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| Pretenders | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 11 January 1980[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1978–1979 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:12 | |||
| Label | Real Records | |||
| Producer | ||||
| The Pretenders chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pretenders | ||||
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Pretenders is the debutstudio album by British bandthe Pretenders, released in January 1980. A combination ofrock and roll,punk andnew wave music,[3]it was an immediate success. The album features the singles "Stop Your Sobbing", "Kid" and "Brass in Pocket".
Nick Lowe produced the Pretenders' first single, "Stop Your Sobbing", but decided not to work with them again as he thought the band was "not going anywhere".[4]Chris Thomas took over on the subsequent recording sessions.
Pretenders debuted at number one on theUK Albums Chart in the week of its release and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. It also made the top 10 on theBillboard 200 and was certified platinum during 1982 by theRIAA.
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 ofFlexipop magazine. The tracks "Message of Love", "Talk of the Town", "Porcelain" and "Cuban Slide" alongside a live version of the album's opening track, "Precious", were released on a follow-up EP entitledExtended Play soon after.
Pretenders was also reissued in 2009 by Audio Fidelity as a limited-edition audiophile gold CD, using the original master tapes. However, this remaster suffered from unauthorized, heavylimiting supposedly appliedafter engineerSteve Hoffman'sdigital master was created and approved for CD manufacturing. The song "The Phone Call" is missing some of the telephone effects on this release because the effects were "flown in" after the master was completed for the song and, as a result, were not on the original master tape.[5][6] There were no bonus tracks included.
A shortened version of "Tequila" would be performed nearly 15 years later on theLast of the Independents. "Sabre Dance" featuresChrissie Hynde singing portions of "Stop Your Sobbing" over solos byJames Honeyman-Scott.
A cover version of "Brass in Pocket" and the master version of "Precious" were released as downloadable content forRock Band.
Another deluxe edition of the album, curated by Hynde, was released on 5 November 2021 and features the original album remastered by Chris Thomas, alongside demos, rarities, and many live performances. These includeBBC sessions onThe Kid Jensen Show, and performances at The Paris Theatre in London and Paradise Theater in Boston.[7]
Contemporary reviews for the album were mixed. InMelody Maker, Chris Brazier called the record "the first important album"of the 1980s, and while the second side of the album was better than the first side, overall "the album is irresistible".[8] However, Tony Stewart ofNME criticisedMelody Maker for hyping the band, and said that "so much about the Pretenders is reminiscent of '60s pop games that any claim they are innovative is completely invalid". Stewart noted influences fromthe Velvet Underground,the Beatles, the 1960sbeat boom,Blondie andthe Police, and while he acknowledged Hynde's talents as a frontwoman, he dismissed the band's playing and inability to lift the music to the level of the lyrics, stating that "they seem unable to give it an edge".[9]
Sounds's Robbi Millar said of the album, "Its success, which should be fairly apparent through the next few months, will be valued not through hype and wildly enthusiastic pen-happy journalists but through a number of strong album tracks." Millar also noted several influences, includingSting andPublic Image Ltd, and that the album included three singles and two B-sides that had already been released, but that it also included "seven other worthy tracks" which resulted in "one fine first album".[10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [11] |
| Blender | [12] |
| Chicago Tribune | [13] |
| Mojo | [14] |
| Rolling Stone | [15] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
| Spin | [17] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10[18] |
| Uncut | 9/10[19] |
| The Village Voice | A−[20] |
In 1989,Rolling Stone rankedPretenders the 20th best album of the 1980s. In 2012,Slant Magazine listedPretenders at number 64 on its list of the best albums of the 1980s.[21]
Pretenders has been named one of the best albums of all time byVH1 (#52). In 2003,Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 155 on its list ofthe 500 greatest albums of all time,[22] withPretenders maintaining the rating in the 2012 revised list,[23] and moving up to number 152 on the 2020 revision.[24] In 2020,Rolling Stone included the band's debut album in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list.[25]
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Bryan Wawzenek rated "Precious", "Kid", "Tattooed Love Boys" and "Brass in Pocket" as being among drummer Martin Chambers' top 10 Pretenders songs.[26]
"This is one of the most astonishing debut albums in the history of music," enthused authorMichael Chabon. "On songs like 'Tattooed Love Boys', you're wondering, Who is Chrissie singing about when she says, 'I shot my mouth off and you showed me what that hole was for?' That was just one of those obsessive-listening records for me."[27] In her autobiography, Hynde confirms she is singing about herself and her own personal experience.[28]
In 2016, the album was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[29]
All tracks are written byChrissie Hynde, except where noted. All tracks on the original album were produced byChris Thomas, except "Stop Your Sobbing" produced byNick Lowe.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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" | 3:26 | |
| 6. | "The Wait" |
| 3:35 |
| 7. | "Stop Your Sobbing" | Ray Davies | 2:38 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kid" | 3:06 | |
| 2. | "Private Life" | 6:25 | |
| 3. | "Brass in Pocket" |
| 3:04 |
| 4. | "Lovers of Today" | 5:51 | |
| 5. | "Mystery Achievement" | 5:22 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cuban Slide" |
| 4:33 |
| 2. | "Porcelain" | 3:54 | |
| 3. | "The Phone Call" (demo, late 1977) | 4:33 | |
| 4. | "The Wait" (Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978) |
| 3:08 |
| 5. | "I Can't Control Myself" (Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978) | Reg Presley | 4:24 |
| 6. | "Swinging London" (instrumental) |
| 1:55 |
| 7. | "Brass in Pocket" (AIR Studios demo, 6 February 1978) |
| 3:48 |
| 8. | "Kid" (Olympic Studios demo, 6 December 1978) | 4:04 | |
| 9. | "Stop Your Sobbing" (Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978) | Davies | 3:48 |
| 10. | "Tequila" (Regents Park demo, 12 April 1978) | 5:22 | |
| 11. | "Nervous but Shy" (instrumental) |
| 3:48 |
| 12. | "I Need Somebody" (live onThe Kid Jensen Show,BBC Radio 1, 17 July 1979) | Rudy Martinez | 3:48 |
| 13. | "Mystery Achievement" (live onThe Kid Jensen Show, BBC Radio 1, 17 July 1979) | 4:54 | |
| 14. | "Precious" (live at the Paradise Theatre,Boston, 23 March 1980) | 3:26 | |
| 15. | "Tattooed Love Boys" (live at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, 23 March 1980) | 3:06 | |
| 16. | "Sabre Dance" (live at theMarquee Club,London, 2 April 1979) (contains elements of "Stop Your Sobbing") |
| 3:50 |
The Pretenders
Additional musicians
Technical
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[41] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| Belgium (BRMA)[42] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[43] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[44] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[45] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[46] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
