Pretenders

4-4.5

Cool punk record. Has the high energy n stuff I like about punk. Has good songs, but some of them feel a litttlr one note.

This album opens with a pair of tracks that explain immediately how tied to the punk movement the Pretenders are. The mix and the thin guitar sound bely how aggressive and straight-ahead the rhythm playing is. Heavy modulation on the guitars throughout (phaser? flanger?) really sets this in the 80s. Vocals mixed high. I see Chrissy Hynde getting criticism for the sing/talk delivery but, to me, she deserves placement in the Lou Reed and Iggy Pop school of vocalists. It suits the genre they came up in. Some song conventions that depart from the spare, classic 50s & 60s songwriting formulas (guitar solos, certain kinds of key changes) offer a bit more ornament than the punk scene which these four grew from -- the effect seems a direct line to Cheap Trick. Stop Your Sobbing has a more Cyndi Lauper feel -- a more marketable pop ballad -- and Private Life wears its reggae influence on its sleeve. This was a band confident of its diverse influences from the beginning. I think that the 80s production techniques of mixing down the band and lavishing them with reverb does a disservice to the music; the record feels more detached and less emotionally direct because of it. That's no fault of a group making their first record, though. I also usually hate that production style typical of the era anyway, so it's a boilerplate objection. In all, a great album. An interesting contribution to the theme that punk didn't fizzle out after a few short years and magically reappear later in the 80s, but evolved as a scene into bands like the Pretenders and Talking Heads, subsumed into the mainstream as many subcultures inevitably are.

Album #31 This was not what I expected at all! I've always been indifferent to The Pretenders' radio hits. I was not expecting Chrissie Hynde to be such a badass. She has so much confidence that it can almost be intimidating to even listen. She completely owns her image and sexuality, and I absolutely love her for it. To me, the songs range from ok to great and have a clear UK 70s-80s punkish quality to them, except for Brass in Pocket. 4*

Surprisingly varied in the back half. “Brass in Pocket” still slaps. Could do without “Private Life”.

Legal porém não muito

Very cool, I liked it a lot!

3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential" LPs, rounded up to 4, and translating to a 8.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 3.5). Always dismissed that Pretenders' debut as an overrated album, but listening to it one more time, one thing hit suddenly me on the head, and it hit me hard. As dated as it is now, their sound was actuallly the forerunner of a specific strand of the current post-punk revival best represented by a band such as Dry Cleaning, especially on the first side (second side has more "classic rock" charms). Chrissie Hynde doesn't exactly uses the sort of singspeak Florence Shaw uses, but it comes very close. Likewise, the guitars' dry, chorus-heavy textures remind me of Tom Dowse's own six-strings flourishes. And it's like a key finally unlocked that album for me. Not saying this *fully* sells that debut for me yet, but it's a start, at least. I need to mull over all this. In the meantime... Number of albums left to review: 433 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 263 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 137 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 170

Good stuff

i like this one. female lead, some great songs but not all.

Hit me while listening that this is just the yang to Blondie’s yin: female led punk-adjacent new wave group where the male backing band has incredible groove. Great drumming, awesome guitar tone. I know Learning to Crawl a little better. If my memory serves me right this band faced a lot of tragedy and possibly left a lot of great work on the table.

This was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed the instrumentation and the vocals. Plus, rock is my favorite genre. Solid 4/5 stars.

She has such a beautiful, powerful voice. What a great debut album.

Very energetic and good power pop.

<3

Still got man!!

50% Fleetwood Mac pop, 50% punk attitude.

I forget sometimes that Pretenders were basically a punk band. This album has some great songs - I never knew Private Life was a Pretenders song - and you can hear bits of so many bands rather followed afterwards. It's not perfect and is quite scrappy in places, but makes perfect sense for a list like this. If, like me, you assumed they were much more of a pop band, the rawness of some of the tracks will be a pleasant surprise.

I had never heard this except for Brass In Pocket. I was surprised how edgy and punk-influenced it is, though of course it makes sense given the era. Reminds me of early Police a bit. Nice!

Strong 7

Like 'Parallel Lines', which we listened to an age ago, this record pleased me by having a lot less filler than I remembered from a dismissive first listen. Brass in Pocket has its own sacred mound, but the entire album is strong, pared back just enough to make the fluorishes jump out, and Hynde's word and delivery deserve a lot more time than I've given them this weekend.

A superb album. Massively influential, technically sound, and often replicated. Don't know if the melodies are as enticing as the rest, but definitely an attention-grabbing listen.

This fucking rocks, love it

This album has a bit of an awkward and slow start but it really gets going with the later tracks. I thought I wouldn't enjoy it but I really did in the end - literally!

Sounds like the start of something great. I only know Pretenders by their singles so was very rewarding to listen to in full.

pretty decent

Really good album

Feels like it was 1986 but it was 1979? Trendsetters.

first listen there's something about this i like

I'm taking a gamble and rating it four assuming that a relisten would make me appreciate it more. I enjoyed it, but I was falling asleep while listening, which probably didn't help.

Really enjoyed this album, B-Side was better than A-Side

Interesting to listen to the full album. Sounds more modern than the release date so must have been influential! Good to get some context for the singles.

Solid!

Good stuff, feels a bit like Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Amazing.

Didn't realize there were so many ground-breaking songs on here...outstanding

I'm just a little too young to be a Pretenders fan. I remember them being on Top of the Pops a little later in the 80s (for some reason I have them being introduced by Kid Jensen in my head, but it was probably one of the dodgy ones) and there's music that everyone knows - Brass in Pocket in the case of this album seems to come up every now and again. But I'd never listened to a Pretenders album. I really enjoyed it. Really strong start with Precious and then The phone call, and it keeps on giving all the way through. The style is exactly the sort of thing I like these days and Chrissie Hynde's voice is just gorgeous of course. I'll listen to this again, and it might well grow into a 5 with time, but on a first listen it's a 4.

I like the Pretenders, but never knew much about them. I was surprised to learn that this album was released in 1979. Brass in Pocket was still a popular song when I was in high school, and the rest of their stuff I had heard sounded contemporary at the time (mid-90s). So, I have a new appreciation for them now. They clearly influenced a lot of the bands I listened to growing up, and her voice is so unique.

