The Pretenders Album: “The Pretenders II [Digipak] [Remaster]”

Sometimes reissues are worth plunking down money for, and this is one of them. The packaging and sound are great, disc one is the album as originally issued (no extras), and the extras on the generous disc two are good to great (most of it is a vintage live show, with a couple of demos and outtakes at the end of the disc). The live stuff is pretty hot and sealed the deal on my satisfaction with this purchase. To the reviewer who complained about the cardboard album jackets, i often have the same problem: sometimes they scuff the disc or the disc is hard to get out without damaging the sleeve - I think i found the solution. Since the packaging is slightly oversized, if you go get a packet of paper cd sleeves (available from a number of places on the net, like Bags Unlimited), they should fit into the pocket and protect the disc, and allow for easy removal and protection of the disc. i've had to do this with several 'mini-lp' reissues and the Pretenders reissues have jackets big enough to accomodate the sleeves without any trimming. (I also recommend upgrading to the 2CD reissue of the first album, too - Rhino did a bang-up job on these. The Box set (Pirate Radio) is also quite good).

So snarled Chrissie Hynde on The Pretenders' second full force album.

I have to admit, I held off on buying this because I never felt it measured up to either the brash originality of the debut or the defiant sense of odds-breaking that propelled

. But then I bought both of those remastered CD's and just knew I needed this (and

) again. I admit to grievously under-rating "Pretenders II."

While the sting of the debut may have raised expectations for the follow-up to a level I could not accept less than at the time, this sophomore album has all the great things the debut offered. There is Chrissie as the tough/tender woman whose voice could tremble seductively ("Two Birds of Paradise") or snarl dismissively (the aforereferenced "Pack It Up"). The group displays a solid understanding about what being in a rock band is all about, coyly referencing classics like "Louie Louie" or "Day After Day" for titles, and then actually covering a classic (again, turning to The Kinks for "I Go To Sleep"). Sadly, Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott maybe understood it too well; they would both be dead of drug abuse within two years.

There is also Chrissie and The Pretenders' true secret weapon in evidence here, and that is their uncanny early knack to turn catchy, classic singles loose with ease. Both "Talk of the Town" and "Message Of Love," while not US hit singles, have become classics in their own rite. The playfully naughty "The Adultress" ("but I'm convenient, and I make good tea" is one of the best couplets in rock, ever) and "Bad Boys Get Spanked" sound better today than they did 27 years ago. It makes you remember that this classic line-up of The Pretenders only held together for two albums, and it's a packet of music that holds up beautifully. Honeyman-Scott's clever guitar riffs have since received the accolades they deserve, and "Pretenders II" has, as well. "Pits of the world?" Hardly. Maybe I held off on buying this reissue early, but I'm glad I have it now.

Yet there is even more to this; That second full length concert disc. Even with the three superfluous demo/outtakes, the bonus CD could have made its own four star stand-alone offering. This was the classic early line-up playing with gusto to win a Santa Monica live audience over (plus recording the show as a college radio music special - I used to actually have the LP, dangit!) to the new material plus three songs from the debut. It should probably be re-emphasized that those two albums were all the band had to draw from at this stage of the game, and the powerful line-up was a monster, live. When Chrissie cuts loose with a banshee wail on "Bad Boys Get Spanked" and Honeyman-Scott fires off a scorching solo during "Up The Neck," you'll realize just why The Pretenders were one of the great rock and roll hopes of the early 80's.

Like many others here, I saw the group live (with original line-up), bought all the albums, then bought all the CDs as they appeared. All the music is great, and I have no criticism there (personally I slightly prefer Pretenders II to I). However, the sound quality of the first CD release was shrill and harsh. This "remaster" of Pretenders II studio tracks reduces that somewhat, but does so by essentially chopping off the top two octaves, and perhaps the bottom one as well. It now sounds muffled, with the life sucked out of it. (Seems like a similar thing happened with the recent remaster of Who's Live at Leeds.) For this set of studio recordings it is best to just pull out your turntable and listen to the original LP (which sounds fine). What makes this new CD worth buying, however, is the live set: Sound quality not too bad, and a must-have for any Pretenders fan. Great jams, and the excitement of the original synergy on stage. If Chrissie is still getting royalties from these sales, that's another reason to buy; she certainly deserves to benefit from all the enjoyment she has brought to rock fans over the years.

This is a Review of the SACD layer.

I have about 5 of these MOFI stereo CD's now. All have the same problem...no high end. Just a thuddy, muddy low end party. You cant adjust enough to bring the treble out of the mess.

Now, the Album, the music, is superb. Who doesn't like the Pretenders? This master is just too bassy, like a lot of the cassettes you used to buy.

I feel about the Pretenders as I did Elvis Costello and the Beatles-they gave rock a solid kick in the pants! A decent sophomore effort for the group, this expanded edition gives you a taste of what it was like to hear them live on the second disc. With a second Ray Davies cover, and "Louie, Louie", you may think that the band pulled out all the stops on their first album, then just coasted for the second one-you'd be wrong, but it's easy to see why. When you consider the output over the past 30 years, and all the turmoil in between, Chrissie Hynde was developing as a songwriter. Pretenders ll was a necessary step in that evolutionary process. Get the first album with 2nd companion disc, and the expanded 3rd and 4th albums, and you won't really need the box set. But...get that too!