Hey let's poll the Pretenders' Greatest Hits

"Night in My Veins" was my first new Pretenders song, and it lived up to whatever idea I'd formed about them.

talk of the town one of the greatest songs ever written by anyone

yeah, I can't express how much I love this song. Once in a while I forget how good it is, then hear it again and get bowled over by Hynde's singing or the guitars or lines like "You arrived like a day/and passed like a cloud"

"Chain Gang" is my automatic answer and i'm comfortable with it.

Love "Chain Gang." Would also consider "Don't Get Me Wrong" and even "Middle of the Road." "Kid" is kind of a masterpiece, too.

"You arrived like a day/and passed like a cloud"

"I made a weesh"

"ahnd said it ow-loud"

"don't get me wrong" is the best.

my folks had get close on cassette, i was taken aback years later when i got the cd and discovered that "don't get me wrong" was not the album opener.

Aside from generally perfect pop construction and emotional connection, I have noticed that many of the Pretenders peaks have immaculate bridges.

folks had get close on cassette, i was taken aback years later when i got the cd and discovered that "don't get me wrong" was not the album opener.

"My Baby" is pretty sweet though.

listening to brass in pocket again and i'm probably the last person on the planet to have this thought but it sounds like it could have been a massive influence on karen o, both in the vocals and maybe the whole persona too?

I think Chrissie Hynde has been a massive influence on almost every singer, but particularly female singers.

ah that might be a bit too broad a statement

this is tough. "Don't Get Me Wrong" narrowly over "Back On The Chain Gang," "Middle of the Road," "Night In My Veins," etc.

xpost Hyperbole for sure, but her influence is pervasive nonetheless. I'd say she's influenced at least ... 321 singers.

Where's the write in option for Tattooed Love Boys?

stop snifflin'!

Fuck it, I'm going for 'Kid'. Such an incredibly hurt, but simultaneously beutifully gentle song.

I never liked "Don't Get Me Wrong." After the onslaught/radio saturation of the Learning To Crawl singles, and eagerly waiting to hear what they'd come up with next, this twee, gently jaunty romp was a huge disappointment.

(Not that when they rocked out in '86 it was much better, cf "Room Full Of Mirrors")

So, "Middle Of The Road."

yeah I gotta admit I'm surprised by the affection for "Don't Get Me Wrong," although I think it's perfect.

I'll be the voice of dissent there -- Ive never warmed up to "Don't Get Me Wrong." I won't go quite as far as saying I hate it.

"Don't Get Me Wrong" is actually their 2nd most popular track on Spotify (also their 5th, which if you added them together would put it at #1 ahead of "I'll Stand By You").

if you asked me how many rock singers since Chrissie Hynde have been influenced by her i'd sooner say "not nearly enough" than "all of them"

tbh i probably don't listen to the right kind of music most of the time to notice her influence. i mentioned karen o already but who would be some other singers that have an obvious chrissie h influence?

as for don't get me wrong, i'm not a big fan of the twinkly keyboard bits, but that guitar riff is maddeningly catchy and her voice just floats over the top of it in such a glorious way. and yes - that bridge again... all sounds so effortless

I find that the singer from the Dum Dum Girls does a great Chrissie.

i'm not sure if it's that karen o has been influenced by chrissie hynde or that their voices just happen to have the exact same timbre. or maybe it's both. either way, "ma

...either way, "maps" would easily fit on this very greatest-hits album that we're discussing.

Karen O. reminds me of the They Might Be Giants lyric "do you sing like Olive Oyl on purpose? you guys must be into the Eurythmics!"

Keep thinking I might should have voted for "Middle of The Road"

She's still sui generis as a vocalist. Forget the women -- more men should try her stylings.

I saw them in 2006, opening for the Who. Her voice hadn't changed at all since 1980. It was eerie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXKXBsZv3r4

This should be on here..

2000 Miles is that song one where I looked at the title and thought um whut? and then i played it and was instantly all OH SHIT IT'S THIS ONE! I LOVE THIS ONE!