Day 92: Exuberance. That's what I want from a punk/post-punk/new wave debut album, exuberance; joyous, pissed off, energetic, exaggerated, youthful, enthusiastic, outraged, utter exuberance. And in that aspect, the debut album by the Pretenders does deliver.  The bouncing guitars on Precious and then the drop, and Chrissie Hynde's commanding vocals; on The Phone Call the bass goes a bit acrobatic and suddenly we have angular guitars in the style of Gang Of Four. Up The Neck slows things down a bit but the energy is contained. Tattooed Love Boys races, or almost derails, at the pace of Pink Flag-era Wire. Space Invader lets the bass guitar invade the song space while Chrissie takes a coffee break; I am amazed at how talented Pete Fandon is as a bass player and wonder if there was any coffee around the studio. Probably another kind of stims; the ending with bass feedback and aliens chirping is something to frame in a picture and hang on your living room wall. On The Wait they seem to be more frenetic and frantic than before, and then another drop with Chrissie almost rapping. Stop Your Sobbing goes a bit Byrds/Mamas and Papas; I would have probably preferred to have this on Side 2, as Side 1 was a don't-let-go affair up to this point.  Side 2 starts off with Kid as we get a sense of later, poppier Pretenders. Private Life does a good Police job, which is not an easy task. Nobody gets arrested though. The band is quite solid. Brass In Pocket follows in a more poppy, almost yatch rock direction; I can see Huey Lewis and The News covering this. We finally get a ballad with Lovers of Today, the question is do we need that? Probably yes! It's quite a touch of sweetness; loved the part with the overdubbed vocals. Mystery Achievement closes the whole thing and we are back to a more new wave feel with angular guitars, but somehow more subdued than Side 1 and in line with what we had on Side 2. All in all, for being a sort of punk record, there is a lot of subtlety and some surprising twists within the songs, which is a good thing if you are a listener who needs some variety in order to keep engaged.  Although I presume that they were not the first, it seems that at the time nobody was ready to bet on a female fronted band of this kind, or specifically on her, I am not sure; I am glad that she shut their mouths up, as she really is a great vocalist and performer. I personally never gave any thought to this band until my friend Jonny posted his favourite albums of all time and this album was featured. Upon listening to it on streaming for the first time, I promptly grabbed a copy for cheap as soon as I got a chance and didn't regret doing so.  Just to get this out of the way before the next album comes up: I always preferred brunettes to blondies ;-)

Such a fun album!

A very entertaining album with a lot more energy right from the start. The New Wave/Punk sound is very refreshing and many songs sound like they influence more recent bands My favourite track is: Tattooed Love Boys

Van demostrar que es pot fer rock clàssic i ser originals, aportant novetats en un génere tan desgastat. És clar que pertany a una època on les influències de la new wave o power pop són difícils d'evitar (per sort). Versions que milloren les originals, temes tan bons com 'Brass in Pocket' i 'Kid', i per sobre de tot, la veu i carisma de Chrissie Hynde fent de tot plegat una barreja irressistible que havia de perdurar décades

Better than expected. Shocked to discover 'Private lives' was Chrissie Hynde's song. Distinctive guitar sound,

Excellent

Very cool album! Have only heard a few from this band but really dug this listen! Super punk and raw for their first album! Super aggressive in some parts and with a great voice behind it! Solid album all the way through, under appreciated band!

Never realised they have coasted their whole career on this one album. Omg.

Rock de los Pretenders. Un megahit. Un 4.

Good 8/10

This was great, I’d never listened to the Pretenders before & I’m glad I now have.

Fun and energetic.Brass in my pocket is a stand out song.There’s not a lot more to say about it.Just a pretty good album.

Great, easy listening, with some all time classics

This was great! I only knew Brass in Pocket from this album going in, and the opening track blew me away. I wasn’t a huge fan of the second song so thought it might be a bit spotty but that was really the only subpar moment for me, the rest was fantastic

Way before its time and I really fancy Chrissie Hynde.

Sweet

What a blast.

Particularly enjoyed the slower stuff. I had confused the Pretenders with the Proclaimers, so the opening track came as a shock!

A couple of powerhouse songs, with a really good supporting cast.

This type of album is so sorely missed these days. A straight ahead rock record with some engaging writing, both lyrically and melodically. It excels both with slower tempo Kid/Brass in Pockets as well as high energy tracks like Tattooed Love Boys.

Tracks: 4 killer, 10 filler (28.5%). Highlights: Precious, Tattooed Love Boys, Brass In Pocket, Mystery Achievement

Nice album

I really love the variation in this album. You'll be getting a punky jam at first, then a new wave bop, and just moments later a ballad, all with really excellent singing and instrument playing. I mean, listen to those meter changes on Tattooed Love Boys. The thing holding this record back is perhaps a little too many instrumental only parts and a couple songs that aren't that notable, but this was super ahead of its time in pretty much all fields.

Confusing Pretenders for a singles band (and an overplayed one at that), this album showed how brilliant they were - new wave, spiky, confident, excellent musicianship, catchy and memorable songs and a lead take no prisoners charismatic lead singer. A great find and an album I would never have sought out before.

