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Chrissie Hynde is a great frontwoman. There’s no need in arguing with that, and while the Pretenders have become nothing more than a vehicle for her artistic explorations, they were once a fantastic band. While Pretenders II is not as groundbreaking, rollicking or hard-edged are their debut album, it is a great album from front to back.
She still jerks back and forth from tough girl (“Bad Boys Get Spanked”) to achingly tender (“I Go to Sleep”), but that’s always been part of her charm. And this first incarnation of the band remains the same. Their first two albums play like a two-disc greatest hits collection (and I would make the argument that Learning to Crawl acts as a third disc). From the tough girl with a soft heart sass of “Message of Love” onwards, Chrissie has got you hooked with her steely but melodic voice. She even makes like a spiritual daughter of Patti Smith on “Pack It Up,” which is a good thing. But my favorite moment is the sweet, but never saccharine, British Invasion-era pop of “Talk of the Town.” From the poetic lyrics to the way that Hynde sings “You’ve changed…your place in this world,” this is truly one of their greatest moments. DOWNLOAD: “Talk of the Town”
