Today, Jan. 19, marks the 35th anniversary of the Pretenders' classic self-titled debut album, which bridged punk rock to new wave and set the course for many other guitar pop bands to come over the course of the '80s, including the Go-Gos, R.E.M., The Sugarcubes, and many more. In honor of this incredible album, here are its 12 tracks ranked, from weakest to best.
12. Private Life
As with many other British punk/new wave bands from the late '70s such as The Police and The Clash, reggae was a huge influence on The Pretenders, so there was bound to be at least one straight-up reggae song on their debut album. While "Private Life" gets the new wave reggae tone spot on, it's the album's weakest song, stretching to six and a half minutes without much of a hook to speak of.
11. Lovers of Today
The album's penultimate track "Lovers of Today" suffers largely from the same problems at "Private Life": it's far too long (nearly six minutes) and not nearly punchy or hooky enough to sustain the listener's attention. It's the closest thing the album comes to a ballad, which is fine, but it has very little of the pop-rock brilliance that makes the rest of the album so memorable.
10. Space Invader
The instrumental "Space Invader" is the only original song on Pretenders not to be written or co-written by frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, but rather by bassist Pete Farndon and lead guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, and while the riffs are catchy enough on their own, the song is desperately missing Hynde's vocals and signature attitude.
9. Stop Your Sobbing
The Pretenders' cover of The Kinks' "Stop Your Sobbing" was their first single, and though the track is markedly breezier and less punk than the rest of the album, it is a somewhat refreshing change of pace, and you can't really go wrong with a Kinks song, particularly one from the '60s.
8. The Phone Call
The main guitar riff for "The Phone Call" can be seen as the distillation of the entire Pretenders aesthetic and what made them such a unique band. Only two chords are being strummed, but they're played in a tricky 7/8 time signature, which makes this more than just a straightforward punk song. As exciting as the song is musically, however, there's not really much in the way of vocals besides some hasty spoken word.
7. Precious
Opening track "Precious" is one of the album's simplest songs musically, with little more than some standard power chord thrashing, which means the song is almost entirely driven by Chrissie Hynde's undeniably badass attitude and personality. Whenever she delivers those snarling lyrics in the verses, you can almost hear her eyebrows arching through the speakers.
6. Up The Neck
The opening riff to "Up The Neck" sounds like something lifted right from the Clash's first album, but instead of following through on that with some straightforward power chord crunch, the song brilliantly takes a step back with some atmospheric new wave arpeggios, similar to the style that The Smiths and R.E.M. would popularize four years later. Being the third track on the album, following the much punkier "Precious" and "The Phone Call," "Up The Neck" is somewhat of an introduction to the Pretenders' more nuanced and melodic side.
5. Mystery Achievement
Closing out the album is the incredible "Mystery Achievement," held down with what is by far the album's best bassline, which sounds like something The Police would have written if they were into more straightforward rock rhythms. As if the bassline wasn't enough, the song also provides one of the album's best choruses, and though the whole track runs a little too long, its length is justified by its closing position on the album.
4. Kid
None of the songs on Pretenders can really be described as "beautiful" ("Lovers of Today" tries to be, but doesn't quite cut it), but the closest the album comes is the incredible "Kid," which if played at a slower tempo, could have easily been a Phil Spector-produced ballad. Coming right after their cover of "Stop Your Sobbing," "Kid" is a reminder that Chrissie Hynde could have also written some '60s rock classics of her own if she had been around 20 years earlier.
3. Brass in Pocket
"Brass in Pocket" was the Pretenders' first hit and by far the most famous song from their debut album, and for a very good reason: it's an incredible song. It has almost none of the punk energy of some of the album's other tracks, but it's still the album's best pop song, with just a hint of melancholy to make it stick in your heart a little bit more.
2. The Wait
Seeing as how Chrissie Hynde is American, most of the songs on The Pretenders' debut abum have a definite U.S. punk/new wave sound to them. However, "The Wait" has perhaps the most British punk influence of any song on the album, due to the fact that it was co-written by Hynde with (British) bassist Pete Farndon, and ends up sounding like power pop-tinged Buzzcocks classic.
1. Tattooed Love Boys
If you thought the 7/8 guitar riff for "The Phone Call" was strange, try wrapping your head around the verses of "Tattooed Love Boys," which are played in a head-scratching 15/16 rhythm. You might not be able to dance or even bob your head to it, but it's still the album's best song, an almost overwhelmingly exciting piece of restless punk pop with the album's best lead guitar playing from James Honeyman-Scott.
What are your favorite songs from The Pretenders' debut album? What did I get wrong? Let us know down in the comments section below!
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