Throughout the 1970s, Chrissie Hynde cut her teeth in the music world through many years of hustling: as well as playing in and mixing with nebulous forms of The Clash, Sex Pistols and The Damned, she first expressed her way with words as a journalist for NME (that's right, fellow reviewers, there's hope for us all yet). In "Pretenders", she finally gets the chance to shine. Although it drew a lot of disparaging remarks at the time for harking back to artists of the 1960s, today "Pretenders" sounds refreshingly contemporary, in more ways than one. Firstly, James Honeyman-Scott is a tour de force on guitar. His chiming lead parts, squalling solos and glistening rhythm accompaniments go a long way to defining the record's signature sound, giving it a certain polish and finesse that many lauded bands in their circle lacked. Listen to the serrated call-and-response in "The Wait", the arpeggiated solo at 1:30 in "Kid", the signature riff of "Brass In Pocket". There's a lovely, open stringed Rickenbacker jangle, suspended in time between the Byrds and Johnny Marr. It's the perfect complement to the edge of Hynde's vocals, and Honeyman-Scott's untimely death in 1982 (at the age of 25) was a great tragedy for the alternative music scene. Ultimately, though, Hynde is the undisputed star of the show here. She sneers and snarls her way through the whole set from top to bottom, with lashings of charm and charisma. Her withering put-downs, powerful mid-range, suggestive phrasing ("Up the Neck"'s perfectly timed "veins in his... brow") and iconic turns of phrase (the end of "Precious" is one of the most satisfying uses of "fuck" in a song I've heard in a long while). She's excellent and makes for a constantly engaging listen, even where the material is lacking. As far as the songs go: obvious as it may be, "Brass in Pocket" is the ultimate highlight. It's relentlessly contemporary and effortlessly cool, perfectly pitched between pop, punk and new-wave. I also really enjoyed "Kid" and "The Wait", while "Precious" is a powerful, aggressive opening. I didn't realise "Stop Your Sobbing" was originally a Kinks song, but it makes perfect sense: it's a bit of an outlier with its sunny 60's jangle and harmonies. Elsewhere, it's more of a mixed bag. There's some commendable experimentation with time signatures ("The Phone Call", "Tattooed Love Boys"), filler instrumental ("Space Invader") overbaked, dreary cod-reggae ("Private Life") and a gently stirring ballad ("Lovers of Today"). It's not always amazing, but the sheer force of Chrissie Hynde backed by the fluidity of James Honeyman-Scott's guitar gives me a sheer surge of goodwill that I can't help but make it a 4.

4.5

This album is FANTASTIC!! I'm blown away by how good it is...I have heard of this band but clearly never listened to them, my mistake! Really deserves a good sit down listen which I will do in the future, it really blindsided me! A few tracks are a little lacking so it's not perfect but it's damn good!

Best track(s): Stop your sobbing & the latter half of the album. Not really any bad tracks. Quite liked it! Will give this another listen sometime later.

4/5

Chrissie Hynde got to live out most Anglophile's dream by putting together a band with British musicians and banging out an album full of out there phone calls, pop hooks, instrumental adventures and whatever suited their fancy. Not exactly pretending when it comes to conjuring up stellar statements, huh? Favorites: Precious, Tattooed Love Boys, Space Invader, Stop Your Sobbing, Private Life, Brass in Pocket, Mystery Achievement.

This was an awesome album. Felt like a Joan Jett meets ramone’s or dare I say strokes/pixies. Just a great rock/alternative album that was fun to jam to in the kitchen while cooking dinner. I didn’t think I’d like it but the opening song sold me.

I really liked this one. I know the Pretenders mostly for the Rush Limbaugh song, which is a strange admission, but "My City Was Gone" is an incredible jam. I haven't heard this album, but of course I recognized "Brass in Pocket," a song that's played all the time at different life events. I never knew it was from these guys and Chrissie Hynde. Chrissie is the one thing I know about this group, she's got such a cool mystique and persona to her. She really made it out of Ohio. Favorite tracks: Brass in Pocket, The Wait, Kid, Private Life. Album art: Just a band photo, made exponentially cooler by Chrissie Hynde. I'm not sure why I'm so enthralled by her, she's just a quintessentially cool rocker chick. Deserves to be in the convos with Joan Jett and whoever else. 4/5

What a cracking opener, had no idea And brass in pocket is such a killer tune, kinda carries the back end though

Classico, mas ainda atual

Wow, it’s moments while listening to albums like this that makes this journey so enjoyable. What a great listen, amazing female vocals. TBz 1. Brass in Pocket 2. Tattooed Love Boys 3. Private Life 4. Up the Neck 5. Precious

Great album. A mix of a lot of genres

Never listened to the Pretenders much but I really enjoyed this album

was expecting the 5000 miles song then i realized that was the Proclaimers and not the Pretenders. still good

4.5/5

This was a little slow burn for me but some great tracks on there make this just beyond good

Hard nut to crack, this one, or whatever the expression is. On one hand it was a simple, a little monotonous at times rock music, but on the other hand you could say straight away, that this album is so much different than usual 70s and 80s music from UK, and even today some of the songs are very entertaining. The duo of tracks to start the album were really excellent - "Precious" and "Phone Call". I think what I really appreciated the most in those songs is the bass track, together with drums, giving an amazing base layer for the rest of the band. I am not a big fun of punk music, but this mix of punk rock is really unique and fun to listen to. Chrissie's vocal is rather hit or miss. I think, contrary to what's more popular, that the slower songs don't sound that well and Pretenders, as much as the vocalist, is much better at higher tempo music. Nevertheless, listening to this album was a very fun experience, worth having four out of five rating.

Very enjoyable - starts with a punk 1-2 full of comedy vitriol then third song moves to classic Hynde vocals and some great pop/rock. Amusing to note how her “too many lyrics” vocal style reminds me of the great Joni (not the beauty of Joni’s voice, although Christ’s voice can be lovely). Good LP worthy of its high chart position in 1980.

Very interesting and different album for the time. It's got the 80s sound but there's more creativity in there than in most albums from the time.

Doesn’t quite hit for me. It’s very professional but a lot of the tunes just pass me by. The second half is better than the first.

Just an outstanding debut album. A little bit punk, a little bit pop, but all Pretenders. 4 stars.

Je ne connaissais pas vraiment ce groupe, j'ai aimé le petit côté rock pop

I really like Chrissie Hynde voice. Plus she is Stephanie and knows all the chords!

This album is fantastic! I am familiar with it but hadn't really heard it all the way through, maybe so, maybe not. Either way, this is energetic, skilled, and fun music. Excellent work here.

This wasn't an album where I ever thought, "Oh, hey, THIS is a great song!" but rather one where I thought, "I like this journey it's taking me on over its course." Now, "Brass in Pocket" is an exception, as the only song I knew from the album, and quite well (although I would never in a million years have been able to tell you its true title or known that those words existed in the lyrics). It's a catchy classic. Is it new wave? Is it punk? Is it classic rock 'n' roll? A little all of the above? Whatever it is, it's pretty cool and I enjoyed this listening day.

I didn't know how good this is!

