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 ...
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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, Rovi
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Pretenders 'Learning to Crawl' 10-track LP. Slight surface marking to vinyl, plays fine (professionally cleaned using VPI record cleaning machine). Slight edgewear and corner bumping to sleeve. With picture inner sleeve. Next day dispatch by Royal Mail in sturdy, recyclable packaging. 1000's of satisfied customers! Please contact us with any enquiries.
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Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Good. Good condition. audioCD. BMG edition. Case Very Good. Disc slightly scratched. Quality guaranteed! In original artwork/packaging unless otherwise noted.
The Pretenders were a fabulous band. Their first album is a real classic. Their second album is not quite as good as the first. And now their third album isn't as good as the second album. However all Pretenders fans should own all three. Each passing album has a little less energy, spirit, and songwriting skills. Learning to Crawl is still a great and exciting album, with all of Chrissie Hyde's talents in evident abundance. The Pretender's reputation is based solely on these first 3 albums and are the best representative of the rock and roll punk movement's pinnacle of it's revolutionary spirit. Ms. Hyde has not been able to write an album that can even approach her efforts from 30 years ago but in concert she's still got it overflowing with her attitude.
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