WEEK OFF!!! – We ARE On A Break!

See you next week. It was time for a little break again.

7. “Night In My Veins” – The Pretenders: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “Night In My Veins” – Pretenders

(From the album Last Of The Independents)

1994

Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders took an extended break following 1990’s disappointing album Packed! This longer hiatus turned out to be a good thing for a couple of reasons. First, the break seems to have given Hynde some time to relax, refresh, and regroup, as the songs on 1994’s Last Of The Independents is the strongest batch of songs she had written in some time. Second, the lengthy break also allowed the music scene to change and by 1994 alternative rock had completely broken though to the mainstream and changed the general musical climate. While most successful first wave alternative rock artists from the 1980’s struggled to seem relevant and current in the post-Nirvana world, The Pretenders, who were always tougher and rawer than most of their contemporaries, were well suited to fit in. Last Of The Independents was a critical success and a moderate commercial hit as well. Much of the commercial success of the record was due to the album’s centerpiece ballad and hit single “I’ll Stand By You”. “I’ll Stand By You” is something of an outlier on the record though as most of the album is more like the more rock-oriented lead single “Night In My Veins”, a song that is at least reminiscent of the attitude of The Pretenders’ early albums that combined punk, post-punk, pop, and classic rock, even if it never quit sounds like the songs of that era. “Night In My Veins” was a modest hit but it is just one of several tough, yet catchy rockers such as “Money Talk” and “977” that recall prime Pretenders. Last Of The Independents also ends with a strong cover of Dylan’s “Forever Young”, a fitting end to a strong comeback for The Pretenders. In the years since The Pretenders have continued to release solid albums that appeal to fans of the band and remind listeners why Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders are key in the development and success of alternative rock.

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6. “When Will I See You” – The Pretenders: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “When Will I See You” – Pretenders

(From the album Packed!)

1990

By the time of 1990’s Packed! The Pretenders had completely become the solo vehicle of Chrissie Hynde. This was not necessarily a problem in itself since Hynde had always been the primary songwriter and driving force behind the band and had certainly dominated it since the third album Learning To Crawl. That said, Packed! does seem to be missing some of the spark that made previous Pretenders records so unique and cool. There are many reasons why this could be the case. Hynde may have missed working within the confines of a band with a set group of musicians as Packed! is the first Pretenders record where Hynde does not have some semblance of an actual band to work with. With the exception of drummer Blair Cunningham, who had only begun playing with The Pretenders on the previous album cycle, all the musicians used here as guest musicians or session players. It’s also possible she was just unsure what direction to pursue as The Pretenders recent hits were more pop-oriented than their edgier early work and there had begun to be a tension in both their discography and their fanbase between fans of their early work and their newer songs. Finally, Hynde also seems to have hit a bit of a songwriting slump as much of the material here just isn’t as strong as her usual work. That said, Packed! is far from embarrassing and the album does have some good songs, including the single “Sense Of Purpose”. However, the album’s highlight is probably the ballad “When Will I See You”, which features former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Marr is a superb match to work with Hynde as his ringing, arpeggio-filled playing style is similar to (and likely to some degree inspired by) original Pretenders’ guitarist James Honeyman-Scott. “When Will I See You” shows a tender and somewhat vulnerable side of Hynde that rarely is given voice and Marr’s guitars sound like a lost Smiths (or early Pretenders song). Chrissie Hynde must have liked the sound of this song and enjoyed working with Marr as she invited him to become a full-time Pretender. According to Marr he seriously considered the offer but ultimately decided not to. It may have been a good partnership and it’s interesting to think what a full-blown Hynde/Marr partnership may have sounded like over time but it wasn’t to be. That said, I think “When Will I See You” is the highlight of the album and I am still surprised this song was not chosen as a single from the album.

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5. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” – The Pretenders: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

5. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” – Pretenders

(From the album Get Close)

