinctive and eccentric. I suggest, that in reality, many of them cannot.
Space Invader has a section within it that reminds me of early Pink Floyd, specifically Astronomy Domine from their debut album back in 1967. I wouldn’t be surprised if that song influenced them in some way here. There is certainly a “spacy” element to this one, hence the name. This is one of the few songs on the album where Chrissie Hynde collaborated on the writing with other band members. Once again Pete Farndon’s bass leads the charge and sets up the song, which explains why he received a writing credit on this one.
The Wait is my second favorite track behind Up the Neck. With its louder, faster, punkier tone, the riff is unmistakable. I first heard this album on a beach. My headphones were noise-canceling, so I had few distractions. While I peered out into the Atlantic Ocean, The Wait’s main riff made me want to jump into a mosh pit, and where I was in New Hampshire at the time, I probably could have created one with a few bystanders within no time. Once again, Pete Farndon’s bass playing is strong here.
Unfortunately, Pete Farndon’s life post-Pretenders debut release didn’t last long. He died in April 1983 after overdosing on heroin.
By Summer 1983, Chrissie had lost two of her bandmates in the span of one year. Two! This fact opens so much more to me in this review. With several famous deaths in the rock music world over the past year, I cannot help but ponder what things would be like if many of these artists had hung on. I get emotional. As a kid, I was confident there was a better place where we ended up after we passed. I was positive if I played by the rules, worked hard, was a good person, and gave back to society, that everything would be okay. I’m not sure that theory holds true anymore. 1983 was a long time ago now. And I would have never even thought of Pete Farndon unless I had dug this record up and chosen to review it. I was while writing this review.
Chrissie’s timing in her songwriting is unique. Chambers and Farndon admitted they had to do a lot of work to be able to play along with her odd timing. While learning the songs on this album, Pete and Martin would arrive early, and practice. They would talk their way through the changes, and in many ways, they admitted, put them into layman’s terms. Once they got the hang of it, it became natural to them, and this gave birth to the foundation of Pretenders music.
The third single off the album would be, arguably one of, if not, their most well-known, Brass in Pocket. This song is unmistakable. It’s easy to recognize. If you were alive and listened to the radio in the 1980s, you 100% definitely heard this song, many times. No surprise, Pete Farndon’s bass leads the song, with Hynde’s unforgettable guitar lick sitting on top.
Hynde’s lyrics in Brass, denote a young woman preparing for her first romantic experience. With lyrics such as,
“Gonna make you notice” and “Gonna use my arms. Gonna use my legs. Gonna use my style. Gonna use my imagination. I gotta have some of your attention. Give it to me”.
When MTV debuted on August 1st, 1981, the music video for Brass in Pocket was the seventh video ever to air. This was the song that catapulted the Pretenders to worldwide success. Chrissie was hesitant to include the song on the album. She didn’t like the melody and she didn’t like her voice. But later she lamented that it grew on her and she finally agreed to include it on the official release.
With its success, the Pretenders’ debut album catapulted them to global recognition. Although I did not have this record on regular rotation previously, it was a recent 2023 live concert that reminded me how strong of a band they were and still are. Despite having a revolving door of members over the last 40 years, Chrissie Hynde has been the backbone, and she still rocks the hell out of the stage to this day, and I have proof!
Not only will this album get you moving, smiling, and throwing fists in the air, but it will also give you the listener a history lesson of punk music and where it came from. The fact they’re doing it today is a testament to music that stands the test of time.
