Pretenders (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pretenders
Studio album by The Pretenders
Released	1979 (UK) January 19, 1980
Recorded	1979
Genre	Rock
Length	47:04 / 57:07 (Bonus Disc, 2006 Remaster)
Label	Sire Records
Producer	Chris Thomas except as indicated.
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) link The Music Box link Rolling Stone link
The Pretenders chronology
Pretenders (1980) Extended Play (1981)

Pretenders is an album by The Pretenders, released on January 19, 1980 (see 1980 in music). A mix of hard rock, punk, and New Wave, Pretenders established the band's career. This album, their first, compiles several previously-released tracks from their 1979 singles "Stop Your Sobbing"/"The Wait," "Kid"/"Tattooed Love Boys," and "Brass in Pocket"/"Swinging London"/"Nervous but Shy," as well as seven new tracks (plus an alternate version of "The Wait").

Pretenders has been named one of the best albums of all time by VH1 (#52). In 2003, the album was ranked number 155 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1989, the same magazine ranked it the 20th best album of the 1980s.

The track "Private Life" was covered that same year by Grace Jones, on her album Warm Leatherette.

Pretenders was remastered and re-released in 2006 and included a bonus disc of demos, b-sides, and live cuts, many previously unreleased. "Cuban Slide" and "Porcelain" originally appeared as b-sides to "Talk of the Town" and "Message of Love," while "Swinging London" and "Nervous but Shy" both appeared on the flip side of "Brass in Pocket." The Regents Park Demo of "Stop Your Sobbing" was included initially as a flexi-single in the May, 1981 edition of Flexipop magazine.

A shortened version of "Tequila" would turn up nearly fifteen years later on the Last of the Independents. "Sabre Dance" features Chrissie Hynde singing portions of "Stop Your Sobbing" over lengthy solos by James Honeyman Scott and Martin Chambers' insistent drumming, making it a truly unique version.

The song "Tattooed Love Boys" is featured as a playable track in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 music video game Guitar Hero II, in the String Snappers (PlayStation 2) and Return of the Shred (Xbox 360) tiers. The instrumental "Space Invader" contains sound effects from the video game Space Invaders.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Personnel 2.1 Additional personnel 3 Charts 4 Certifications

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Chrissie Hynde unless otherwise indicated.

1. "Precious" - 3:36
2. "The Phone Call" - 2:29
3. "Up the Neck" - 4:27
4. "Tattooed Love Boys" - 2:59
5. "Space Invader" (Pete Farndon, James Honeyman-Scott) - 3:26
6. "The Wait" (Hynde, Farndon) - 3:35
7. "Stop Your Sobbing" (Ray Davies) - 2:38 produced by Nick Lowe
8. "Kid" 3:06
9. "Private Life" - 6:25
10. "Brass in Pocket" (Honeyman-Scott, Hynde) - 3:04
11. "Lovers of Today" - 5:51
12. "Mystery Achievement" - 5:23

Bonus Disc, 2006 Remastered Edition:

1. "Cuban Slide" (Hynde, Honeyman-Scott) - 4:33
2. "Porcelain" - 3:54
3. "The Phone Call" (Demo, late 1977) - 2:22
4. "The Wait" (Regents Park Demo, 12 April 1978) (Hynde, Farndon) - 3:08
5. "I Can't Control Myself" (Regents Park Demo, 12 April 1978) (Reg Presley) - 4:24
6. "Swinging London" (Hynde, Honeyman-Scott, Farndon, Chambers) - 1:55
7. "Brass in Pocket" (AIR Studios Demo, 06 February 1978) (Honeyman-Scott, Hynde) - 3:48
8. "Kid" (Olympic Studios Demo, 07 December 1978) - 4:04
9. "Stop Your Sobbing" (Regents Park Demo, 12 April 1978) (Ray Davies) - 2:22
10. "Tequila" (Regents Park Demo, 12 April 1978) - 5:22
11. "Nervous but Shy" (Hynde, Honeyman-Scott, Farndon, Chambers) - 1:45
12. "I Need Somebody" (Live on The Kid Jensen Show, BBC Radio 1, first transmission 17 July 1979) (Rudy Martinez) - 4:04
13. "Mystery Achievement" (Live on The Kid Jensen Show, BBC Radio 1, first transmission 17 July 1979) - 4:54
14. "Precious" (Live at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, MA, 23 March 1980) - 3:26
15. "Tattooed Love Boys" (Live at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, MA, 23 March 1980) - 3:06
16. "Sabre Dance" (Live at the Marquee Club, London, UK, 02 April 1979) (Aram Khachaturian) - 3:50

[edit] Personnel

• Chrissie Hynde - rhythm guitar / lead vocals
• Martin Chambers - drums / backing vocals
• Pete Farndon - bass / backing vocals
• James Honeyman-Scott - lead guitar, keyboards / backing vocals

[edit] Additional personnel

• Chris Thomas - keyboards / sound effects
• Geoff Bryant - horn
• Henry Lowther - trumpet
• Jim Wilson - trumpet
• Chris Mercer - saxophone

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1980	Billboard Pop Albums	9

Singles

Song	Year	Chart	Position
"Brass in Pocket/Mystery Achievement/Precious"	1980	Billboard Club Play Singles	28
"Brass in Pocket (I'm Special)"	1980	Billboard Pop Singles	14
"Stop Your Sobbing"	1980	Billboard Club Play Singles	65

[edit] Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA U.S.	Gold	June 20, 1980
RIAA U.S.	Platinum	August 11, 1982