Love That Album Episode 34 - The Pretenders 1 and 2

For episode 34 of Love That Album, Michael Pursche and I discuss the first two albums by The Pretenders (funnily enough called Pretenders and Pretenders 2). Formed back in 1978, the original recorded lineup of Chrissie Hynde, Martin Chambers, Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott only lasted two albums (both Scott and Farndon died of drug related causes). These are the albums where (in my opinion) the Pretenders were a real band, rather than just being a backup vehicle for Hynde. These albums are wonderfully produced by Chris Thomas who takes a different approach for each song to show off the band’s versatility. They showed they were equally at home with punk, jangly melodic pop, ballads and hard rock. If all you’d heard was the single “Brass In Pocket”, then put on the first album opener, “Precious” you were in for a rude shock. The songs sounded like they were from two different bands. No sheen, no over production. These albums are emotional and honest. Michael and I discuss our favourite songs from both these great albums. Eric Reanimator presents his “An Album I Love” segment to discuss the debut album for Concrete Blonde, another band with a distinctive female lead vocalist. Download the show either from http://lovethatalbum.blogspot.com or search for “lovethatalbum” in the itunes store. Send any feedback to [email protected] – either written or mp3. Start a discussion at the Love That Album facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/lovethatalbum and tell us which groups or performers you think presented the most versatility on the one album.

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