Best Pretenders Album

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Not much love here for'em. I suspect the results will surprise no one.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
1980 – Pretenders 10
1981 – Pretenders II 3
1987 – The Singles 3
1990 – Packed! 1
1986 – Get Close 0
1984 – Learning to Crawl 0
1981 – Extended Play 0
1994 – Last of the Independents 0
1995 – The Isle of View 0
1999 – Viva el Amor 0
2000 – Greatest Hits 0
2002 – Loose Screw0


Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

i'm choosing 87's The Singles. the albums range from poor to good. but most everything on The Singles is sublime.

stevie, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 16:09 (nineteen years ago)

Funny, so did I!

Mark G, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 16:11 (nineteen years ago)

her voice is so very wonderful. 'show me', off 'learning to crawl', is just delicious, these lazy acrobatics she sends it through.

stevie, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 16:17 (nineteen years ago)

I wonder if I'll cast the only vote for II.

Rock Hardy, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 16:41 (nineteen years ago)

I learned more about sex from Pretenders than I did in school.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 16:48 (nineteen years ago)

I voted for II also. 'The Adultress' and 'Day After Day' are my two favourite Pretenders songs, so it was an easy decision.

SeekAltRoute, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 20:03 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, "Message of love" did that (xpost)

Mark G, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 20:14 (nineteen years ago)

Damn, has it already been five years since Loose Screw came out?

I went with Singles as well (although I wish it would've come out one album later so that "When Will I See You?" could've been included.

Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 30 May 2007 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

Results!

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:34 (nineteen years ago)

Hmm, well, as long as s/t and II came out on top. I would have been pissed if anything had been ahead of them.

Rock Hardy, Monday, 4 June 2007 16:27 (nineteen years ago)

six years pass...

Don't know about the rest but that first album is incredible:

http://devonrecordclub.com/2013/12/10/the-pretenders-the-pretenders-round-59-toms-selection/

yugi ex, Tuesday, 10 December 2013 12:19 (twelve years ago)

one year passes...

i really, really one the singles from Get Close

NotKnowPotato (stevie), Thursday, 30 April 2015 15:59 (eleven years ago)

five years pass...

debut is so great

mookieproof, Sunday, 15 November 2020 01:38 (five years ago)

^^^

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Sunday, 15 November 2020 01:41 (five years ago)

solid lp

brimstead, Sunday, 15 November 2020 01:42 (five years ago)

I have a lot of love for Get Close which my dad used to play in the car a lot when I was little

Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Sunday, 15 November 2020 11:00 (five years ago)

Indeed!

Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 15 November 2020 11:42 (five years ago)

Get Close is great. Hymn To Her! Baby! Don't Get Me Wrong!

Change Display Name: (stevie), Sunday, 15 November 2020 16:41 (five years ago)

Even aged 16 I cringed at the cheese of the "like walkin' on staaage" bit in "My Baby". But you'd have to be made of stone not to be moved by the other two.

assert (MatthewK), Sunday, 15 November 2020 18:36 (five years ago)

“dance” is an abomination but yeah get close rules. “Don’t get me wrong” def my Pretenders OPO, “light of the moon” is sexy and mysterious, and yeah I have a soft spot for “hymn to her” and the Hendrix cover.

brimstead, Sunday, 15 November 2020 19:23 (five years ago)

"Tradition of Love" is my secret favorite.

Hideous Lump, Sunday, 15 November 2020 20:39 (five years ago)

Even aged 16 I cringed at the cheese of the "like walkin' on staaage" bit in "My Baby".

FP'd you for this, that moment is electric.

Change Display Name: (stevie), Sunday, 15 November 2020 20:49 (five years ago)

!

assert (MatthewK), Sunday, 15 November 2020 21:21 (five years ago)

I'm standing in the middle of life with my pants behind me

assert (MatthewK), Sunday, 15 November 2020 21:24 (five years ago)

!

sorry but this is ilx you knew the stakes when you drew yr weapon

Change Display Name: (stevie), Monday, 16 November 2020 09:32 (five years ago)

I spend so long with the riff to Middle Of The Road looping through my head, what a song

Change Display Name: (stevie), Monday, 16 November 2020 09:33 (five years ago)

NO votes for "Learning to Crawl"??? I don't get you people.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 16 November 2020 22:17 (five years ago)

Starts with two monster hits, the album tracks are ace ("Time the Avenger"!) and no amount of Limbaugh can taint the loping greatness of "My City Was Gone"

Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 16 November 2020 22:19 (five years ago)

Surprising indeed. I always thought it was more well regarded than II, at the very least.