4.5/5

Pretty good

Love Chrissie's voice and really enjoyed this album. I was going to give a 3-3.5 but listened to extended version with demos and live performances again this morning. A very good album, ranging from punk/rock sound to a mellow side. Favorites include Precious, the wait, mystery achievement, tattooed love boys and kid. Brass in pocket an all time great. Even the more mellow tunes like stop your sobbing, Tequila and Private life were good. Very good album and great listening! A solid 4 and there are even better songs out there.

Pretty good album. 4/5

I like the Pretenders. And this is a great album. But I blame their brand of "punk" for the Green Days of the world.

Discazo

How about I pretend to dislike this album

There’s a reason this album is considered a classic and it’s because every song absolutely rips from the six minute epic right in the middle to the all time classic single Chrissie Hynde and crew are so damned good!

Pretty decent album, though not really my thing. Enjoyed it overall.

Rockin'. Not my favorite Pretenders album, but still 100% solid.

I really enjoyed this listen.

It's very good. Like it a lot more the aggressive side of this album than the softer side, but it's very good.

Chrissie Hynde is an absolute kick ass vocalist. I love the drive of this album from the rhythm guitar and drums.

Really enjoyed as just some easy listening, great background music. This one is rounded up from 3.5

This album is energetic and has a strong punk ethos. The music itself I would classify primarily as post-punk. However, the Pretenders are experts at knowing exactly when to lean into the more pop and new wave elements giving way to an album that retains its musical integrity while remaining commercially viable. It’s certainly a delicate like to walk and they do it very well.

Rock simples e poderoso. Vocal funciona muito bem.

This album is really cool. I feel like I absorbed some of the cool just by listening to it. None of the songs are really catchy or anything but they’re all interesting. It’s between 3.5 and 4 stars for me.

p470. 1980. 4 stars. Fabulous rock-pop-punk hybrid. Outstanding songs and vocals about sex, desire and loathing. Needs to be played loud for maximum impact. 1 star deducted for occasionally straying into guitar wankage. Still sounds fresh 40 years on. PJ Harvey has based her entire career on trying to write something as good as this.

Fun rock album! There's a cool. Variation in the song styles here too, which I enjoy

Classic album, top notch

Like.

Ah Chrissie Hynde, alongside Debbie Harry, every 70's straight teenage boys fantasy! (Gail Advert was my personal fantasy!) What can you say about the Pretenders, Chrissie was a Music Journalist turned Superstar (Gamekeeper turned Poacher really) and this was a great debut album. Shame that the band was destined for tragedy with both James Honeyman-Smith and Pete Farndon died too early. My Favourites on this are "Stop Your Sobbing", "Kid" "Private Life" and "Brass In Pocket". Chrissie's longevity is notable and the fact that she is still touring into her 70's suggests that she is still able and talented musician. This album is in My top 100.

Goeie muziek. Ik was blij toch een nummer te herkennen

A New Wave classic with Chrissie Hynde dropping the F-bomb in the first song. Lots of variety and great guitar playing in the songs with Chrissie Hynde exuding charisma and a fuck off attitude.

4.5

Some cracking tunes!

Var ekki svo hrifinn við fyrstu hlustun, en önnur bætir miklu við. Ánægjuleg blanda af léttu pönki og góðu poppi, og gaman að heyra originalinn af Grace Jones smellinum Private life.

4.15, un band dont jai entendu parler mais )amais ecoute. Cest bon dans le style new wave c’est excellent.

Great album with "Brass in Pocket" the best most known song. 7/10.

It's very strange going from growing up thinking that the 1970s was a wasteland for music to it being perhaps my favorite decade for music bar none. There was just so much happening, and everything was changing so quickly. Case in point, this album is a nice pop and punk in the post-punk era that doesn't really get talked about much. I think the success that Blondie experienced just prior to this album's release. This album is a lot of fun, well worth a listen 4/5

Really enjoyed this

Better than expected, a 3.5

Such a fun listen and does not sound horribly dated!

Pretenders by The Pretenders (1979) There’s so much more to The Pretenders than that stellar opening groove to “My City Was Gone” (from Learning to Crawl [1984], used with approval by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh in his heyday). Singer/songwriter/frontwoman (and Ohio native) Chrissie Hynde has a lot of violence, pain, sadness, contempt, and anger to spread around on this debut album, and lead guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, bassist Pete Farndon, and drummer Martin Chambers help her do it with style, skill, and sense. References are obscure but rockingly indelicate. The energy is raw, and the listener gets the message loud and clear. Chrissie Hynde is, in my view, one of the top ten female rockers of all time. Unafraid of idiosyncratic time signatures (“The Phone Call”, “Tattooed Love Boys”), radical variety (“Space Invaders”), and anti-dance rhythms (“The Wait”), The Pretenders play up power chords and driving grooves in a masterful rock mien, with enough restraint to keep each track from overwhelming the ears. The only two main weaknesses here are, first, the steady descent (a regression, really) into ‘commercial’ pop on tracks 7-11 (especially the cover of Ray Davies’ [of The Kinks] “Stop Your Sobbing” and “Kid”). It seems out of character, and sometimes out of sync with the mood of the lyrics. But by the end of the closing track “Mystery Achievement” we’re comfortably back into driving rock (although the song should have been extended about a minute, with a fade at the end). As for the second weakness, the rapid spoken word melding with sung melodies (“Private Life” and elsewhere) sounds awkward if not anti-poetic, as if Hynde has too many words to fit into an otherwise well crafted song. Released on December 27, 1979, this album put an fitting exclamation point on the fine music of the 70s. Truly an enjoyable listen. 4/5

cce

Good early new wave. Favorites: "Precious", "Brass in Pocket", "Mystery Achievement"

Love it.

This is so fun!

Such a nostalgic album for me. My dad played them a ton as I was growing up. Still rips to this day.

Un bon album punk-rock, défénitivement à revisiter.

Had previously only heard Brass in my Pocket, but enjoyed listening to the whole album. Listened all day. Great vocals and guitar. Need to listen to more of their other albums.

Ah yes, I remember it well...

I like the contrast between the two sides. Side 1 is straight forward punk-inspired (my faves are The Wait and Tattoo Boys) that sound a lot lot like what many other bands at the time were playing, except better, and then they get more creative on side 2, with reggae and pop. It reminds me of Blondie's Parallel Lines. Chrissie is a real force, smart and angry and talented, a great band leader. I saw them in 1980 at Heatwave and regret that I didn't know most of their material then.

