Pretenders II

by

The Pretenders

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OK lets get one thing straight. This is a great album--of course it can't compare to the debut, but what can? The original Pretenders were one of those rare bands where all players figure prominently into the final sound. (Listen to how you can hear Pete Farndon's bass in almost every song) Chrissie's songwriting is still great, Martin Chambers and James Honeyman Scott are in fine form. Message of Love is just a flat out great rollicking(that is the word that keeps coming to mind) single, The Adultress and Jealous Dogs keep rockin' right where the first record stopped. Birds of Paradise and The English Roses are beatifully written and performed songs comparable to Kid from the debut. But my favorite song and one of the Pretenders finest tunes has got to be Talk of the Town--gorgeous driving melody and wistful lyrics with that Chrissie Hynde stamp "Oh but its hard to live by the rules, I never could and still never do"

In 20 year hindsight there are some weaknesses that I can reluctantly admit--Some critics have rightfully accused Pack It Up as self parody (but it still sounds cool), a second Kinks cover in as many albums, and as one astute reviewer noted, Bad Boys Get Spanked is a re-write of Tattooed Love Boys. (But check out that Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry sample)

In 1982 Pete Farndon was kicked out of the band for being unreliable and two days later James Honeyman Scott died of a coke induced heart attack thus ending the original band. Eight months later Pete Farndon also died. (In his bathtub with a needle in his arm) One of the most tragic wastes in rock history-- There are only two cds featuring this extremely talented and versatile band so kids, chemistry like this doesnt come along very often and this second record is a nice followup to the debut.