I suppose Katrina & the Waves were quite Pretenders-y, and Walking On Sunshine isn't too dissimilar to Don't Get Me Wrong in that insistent nagging guitar thing, but then again it came out the year before it iirc.

It's also a bit shit too of course.

Ken Stringfellow writes in the notes for the Posies box set from 2000 about how much he loves Chrissie Hynde, and how she was supposed to come see the Posies play one time. He says he wanted the Pretenders to cover 'Pay You back In Time', and I reckon it would've sounded awesome.

Too bad none of these songs are called "Mystery Achievement." Then it would be easy. As it is, "Talk of the Town" or "Kid" or "Don't Get Me Wrong."

― Ian from Etobicoke (Phil D.), Thursday, November 14, 2013 9:20 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM

2000 Miles is that song one where I looked at the title and thought um whut? and then i played it and was instantly all OH SHIT IT'S THIS ONE! I LOVE THIS ONE!

― but my heart is full of woah (NickB), Sunday, 17 November 2013

was wondering when some love for that would pop up here, was seriously considering voting for it but there are at least half a dozen other ones I must consider as well

Polly Harvey and Shirley Manson are two that come to mind as influenced by her, the latter overtly. I know Elvis Costello is a big fan, as far as dudes go. But she's so iconic it's hard to point out linear influences.

Shirley Manson asked Hynde's permission to borrow a few lines from "Talk of the Town" for "Special" -- certainly it's Garbage's most Pretenders-like tune.

And of course the "special" parts comes from "Brass in Pocket." It's a two-fer.

Ken Stringfellow writes in the notes for the Posies box set from 2000 about how much he loves Chrissie Hynde, and how she was supposed to come see the Posies play one time. He says he wanted the Pretenders to cover 'Pay You back In Time', and I reckon it would've sounded awesome.

― Vic Arpeggio, Private Investigator (stevie), Sunday, November 17, 2013 3:53 PM (59 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

YESSSS i love "Pay You Back In Time" and that it was written for her, you can totally hear it. always seemed a shame that the Pretenders didn't record it, considering how many covers are on their albums. one of the later albums even has a song written for the Divinyls.

I was trying to find it on youtube to post it here, as it's kind of obscure - turns out its too obscure even for youtube!

yeah it bums me out that that box set isn't on itunes/spotify/etc, need to find the actual discs

The Singles is a more consistent collection than this Greatest Hits, though it misses quite a bit by dating back to the 80s, and it still has that goofy UB40 thing.

1. "Stop Your Sobbing" – 2:37
2. "Kid" – 3:05
3. "Brass in Pocket" – 3:04
4. "Talk of the Town" – 3:12
5. "I Go to Sleep" – 2:55
6. "Day After Day" – 4:01
7. "Message of Love" – 3:24
8. "Back on the Chain Gang" – 3:50
9. "Middle of the Road" – 4:12
10. "2000 Miles" – 3:38
11. "Show Me" – 4:07
12. "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" – 3:39
13. "Don't Get Me Wrong" – 3:48
14. "Hymn to Her" – 4:28
15. "My Baby" – 4:07
16. "I Got You Babe" (performed by UB40 with Chrissie Hynde) – 3:11

ok that day after day vid convinced me that it's my vote, how'd i forget that song?

also how do i unremember any ub40 collabs?

Yeah, Singles was the album I grew up with - though my dad also had Get Close (love My Baby and Hymn To Her in partic)

my dad had learning to crawl (almost definitely one of the last albums he ever bought) and the first one, they were one of a handful of new wave acts that crossed over enough that even my dad owned an album or two by them - the cars, the police, blondie, rick springfield.

My god, Hynde's vocal at the beginning of 2000 Miles! She just kills it.

it is so pleasing to see all this love for chrissie hynde! i guess i didn't realize the degree of affection people had for her/her singing. i realized the other day that everything i ever needed to learn about women wearing ruffle-fronted shirts, i learned from her. also, hometown pride! she is a hero (except for that awful UB40 collab but hey she's human)