Greatest Hits

by

The Pretenders

Edit

I'm rating this CD with 5 stars for one reason: Pretenders. Chrissie Hynde is rock-and-roll. However, note the title of this collection : "Greatest Hits." This is definitely not "Best Songs" or even "Representative Songs." This is about the radio hits. Any Pretenders fan will tell you a true "Greatest" collection will include: "Mystery Achievement," "Tattooed Love Boys," "English Roses," "Bad Boys Get Spanked," "Louie Louie," "Pack it Up," "My City was Gone," "Thumbelina," "Roomful of Mirrors," "Cuban Slide," "Love Colors," "Dragway 42," and, most recently, the great cover of Neil Young's "Needle and the Damage Done." (Another recent cut also highly recommended: Chrissie Hynde and Pretenders guitarist Adam Seymour performing Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska" on the tribute CD "Badlands.") All this being said, every Pretenders fanatic will need to add this to their collection. And hey, you will never get tired of hearing "Talk of the Town."

Sorry, for me this collection doesn't do Chrisse Hynde and The Pretenders justice as the great ... rock n roll band that they are. I'm not surprised or anything. These "Greatest Hits" packages are almost always geared towards making a band look like easy going sellouts.

The hard facts are that THE PRETENDERS had enough kutzpah and swagger to hang with the likes of AC/DC and The Stones.

Unfortunately, this collection (although containg a number of fine songs), completely misses the point of THE PRETENDERS as the great ROCK band that they are.

Please, opt to buy the first few studio albums and listen to Chrissie's ... attitude on gems like "PRECIOUS", "THE WAIT", "MYSTERY ACHIEVEMENT", "MY CITY WAS GONE" or "THE ADULTRESS." These great songs not only feature Chrissie's bid as one of rock n roll's very finest female artists but they also feature some of the best angst riddled guitar riffs, energized melodies and pounding rhythms in rock history.

To anyone not familiar with THE PRETENDERS and who considers themselves a "ROCKER", please avoid this collection and purchase those wonderful studio albums: PRETENDERS, PRETENDERS II & LEARNING TO CRAWL. You'll have a much more clear picture of this great band after listening.

If you just want some nice, safe radio songs then I guess this collection is for you.

Personally, I would "WAIT" for a better set(one that really shows the band's swagger as well as their pop craft) and I think Chrissie would agree.

M.L.