I had forgotten just how good this album was. A very impressive debut album that really showed their range, they can really rock out, post punk and then switch to a nice top 40 ballad. Everyone talks about Brass in Pocket but maybe I've heard it too much because I think a lot of the other songs are better. They even managed to out Police the Police on Private Life and then they close out the album magnificently with an absolute killer song - Mystery Achievement. OMG that driving bass plus the guitar solo at the end! The common denominator in all the songs though, the glue that holds it all together, is Chrissie Hynde's incredible voice. I see that she wrote most of the songs too, so extra kudos to her.

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Tattooed Love Boys, The Wait, Stop Your Sobbing, Kid, Brass in Pocket, Mystery Achievement Cutting Edge: Precious Overall Notes: This was the embodiment of cool. Chrissie Hynde kills this on vocals. I only had exposure to Brass in Pocket before listening to this album and didn't get the hype, but some of the rhythms in these songs are sooooo cool I fully get it now. Cut the two 5:30+ minute songs without hooks and it's a 5. As it stands, 4.5 rounded down.

I really enjoyed the first half. Punkier than I expected. You can tell it's an album that's designed to be played over two halves of vinyl. Brass in Pocket is still a bit cringe for me, but.

Rock de los Pretenders. Un megahit. Un 4.

Sehr kultige Mischung aus Pop und New Wave/Punk! Kid und Tattooed Love Boys sind einfach Hits. "Brass in Pocket" ist unglaublich cool und die Gitarre auf dem Track ist super. Perfektioniert wurde der Track aber erst 2003 von Scarlett Johannson und Bill Murray. Der Rest des Albums ist schon auch unterhaltsam, bis auf "Private Life", was irgendwie nicht reinpasst auf dem Album. Auch ein schlichtes, aber starkes Albumcover. Insgesamt sehr enjoyable.

Pretty good

Solid

This was really cool, really polished for a debut album. Very good

What a debut! Punk edge meets polished rock with prog timings thrown in, and Chrissie Hynde immediately becoming the 80s benchmark for women rock singers. Unexpectedly sweary start, four hits, a fun instrumental, and not a dull track on the whole thing. This was the true promise of the 80s.

liked it, didnt have that friends theme vibes

Maybe 4.5

Fantastic debut album. Great sound

4.1 - I shit on punk rock a lot (justifiably) but to its credit, that genre helped usher in chic, sophisticated New Wave records like this. Lots of terrific songwriting, from the perennial “Brass in Pocket” to deeper cuts like “Up the Neck” and “Tattoed Love Boys.” Chrissie Hynde sounds amazing, striking that balance of tough and vulnerable.

A very very solid album, it's the sort of edge that I expected from Blondie but never got

Cool new-wave, post-punk, pop-rock bonanza with an especially entertaining singer. A fun listen

Känns som om de första par låtarna saknar något men resten går hårt!

Brash, punky and lively. Enjoyable rock with a strident vocal performance

This is why I’m here. Never would have listened to them, thought I knew

Good! Cool 80s punk rock

Yeah ok. I get it. The Pretenders are awesome. They rock, they're funny, they're hard, they get it. Chrissy Hynde is a gem.

This one surprised me, I didn’t know much about the Pretenders and I like what I heard. Hard to go wrong with a rock band that has a great front-woman on vocals

Really enjoyed this. For some reason I'd always assumed Pretenders were "pop" - I hadn't realised how punk they actually were. First album that's come up on this list that I'll listen to again and again I think.

I'm a sucker for vintage punk rock girls and Debbie Harry and Chrissy Hynde are on the top of that list. The Pretenders somehow are able to thread the needle between raw and refined perfectly. Good enough for the airwaves, but grimy enough to want to go see them live. This is a great reminder that 80's radio wasn't all saxophones and blow suck. Really enjoyed listening to this album in its entirety.

Enjoyed the album with the exception of the first track, it didn’t seem to fit in with the rest. As the album progressed I enjoyed it more, almost felt like they were getting better as we journeyed through the tracks.

De band blijft me altijd weer positief verrassen

really good, actually 4/5.

det hät var fan cooolt.

Classic. 4/5

Way better than expected

Great. 4/5

Definitely a grower - think I need to spend some more time with this one

Much better than I thought. More like elastica than expected

This is a pretty fun album. I knew Stop Your Sobbing, but none of the other ones. Chrissie Hynde is amazing. Such a character. She really brings it. The songs are all really fun to listen to. This is one of those bands where they have a sound all their own. It's just so distinct. I enjoyed it!

This was a good one. I definitely heard lots of bands that had been influenced from this...

Fun, spunky album with a lot of energy!

Classic.

Loved the pop hits they produced over the years so an entire album of punk-inspired rock with Hynde's lead vocals hit the spot from start to finish. Only previously knew "Brass in Pocket" so this was a pleasant first listen. Great introduction and interesting production techniques like the sound effects in "The Phone Call" and "Space Invader." The album really picked up in the 4th track "Tattooed Love Boys." The track "Stop Your Crying" is a good cover on its own, but I felt it disrupted the flow and maybe should have been excluded or placed near the end. I bet it only existed to help with their breakthrough. I love the diversity in the tracks; none of them felt weak. My favorite track is "Private Life."

Fun to listen to

Transports me back to my ex wife's kitchen. We'd drink till 5 in the morning and dance to The Pretenders. A ferocious row would often erupt about the size of her tits. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have 'forced' her to have the boob job and it began the miserable descent to divorce, but they were very little tits and I like a nice pair of big bouncy ones. I shouldn't have married her, but she was rich and her mother had huge cannons. I thought she would develop, but sadly not. The boob job has a success and we had two great years together, until one fateful day on a long haul flight from Mexico to Fiji they just popped...I mean, they blew right up in her face. I knew it was over. They'd never be the same again. We separated two weeks later. She still has visible scars, but it's my mental scars that really haunt me at night. What a journey it was, from tiny flatties, to enormous jugs, to a disgusting, mutilated warzone.