1986

Not long after The Pretenders played Live Aid the band was back in the studio to begin work on their fourth album, 1986’s Get Close. The sessions had barely begun though when Chrissie Hynde fired drummer Martin Chambers, the only other remaining original member of the group, claiming that his drumming had become subpar and that he was no longer up to the task. Chambers’ firing caused bass player Malcolm Foster to resign from the band as well leaving The Pretenders as just Chrissie Hynde and guitarist Robbie McIntosh (McIntosh having only joined the band halfway through the sessions for their previous album). From this point forward The Pretenders would be Chrissie Hynde and whatever musicians she chose to work with at the time. For the rest of the recording of Get Close Hynde and McIntosh worked with various session players on bass and drums but ultimately the Get Close album received positive reviews and once again spawned several hit singles including “Don’t Get Me Wrong” which went to #10 in both the US and the UK. In spite of the success of “Don’t Get Me Wrong”, a warm mid-tempo song that features jangly guitars vaguely reminiscent of the band’s early work but otherwise is a much more pop-oriented song, Hynde was ultimately unhappy with the sound of the album as she felt that she had moved the band too far in a pop direction. This displeasure came to a head on the accompanying tour as Hynde quickly realized that the American session men she had hired to play, many of who had their own roots in soul and pop, were poorly suited to play the British inspired new wave/post-punk rock that The Pretenders predominately played. In short, Hynde felt that she had allowed The Pretenders to lose the essence of the band and she tried to fix the problem in the middle of the tour by firing several of the musicians and rehiring former bandmates and other associates from the British music scene to replace them. This led to a chaotic and disjointed tour and at the end of it guitarist Robbie McIntosh, the only other official member of the band at this point beside Chrissie Hynde, quit. The album had done well, there had been another batch of successful singles, but by the end of the Get Close recording and touring cycle The Pretenders had been left as a Chrissie Hynde solo project. True, it had always been her band, especially so since the deaths of original members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, but now The Pretenders really was the solo project of Hynde in all but name going forward.

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4. “Back On The Chain Gang” – The Pretenders: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

4. “Back On The Chain Gang” – Pretenders

(From the album Learning To Crawl)

1982

Only one month after the death of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott (and still several months prior to the death of fired bassist Pete Farndon) the remaining Pretenders of Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers chose to continue the band and entered the studio with some temporary fill-in members to record a new single. That new single, “Back On The Chain Gang”, was meant to serve as a statement of purpose that The Pretenders would soldier on and keep making music, even if a few comrades had fallen along the way. The song would both be similar and different from early Pretenders music. Similar in its ability to merge elements of punk and post-punk rock with pop, but different in that it didn’t have the same chiming and inventive guitar playing that James Honeyman-Scott provided (or Farndon’s driving bass, but remember at this point Farndon had been fired but was not yet dead). Released as a non-album single in October 1982 “Back On The Chain Gang” became The Pretenders biggest American hit yet, peaking at #5 and staying there for three weeks. The song hit a respectable #17 on the UK charts as well. Following the release of “Back On The Chain Gang” The Pretenders took a break before finding permanent replacement members for Farndon and Honeyman-Scott, ultimately hiring Robbie McIntosh on guitar and Malcolm Foster to play bass and starting work on the next album (although several of the songs would be recorded with other musicians prior to McIntosh and Foster being hired). In spite of the success of “Back On The Chain Gang” the recording sessions for the third album were difficult as Hynde and Chambers learned to play with new musicians and worked out the new roles within the group; ultimately causing The Pretenders to become a musical vehicle for Chrissie Hynde more than a fully democratic four-member band. These difficulties led to Hynde titling this third album Learning To Crawl after realizing that learning to make music again with new people was not unlike watching her own child struggle to learn to crawl. The process of recording Learning To Crawl may have been hard but when the album was released in 1984 it was ultimately a success and included several hit songs such as “Middle Of The Road” and “2000 Miles”, as well as the previously released “Back On The Chain Gang” and its by side “My City Was Gone”. The Pretenders have overcome the death of two bandmates and the process of learning to work within a new creative framework and proven they could still be successful. Indeed, this version of the band would play at Live Aid in July of 1985 in something of a triumphant comeback moment.

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3. “Message Of Love” – The Pretenders: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

3. “Message Of Love” – Pretenders

(From the album Pretenders II)

1981

The Pretenders second album Pretenders II continued their successful run with the hit single “Message of Love”. “Message of Love” is, at its heart, a ballsy rocker and was the perfect follow-up single to the warmer and more tender “Talk Of The Town” and its success propelled Pretenders II to #7 on the UK album chart and #10 in the USA (an impressive achievement for an “alternative rock” band in 1981 America). With the success of Pretenders II things were looking up for the band. The Pretenders had now had two successful albums, a run of hits on both sides of the Atlantic, and were among the leaders of a rising generation of bands influenced by the spirit and energy of punk rock. Sadly though, The Pretenders were battling internal demons that would soon destroy the band; at least this version of it. Drug use within the band had become an issue and for bassist Pete Farndon the problem had become bad enough that on June 14th, 1982, the other three members of The Pretenders voted to fire him from the band. Sadly, only two days after making the difficult decision to fire Farndon, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died of heart failure connected to his own cocaine habit. A few months later the fired Pete Farndon took heroin, passed out in his bathtub and drowned. The deaths of both Honeyman-Scott and Farndon left The Pretenders with only two original members, singer/guitarist Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers and it would be left to Hynde and Chambers to decide how, and if, The Pretenders should go on making music.