I don't think they actually made a mediocre record until Loose Screw. Even the much maligned packed! has some terrific moments and, at its weakest, is never worse than pleasant.

Langdon Alger Stole the Highlights (cryptosicko), Monday, 16 November 2020 22:22 (five years ago)

packed! has some pretty tunes: "Sense of Purpose," "Let's Make a Pact," "Never Do That," "When Will I See You." It got indifferent reviews at the time, but I suspect it's held in higher regard.

Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 November 2020 22:26 (five years ago)

Viva El Amor! was their best since LTC.

Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 November 2020 22:26 (five years ago)

"Criminal" is also gorgeous. Chrissie is an undervalued ballad singer.

Langdon Alger Stole the Highlights (cryptosicko), Monday, 16 November 2020 22:27 (five years ago)

^^ yeah. I first noticed when as a college lad I played Get Close's "Chill Factor" and "Hymn to Her" over and over.

Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 16 November 2020 22:35 (five years ago)

“Chill factor” is a really powerful lyric

brimstead, Tuesday, 17 November 2020 01:48 (five years ago)

She had her dreams too
But how can she pursue
Her ambitions, be they great or small
You took her wings and flew
But remember when you're through
Your rise was due
To somebody else's fall

brimstead, Tuesday, 17 November 2020 01:49 (five years ago)

How are the rarities on the box set and various deluxe reissues? Any keepers or stand-outs?

birdistheword, Tuesday, 17 November 2020 18:54 (five years ago)

I like a lot of the covers on the box set: "Everyday is Like Sunday," "Angel of the Morning," "The Needle and the Damage Done."

Langdon Alger Stole the Highlights (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 17 November 2020 19:54 (five years ago)

Box set is called Pirate Radio?

Indieland Phil and Indieland Don (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 17 November 2020 19:59 (five years ago)

Yup.

Langdon Alger Stole the Highlights (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 17 November 2020 20:04 (five years ago)

I always thought Packed! such a strange title for a studio album; it sounds like a Pretenders compilation

Master of Treacle, Tuesday, 17 November 2020 20:11 (five years ago)

A pun on the song title "Let's Make a Pact," perhaps?

Langdon Alger Stole the Highlights (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 17 November 2020 20:13 (five years ago)

I always loved the groovy instrumental tracks on the b-side of "Brass in Pocket"

Mark G, Tuesday, 17 November 2020 21:38 (five years ago)

I was read a recipe that involved ditalini the other day, and have had Brass In Pocket stuck in my head ever since, because that's what Chrissie singing "Detrot leaning" sounds like to me

Change Display Name: (stevie), Wednesday, 18 November 2020 11:42 (five years ago)

two years pass...

Johnny Marr sat in on a few songs for their Glastonbury set (I forgot he briefly joined the band though he only cut one track with them - an underwhelming song from a well-meaning but forgettable movie), and then Dave Grohl joined them on drums for "Tattooed Love Boys." My kind of supergroup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IMwmTLkq1g

birdistheword, Sunday, 25 June 2023 02:39 (two years ago)

I got pretty good

immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Sunday, 25 June 2023 03:07 (two years ago)

oh that was BLAZING, I love how they all shrugged past the fuckups. Chrissie is unbelievable.
Great that her guitarist absolutely smoked Marr but he was unfazed and had a great time.

assert (matttkkkk), Sunday, 25 June 2023 06:20 (two years ago)

New tracks sounded good. Didn’t check out the last Pretenders album but will need to now.

Enjoyed the Dylan covers albums she did a couple of years ago. No revelations from it, but some interesting choices and she always sounds great.

Dan Worsley, Sunday, 25 June 2023 09:05 (two years ago)

Johnny Marr sat in on a few songs for their Glastonbury set (I forgot he briefly joined the band though he only cut one track with them - an underwhelming song from a well-meaning but forgettable movie),

I like 'When Will I See You.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9T0_MZEVCE

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 25 June 2023 11:41 (two years ago)

two years pass...

Hynde discusses the making of the debut (which I would've voted for too).

birdistheword, Wednesday, 14 January 2026 03:15 (four months ago)

Ah, it's actually from 2006, but still a good, quick read.

birdistheword, Wednesday, 14 January 2026 03:23 (four months ago)

embarrassment of riches. i sorta appreciate I the most but cmon 2007 ilm, LTC is the best, unfuckwithable.

madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 14 January 2026 06:56 (four months ago)


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