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Language available : english
Chrissie Hynde took a long, hard road to rock & roll stardom, but when her band, the Pretenders, finally broke through in 1979, they wasted no time, growing from promising newcomers on the British music scene to major international stardom with a pair of smash albums to their credit in a mere three years. But the Pretenders' meteoric rise came to a crashing halt in 1982, when drug abuse claimed the life of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and forced Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers to dump bassist Pete Farndon, who would also succumb to an OD in April 1983. Hynde was forced by circumstance to reinvent the Pretenders for their third album, 1984's Learning to Crawl, but if the new edition of the group lacked some of the spark of the band that made the first two LPs, through sheer force of will Hynde created a masterpiece. While Hynde hardly held back in her emotionally potent songwriting in the Pretenders' early work, on Learning to Crawl there's a gravity to her lyrics that blended with her tough but wiry melodic sense and streetwise intelligence to create a set of truly remarkable tunes. "Back on the Chain Gang" is a touching tribute to her fallen comrades that still sounds bitterly rueful, "Middle of the Road" is a furious rocker that explores the emotional and physical toll of a musician's life, "Time the Avenger" is a taut, literate examination of a businessman's adulterous relationship, "My City Was Gone" deals with the economic and cultural decay of the Midwest in a manner both pithy and genuinely heartfelt, and "2000 Miles" is a Christmas number that demonstrates Hynde can be warm without getting sappy. As a guitarist, Robbie McIntosh brought a simpler and more elemental style to the Pretenders than James Honeyman-Scott, but his tough, muscular leads fit these songs well, and bassist Malcolm Foster's solid punch fits Chambers' drumming perfectly. Three albums into her recording career, Chrissie Hynde found herself having to put the past to bed and carve out a new beginning for herself with Learning to Crawl, but she pulled it off with a striking mixture of courage, strength, and great rock & roll; with the exception of the instant-classic debut album, it's the Pretenders' finest work.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
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Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar, Harmonica - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1983, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Billy Bremner, Lead Guitar - Tony Butler, Bass Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Dan Hersch, Remastering Engineer - Bill Inglot, Remastering Engineer - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1982, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1983, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1984, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1984, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1983, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Billy Bremner, Lead Guitar - Tony Butler, Bass Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1982, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Jackie Members, Writer - Robert Poindexter, Writer - Richard Poindexter, Writer - Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Billy Bremner, Additional Vocals, Rhythm Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Paul Carrack, Piano, Additional Vocals - Andrew Bodner, Bass Guitar, Additional Vocals - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1984, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1984, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Robbie McIntosh, Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar - Martin Chambers, Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals - CHRIS THOMAS, Producer - Chrissie Hynde, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Pretenders, MainArtist - Tim Young, Remastering Engineer - STEVE Churchyard, RecordingEngineer - Malcolm Foster, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 1983, 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
Albumbeschreibung
Chrissie Hynde took a long, hard road to rock & roll stardom, but when her band, the Pretenders, finally broke through in 1979, they wasted no time, growing from promising newcomers on the British music scene to major international stardom with a pair of smash albums to their credit in a mere three years. But the Pretenders' meteoric rise came to a crashing halt in 1982, when drug abuse claimed the life of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and forced Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers to dump bassist Pete Farndon, who would also succumb to an OD in April 1983. Hynde was forced by circumstance to reinvent the Pretenders for their third album, 1984's Learning to Crawl, but if the new edition of the group lacked some of the spark of the band that made the first two LPs, through sheer force of will Hynde created a masterpiece. While Hynde hardly held back in her emotionally potent songwriting in the Pretenders' early work, on Learning to Crawl there's a gravity to her lyrics that blended with her tough but wiry melodic sense and streetwise intelligence to create a set of truly remarkable tunes. "Back on the Chain Gang" is a touching tribute to her fallen comrades that still sounds bitterly rueful, "Middle of the Road" is a furious rocker that explores the emotional and physical toll of a musician's life, "Time the Avenger" is a taut, literate examination of a businessman's adulterous relationship, "My City Was Gone" deals with the economic and cultural decay of the Midwest in a manner both pithy and genuinely heartfelt, and "2000 Miles" is a Christmas number that demonstrates Hynde can be warm without getting sappy. As a guitarist, Robbie McIntosh brought a simpler and more elemental style to the Pretenders than James Honeyman-Scott, but his tough, muscular leads fit these songs well, and bassist Malcolm Foster's solid punch fits Chambers' drumming perfectly. Three albums into her recording career, Chrissie Hynde found herself having to put the past to bed and carve out a new beginning for herself with Learning to Crawl, but she pulled it off with a striking mixture of courage, strength, and great rock & roll; with the exception of the instant-classic debut album, it's the Pretenders' finest work.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:40:37
- Main artists: The Pretenders
- Label: Rhino
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 1984 Warner Music UK Ltd ℗ 2018 Warner Music UK Ltd
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