features in: Album Chart of 1981 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1980s |
For “Pretenders II” the sussed four remain: Chrissie Hynde (vocals, rhythm guitar); James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals); Pete Farndon (bass, backing vocals) and Martin Chambers (drums, backing vocals). By the standards of the day, the 19 month gap between their first two long-players seemed like an eternity for the fans, especially so in the UK where the debut had been a #1 hit. It finally arrived in August, 1981, and included two of the singles which were almost historical already, the all-time classic “Talk Of The Town” (a #8 hit from 16 months earlier) and the fantastic “Message Of Love” (a #11 hit from 6 months earlier). The authentic “lead single” was “Day After Day” (only #45 - jeez, come on Britain) which was followed by the album's only cover, “I Go To Sleep”, a then-unreleased Kinks song (released by Peggy Lee in 1965) giving the group a #7 UK hit in the Christmas charts. In the end up, the album was well worth the wait, the 4 classy singles being joined by excellent cuts such as the sassy “Bad Boys Get Spanked” and the snarling “Pack It Up” which cuts like a knife: “I don't like your trousers, Your appalling taste in women, And what about your mind, Your insipid record collection”. You've got to be cruel to be kind, eh?
The Jukebox Rebel
02–Apr–2011
Tracklist |
A1 | [03:55] Pretenders - The Adultress (Chrissie Hynde) New Wave |
A2 | [04:04] Pretenders - Bad Boys Get Spanked (Chrissie Hynde) Rock n Roll / Rockabilly |
A3 | [03:26] Pretenders - Message Of Love (Chrissie Hynde) New Wave |
A4 | [02:55] Pretenders - I Go To Sleep (Ray Davies) Songwriter |
A5 | [04:14] Pretenders - Birds Of Paradise (Chrissie Hynde) Songwriter |
A6 | [02:45] Pretenders - Talk Of The Town (Chrissie Hynde) New Wave |
B1 | [03:50] Pretenders - Pack It Up (James Honeyman-Scott, Chrissie Hynde) New Wave |
B2 | [03:43] Pretenders - Waste Not Want Not (Chrissie Hynde) Reggae |
B3 | [03:45] Pretenders - Day After Day (Chrissie Hynde, James Honeyman-Scott) New Wave |
B4 | [05:36] Pretenders - Jealous Dogs (Chrissie Hynde) New Wave |
B5 | [04:28] Pretenders - The English Roses (Chrissie Hynde) Soft Rock / A.O.R. |
B6 | [03:30] Pretenders - Louie Louie (Chrissie Hynde) New Wave |