Didn't think I knew this band, but I do! Tatooed Love Boys and Brass in Pocket are two of those songs that are always cropping up in movies and stuff. This album was really fun! Definitely categorize is in the "Ahead of its time" column. This sounds PURE 80s, and mid-to-late-80s at that, but this came out in 1979. Really enjoyable.

In eerste instantie niet mijn genre, maar wat klinkt dit album góéd! Erg goede mix, wellicht heeft dat te maken met het feit dat ik via Spotify luister naar de remastered versie uit 2018. Buiten de geweldige kwaliteit van het geluid springt Space Invaders er in de eerste helft van het album er voor mij uit. Invloeden van Alan Parsons Project zijn duidelijk te horen. Private life vind ik ook prachtig. Ik sta ervan te kijken dat dit album al 41 jaar oud is. Het album is een leuke mix van punk, rock, new wave en pop. Bekende track ‘brass in my pocket’ springt er niet uit.

Loved it.

this shit actually slaps top to bottom is2g

very old school rock feel. unorthodox main vocals, but works surprisingly.

3.75

better than expected

Started out pretty punky, but side 2 has some of the best songs from the late 70s

The most famous Pretenders songs are their soft-rock hits, but there’s more of a punky energy going on here. Chrissie Hynde’s vocal performance on ‘Precious’ is just oozing charisma and confident sex-appeal. Good album

Never really paid Pretenders any mind, other than what one would hear on the radio. In all honesty, I put this album on with the expectation of having some decent background music while I worked. But, I was pleasantly surprised. For a record as old as I am, it really holds up well. None of the dated studio tricks of the day, just good ol' rock. Starts off with Precious, which immediately reminded me of the Talking Heads with a post-punk/pop rock vibe and cheeky lyrics. The rest of the album follows suite, with Hynde's vocals up front and rightfully the star of the show. I do really like her vocals. way more than I expected to, to be frank. so, yeah. Pretenders. I kinda like them.

An album that sounds to me to be ahead of it’s time. Defining the meaning of progressive.I had just started listening to music when this album came out and apart from the very obviously commercial single releases on the album, it was probably too progressive for me at the time. Proving at least that youth is indeed wasted on the young.

Great.

We love a woman-fronted rock band! Some bangers here, there’s a song for every mood & felt like I was in a movie while listening to this! Only reason it’s not getting 5 from me is it drags a bit towards the end (saved by Mystery Achievement) and I don’t think it will leave a lasting impression.

Not what I expected at all but I loved it. Can even see influences on bands like No Doubt, Kings of Leon but then they throw a curve ball like Your Sobbing or Brass in Pocket. A strange mix of pop and punk but one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Straight away decent. Old school punk, liking it immediately. Feels familiar, maybe Tony Hawks or Earthed. Classic punk style, in that there are similar sounds to Black Flag, but also feel like bands like this inspired QOTSA. Yeh just realised the track 'The Wait' is off Earthed. 4/5

Love this album - I only recently rediscovered The Pretenders this past year and was surprised at how tight the rhythms and riffs are in this album. Plus what a lead in Chrissie Hynde!

Forgot how much I enjoyed listening to them :)

Okay, I actually like the Pretenders, but the hype around them irritated me at the time. Back in the rock era, any time some back to basics band came around, they were hailed by the rock press as the saviors of rock 'n roll, and the Pretenders were no different. The Pretenders are a rock 'n roll band at heart, at least in their attitude, but there was more to them from the start. On their debut album, the treated guitars of James Honeyman-Scott were swathed in reverb and flange, a nod to new wave. They had songs like "Brass In Pocket" or "Mystery Achievement," which made them chart accessible. But they also had a real edge in songs like "The Phone Call" and "The Wait," which had tricky rhythmic figures unusual in this kind of music. And on top of all that, you had the bad girl swagger of Chrissie Hynde cut with an emotional vulnerability that was probably closer to the truth. I've never listened to this album all the way through, but the sustained invention, energy, and performances are impressive. The Pretenders are actually a much more powerful band than their hits would lead you to believe. Another thing I just noticed is how beautifully produced and sequenced this album is. The album flows like a dream, especially the first side. The second side is much more poppy, not nearly as much my thing.

enjoyed this more or less. ngl brass in pocket is a bop. makes me inappropriately attracted to chrissie hynde. new wave with some teeth.

7. this was fun and i really liked the sound, but the back end got really slow with 3 5+ minute songs.

Bastante entretenido, aunque nada super destacable supongo. La voz de la vocalista es lo que resalta más en el disco y los ocasionales riffs como en Private Life están agradables. Canciones que más disfruté: The Wait y Private Life. Mood: Verano ochentero

Pretty good

I only knew the singles, but this whole record is amazing.

This is a really great rock record. I had no idea they were formed in England since Chrissie Hynde is from Ohio. Brass in Pocket is the hit of this record but not representative of the rest.

Super original album/sound. I'm also a sucker for chicks that wail.

Pop rock.

Like : Up the Neck Tattooed Love - didn’t love - a little too punk? There’s a jam song in the mix here early that was pretty fun - tight drums and bass (Space Invaders) Stop Sobbing : reminds me of like a 50s or 60s song that’s been revamped for the 80s Private Life : baseline vibes - reggae influence of the 80s reminds me of the polices song, walking on the moon - in contention for favorite song - ‘you’ve been lying to someone about me, stop’ back up vocals are cool Brass in Pocket : haha this is probably why my parents had this album - my Mom loved this song - reminds me of her cleaning the house on a Saturday - vacuuming and folding clothes and dancing - this is probably the best song commercially and might end up being my favorite just for posterity sake Lovers of Today - probably my least favorite one so far... Overall I enjoyed it - reminded me of my parents - talked to my dad about it later and he said the lead singer was ahead of her time. 7.8/10

Sounds like it looks. V 80’s. I enjoyed it thoroughly, even before bed. Brass in Pocket and Space Invader were my two favs.

Pretty awesome album. Punk rock done right, and great singer.

A great/classic album

Achei bem divertido, tudo bem sincopado

Absolutely banging

Love, love, love this album! I can’t get enough of Chrissie Hynde’s voice!

It was pretty good, It was not really my cup of tea but it did have some good jams I bopped to.

I liked it, Truman didn't listen.

