I buy a fair bit of music, and I won’t
file an album into the main library until I feel I’ve fully grokked it. As a
result, there is about 60 or so CDs that sit waiting to be better appreciated.
They still form a part of the random selection process, however, so when I roll
one of those I give it as many listens as I need to feel like I get it. This
next album is one of those.
It is also my second straight
review of an album released in 1981, which is a cool coincidence.
Disc 874 is….II
Artist: The
Pretenders
Year of Release: 1981
What’s up with the Cover? There isn’t much going on here in
terms of action, but I dig the early eighties fashion and haircuts. Chrissie
Hynde looks beautiful and I want both the haircut and the jacket of the guy on
the right.
How I Came To Know It: In the twilight of the CD, some
bands are taking one last gasp by releasing multi-album packages at bargain
prices. This album is from a set of the Pretenders first five records released
this way that I bought earlier this year. It takes up way less space on the
shelf and I got five albums for only $35.
How It Stacks Up: We now have five Pretenders albums. They are
all good, but it is hard to say how they stack up since (with the exception of “Learning
to Crawl” reviewed back at Disc 476) I am still getting to know most of
them. After a quick scan of what’s to come, I’m going to put “II” in last
place.
Ratings: 3 stars but just barely
“II” is blessed with good production and has a ‘sound’
that is engaging and musically innovative, but is pulled down by the fact that
the songs aren’t all that memorable.
Don’t get me wrong, here. The album overall has a
cool vibe, and I never got tired of it despite multiple listens. It has a nice even
flow, and the production is rich but not busy. Despite this, apart from a short
run of songs in the middle of the record, I found the tracks tended to blend
one into another.
The best feature of the record is lead vocalist
Chrissie Hynde, who has a deep rocker voice that is suffused with an unexpected
sweetness. She also has an exceptional sense of timing that lets her sing along
with the melody, or do a half-rap deadpan with equal skill. Hynde has a natural
cool factor that all great band leaders need to excel. She just sounds
confident and chill, and her voice cannot be denied.
Musically, the album is tinged with New Wave sensibilities
with short sharp guitar notes, but like Hynde’s voice the whole of it has a
sweetness that recalls old fifties and sixties classic rock and roll.
The bass lines are very noticeable in the mix, and
songs like “Pack It Up” and “Waste Not Want Not” have cool walkdowns
and walkups that create a carefree feeling that goes very well with actual
walking (I did two long walks while listening to “II”). “Pack It Up” also has some simple but tasty guitar licks.
The lyrics to most of the songs are less interesting
than just hearing Hynde sing them. They are edgiest off the top, with the two
opening songs (“The Adultress” and “Bad Boys Get Spanked”) both heavy with
sexual overtones. After this, things settle down considerably, with a lot of
songs that are casually romantic but not what I would call passionate.
On “Jealous
Dogs” the tone is too playful, and I felt like the band had their tongues
in their cheeks when they wrote it. Other times, like with “Birds of Paradise” they sound genuine
and heartfelt. Unfortunately, neither song stands out beyond that, and with the
large collection of mid-tempo tracks, they blend in with everything else. The
album’s final track “Louie Louie” (a
new song, not a remake of the Kingsmen track) is the fastest of the lot.
However, it comes too late to effectively break up the record like it would if
they had put this at the start of Side Two. Even if they had placed it earlier,
the song didn’t energize me the way the band intends.
One of my favourite tracks is “I Go To Sleep” which is a slower song, full of dreamy romance and
powerful high notes from Hynde. “Talk of
the Town” has the strongest hook on the record, and a carefree quality that
would fit well on the classic “Learning to Crawl” album they would release two
years later.
“II” doesn’t have enough range to separate itself
out, nor does it have clear ‘hits’ that supply natural high points, but it has
all the other elements that make the Pretenders a great band. While it is hard
to get a handle on, it was worth the effort in the end.
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