Such a unique group for the time period. I need to listen to them more.

Solid new wave punk sound of course.. Brass in pocket another one of those tracks that Ive heard many of times during Guitar Hero or Rockband

Good mix of early 80s punk, new wave and pop.

They ain't pretending!

ожидал большего от Space Invader

This. Album. Fucks.

I get the feeling that albums are more important if you have context. Brass in Pocket has been a staple of radio since I was a kid so I never paid attention to it but it was apparently the most popular song on the album. The album was ok but It doesn't really set my soul on fire.

The Pretenders are boldly 80s and it shows!

7/10 FT: Brass in pocket

Pretty damn good

Rien de sensationnel mais loin d'être nul

allez les rockeuses

I hear a lot of what I like in this but it doesn't quite land.

I enjoyed the rock/punk elements much more than the pop songs.

Ok album. Got tedious

Too slow. Had a couple songs that were decent but overall it was a little boring. Serviceable though. Fav track: Lovers of Today

Not a bad debut album, not as a strong as subsequent albums, still looking for their sound, mix of the Ramones, and almost an early 80s electronic sound.

Precious The Phone Call Tattooed Love Boys The Wait

Precious The Wait

Looks like the blondie album cover or maybe I’m tripping

It was pretty solid.

Pretty good - I've never heard this album all the way through. I'd be willing to go back to it to see how it holds up a few more time.

Pretty good, but I don’t really remember a lot of it from Friday until Monday….

It's kinda good overall, but for me strangely the vocals and music are so separate it feels like just slapped on each other, and I subjectively don't enjoy it that much.

me gustó. no le presté tanta atención pero me gustó.

Great music. They sound ahead of their time in 1979.

Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Brass in Pocket Date listened: 25-29/06/26 (during thesis!!) Listen when: Sunny drive

Good debut album, like the music, like her voice, the whole attitude and come on Brass in Pocket was and always will be an absolute classic. Loved that song when I was 8 and it still is brilliant.

I think this album maybe had the bad luck of coming out 10 years too early. Otherwise it would have fit in great with the 90’s grunge scene.

an 80s tastic time!

The singles are good, and very much sound like the 80's to me - but rest of album is kinda forgettable.

Enjoyed this, but didn't blow my mind.

Not a bad album, enjoyed the listen, but won’t look much further than that.

Is is odd that whenever I listen to the Pretenders that I want to listen to Blondie instead? The more I listen to this the more my brain is telling me to stop and listen to Blondie instead. It's not a bad album, I'm just not a fan of it. I've been told they are amazing and that I should love it. Yet here I am. I'm going to listen to Parallel Lines now.

Pop Punk from 1979! Sorry, I mean Post Punk*! Ope, jk, I mean New Wave**! This album has a little bit of everything, and I get how it could be too much for some and not enough for others. You can kinda pick out the singles compared to the punkier album tracks if you have a moderately seasoned ear. I didn't know specifically which songs were singles except "Brass In Pocket" before listening, but I was able to mark them. "Stop Your Sobbing" has the sound, but I was a little surprised that it was actually a single.

not my fave from this world!

A story of two albums. The first half is legitimately so cool. It’s fast, it’s punky, it sounds like a mid 90’s cult classic. The second half sounds exactly like I expected the album to sound. A bit more of a traditional pop rock thingy. Despite that, the guitar work is consistently great and Chrissie Hynde is a great lead singer. It’s a solid album.

Never really been that bothered by Pretenders, listening to the full album didn't change that. It's good, but not great.

Not too bad! I've heard them before, but never sat through an album. This was a nice surprise.

It's fine.

gillade!

When I think of Pretenders I always think of their big hits like "Brass in Pocket" or "Ill Stand by you". So I completely forget that they have a raw, rock and punky sound. Which was something that the video game series "Guitar Hero" showed when they used "Tattooed Love Boys" as one of their songs. And this became my favorite pretenders song for a while. Obviously without me checking out the rest of their album. Having now made up for that crime, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed this album. (2.750)

🤮

Had potential but was just fine

Brass in Pocket is great. 3.25

Not life changing

Didn't like the pretenders before this album. Still don't. A bit more punk than I was expecting

Enjoyed listened to this album. The upbeat feel with the instruments and her vocals were nice to listen to. I would like to re listen to this album as when you only listen to it once, you sometimes don’t rate it to its full potential. I don’t feel like I could complain about anything so I would probably rate it a 3 or 4 out of 5. It didn’t particularly stand out to me most of the time just because I wasn’t fully listening, which is something I might have to do to fully listen to it. I also think rocks my favourite genre anyway so it automatically gets a high rating

típicas bandas sexistas

Kovaa naisvetosta rokkia. Musiikiltaan aika perus, mutta ei noussu mitään mikä olis työntäny pois, meni oikein hyvin taustalla puuhaillessa. Tuskin menee ihmeellisesti lisäkuunteluun, mutta mielellään kerran rokkas läpi

Ok pop-punk album. Decent vocals and some cool songs.

2,9/5

Nothing to get excited about but nothing terrible either

Few debut albums arrive with as much swagger as Pretenders. Chrissie Hynde and company take the nervous energy of punk, the sharp edges of new wave, and the timeless crunch of rock ’n’ roll, then weld them into something that feels both familiar and fresh. The guitars jangle and slash, the rhythm section drives hard, and Hynde commands every song with a mix of toughness and cool confidence. The album kicks off with “Precious,” a relentless blast of pounding drums, rumbling bass, and razor-sharp guitar work that immediately announces the band’s arrival. Elsewhere, the Kinks cover “Stop Your Sobbing” transforms a British Invasion gem into a radio-ready pop-rock standout, complete with sweet harmonies and double-tracked vocals. “Kid” may be the record’s hidden masterpiece, balancing vulnerability with some of the album’s most irresistible jangling guitars. Then there’s “Brass in Pocket,” the breakthrough hit that helped make Pretenders a household name. It’s smoother and more accessible than much of the record, but it never sacrifices the attitude that defines the band. While the album occasionally feels more like a collection of strong singles than a fully unified statement, the quality of the songwriting and performances rarely dips. As debuts go, Pretenders is a powerful introduction to a band that sounds ready to take on the world.

🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 (though could easily be 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 were I not feeling so magnanimous) Where do I know Pretenders from?? I swear I know at least one of their songs, but their sound is so generically early eighties that I can't place them. This cheesy, clean production on punk is one marked step towards its commercialization, but I'm kind of a sucker for this. The frontwoman is doing a B-52s, dare I say a Frank-n-furter, with her delivery, and even though she's not exactly possessed by the Rocky Horror spirit I can't say it wasn't fun. 1: Bad | 2: Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing

“Stop Your Sobbing” completely cracked me up, and overall I thought this was fine but not anything super special.

Early pop punk, vocals very punk esk but instrumentals are easily digestible, not the biggest fan of this style of vocals but singer has really good voice, vibe switches up half way through, like how they explored different styles, Private Life sounds like a knock off police song without a pop-esk hook, brass in pocket sounds like stereotypical 80’s pop song - good but very similar to rest of that style music, I’m all for stylistic diversity but feels like it’s just a bunch of of average stuff fitting into genres without doing much else to stand out 3/5 Favorite: Porcelain

Good album but I am tired of hearing Brass in Pocket.

Distinct sound of the band and Chrissy's voice.

Meh

"Space Invader" is aight. "Brass in Pocket": a classic. Good album.

Would I listen again: sure Not quite my style but also really not bad. I liked brass in pocket but I suppose that’s because it was a hit lol

Not a lot to say. Good enough Favorite Songs: Kid, The Wait, Mystery Achievement

Pretty good, enjoyed Brass in Pocket

Got some bangers and they're trying some fun ideas

I've been busy the last few days and away from easy computer access. But I've known the albums I was getting and listened to them all. So I'm rating four albums today (Pretenders s/t, Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys, and Bjork's Debut.). I'm giving them all 3s. And that's what pisses me off. There's not enough nuance in this rating system!!! Only five options is stupid. It means a 5 is reserved for albums I consider truly great, and a 1 is for garbage I don't think even belongs on this list. Then I'm left with three options for everything else. 2 seems to be, 'I get why it's here, but I don't like it.' 4 is either 'this is absolutely a classic, monumental album, but it's not really my thing' or 'I liked this a lot, but it's not perfect.' Which leaves the 3. I'm slapping it on four records today and I have wildly different feelings about all of them. Cocteau Twins I'd give maybe a 7.4 out of 10 (note that's not an 8, which translates to a 4-star, right?) while Dead Kennedys and Pretenders would both be somewhere in the 6.5 out of 10 range. Bjork would earn a 5.2 out of 10 (right in the middle, which sure doesn't seem like a 2 star rating, does it?) Frustrating. Wish it was different to allow for more distinction in rating.

Добре, проте це просто типовий панк-рок

All good.

im not turning it off on the radio but i'm not googling the lyrics either

Pretenders - Pretenders Listen on vinyl and glad I did as this really is an album of two halves. Tracks 1 to 6 explode with visceral inventiveness and excitement. The clever syncopations and machine gun guitars make the first 20 minutes of this collection an absolutely delightful and surprising thrill ride. Then there is the 'odd man out' Ray Davies cover of Stop Your Sobbing. They debut single produced by Nick Lowe before he gave up on the band, it sounds like a completely different time and place. Side 2 presents, to me, a completely different direction with Hynde seemingly already wanting to accelerate the 'maturation' of the group. And, to be honest, I don't really enjoy it anywhere near as much. Yes, Brass in Pocket is a great song but it isn't what I want after the moddish thunder of The Wait, or the in your face Precious. Would make a phenomenal mini-album 🤔 Best Track - hard call but gonna go for Tattooed Love Boys (still get giddy at that 'miss a beat' drum line) Worst track - Mystery Achievement. Such an anonymous way to end. 7.5/10 pretty much all for the first half.

Not so bad. Flat 3. Favorite track: Private Life

Un disco regular, solo conocía 1 canción, las demas estaban mas o menos.

It got better later into the listen as there were tracks I've heard a few times before. While this got pretty good reviews and is a strong debut, I wouldn't rate it higher than a 3, lucky to not be a 2.

Imagine hearing the Pretenders for the first time by hearing Chrissy Hines purr “Precious.”

Sounds like a Mixture of Stevie Nicks and Siouxie and the Banshees.

Mag die instrumentals, aber bin leider überhaupt kein fan von diesem vocal style

Pretty solid album, especially for a debut. Some tracks felt a bit long. But still a solid 3 for me. Favorite track(s) Tattooed Love Boys Kid Lovers of Today

this jus a boring version of the blondie album i got yesterday

This album has very strong hints of what was to come. Brass In Pocket is the highlight.

This album starts off pretty high energy then it kind of ebbs and flows. It's decent, and better than many things that are tagged new wave on this list. Not sure I'd come back but I can see a good arguement for this being on the list. 3/5 nearly a 4.

I liked this. I only knew Brass in Pocket. I liked the song Kid though. I like Chrissie Hynde’s voice.

Clearly historically important and a huge inspiration to some notable modern rock sounds. I don't know if I go back to this album though.

prima maar zeker niet geweldig

3.5

um cd que cumpre exatamente o que a capa promete

Pretty solid rock album. Recognized a couple songs and had an enjoyable time with it.

Nothing much to say about this. Just a hair before my time and so I don't really have any attachment to the Pretenders. Rock and roll.

Chrissie Hynde has never done much for me, though I recognize the Pretenders' place in rock history (and Hynde's role in the early punk scene in the UK). That said, I liked this more than I expected, probably because it's much closer to punk and post-punk than her later stuff. While the songs blend together after a while for me, it was nice to be introduced to songs other than "Brass in Pocket" that I may return to in the future. ("Mystery Achievement" is great.)

me ha sorprendido que he escuchado las más populares y las conocía, however......las del álbum? ninguna, ah mentira brass in pocket es de este album me gusta el rollete y tal está bastante bien

Decent

Interesting, funky rock

An album of all time. Not bad but not interesting either. 6/10

Kind of meh for me! Some goodies in there.

A solid first album. You can absolutely hear what they're going for, but I think they really nailed it on Learning to Crawl.

Me gusto, pero no se si volveria a escuchar el album