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2. “Talk Of The Town” – The Pretenders: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Talk Of The Town” – Pretenders

(From the album Pretenders II)

1980

Originally released as a non-album single in 1980, “Talk Of The Town” was the first Pretenders release following the somewhat surprising mainstream success of their debut album. It follows the sonic pattern The Pretenders had established for themselves and features the chiming guitars of James Honeyman-Scott ringing over top of a firm backbeat provided by the rhythm section of Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers. The twist here on “Talk Of The Town” is that Chrissie Hynde’s vocals are less aggressive and more warm and tender than on much of their earlier songs. Hynde has said the success of “Talk Of The Town”, which went to #8 in the UK and earned some airplay on American college radio, gave her confidence that The Pretenders would last as people still wanted to hear more from them after the debut record. Lyrically, Hynde has said that the song was inspired by an early fan who would hang around soundchecks and shows but to whom Hynde never spoke to. The young man obviously wanted to have some interaction with her and Hynde never allowed it to happen, but she did think about him and wrote the song to let him know that he had been in her mind. The song is also likely at least partially inspired by Hynde’s relationship with Kinks’ frontman Ray Davies, whom she met after The Pretenders covered The Kinks’ “Stop Your Sobbing”, and whom Hynde had a child with; making them the “talk of the town”. “Talk Of The Town” would later be included on the band’s sophomore album Pretenders II where it was generally held to be one of the highlights of a strong album.

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1. “Brass In Pocket” – The Pretenders: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “Brass In Pocket” – Pretenders

(From the album Pretenders)

1979

American Chrissie Hynde moved to Britain in 1973 and worked for both British music magazine NME and several clothing stores that became associated with the nascent punk rock scene. Hynde also was interested in the music of the punk scene and played in very early versions of what would eventually become The Clash and The Damned as well as several other bands. Through one of her music business connections, Hynde was able to record some demos of her own songs (Motorhead’s Phil Taylor played drums on some of these demos) and this led to a recording contract for Hynde who then looked to form a full band. The Pretenders were formed when drummer Martin Chambers, bassist Pete Farndon, and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott were recruited and before long The Pretenders released a cover of The Kinks’ “Stop Your Sobbing” as their first single. “Stop Your Sobbing” showcased from the start The Pretenders unique blend of pop hooks, punk attitude, post-punk texture, and arena rock swagger (especially Hynde who gained attention for strutting, swearing, and sexing like a male rocker in an era where women didn’t) and led to the recording of the debut album Pretenders, which was released in 1979. Pretenders also included the singles “Kid” and “Brass In Pocket”. “Brass In Pocket” was an international success that launched The Pretenders into the mainstream when it hit #1 in the UK and, more surprisingly, #14 in the US. “Brass In Pocket” featured the chiming, ringing guitar style favored by James Honeyman-Scott who played overtop the firm, hooky rhythm provided by Farndon and Chambers, while Chrissie Hynde sang sensitive words with a tough girl swagger. It was a winning formula and great song that helped to launch The Pretenders’ career.

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7. “See The Lights” – Simple Minds: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “See The Lights” – Simple Minds

(From the album Real Life)

1991

Simple Minds finally broke through in the American market in 1985 with the success of both the single “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and the Once Upon A Time album but the band allowed that momentum to dissipate in the years that followed. Simple Minds had been writing, recording, and touring practically non-stop from 1978-1985 and so the band took a much needed and deserved break. However, that break stretched to four years in length and there wasn’t a new Simple Minds album to follow up Once Upon A Time until 1989’s Street Fighting Years. Street Fighting Years is a strong album but it wasn’t one designed to find success in America as the album departs from the anthemic rock of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and the Once Upon A Time in favor of atmospheric, Celtic-tinged rock. The album was a UK success and both it and its lead British single “Belfast Child” went to #1. However, the band and/or record label was smart enough to know that Simple Minds’ take on the traditional Irish folk song “Belfast Child” wasn’t going to be a hit in America. Instead, the Lou Reed duet “This Is Your Land” was released in the US but it failed to make much of an impact and Simple Minds faded from the American mainstream as quickly as they had come into it. 1991 saw the band release the album Real Life and this album would spin off several more hit singles, including the beautiful and hopeful “See The Lights” which would be Simple Minds’ final American Top 40 single. The band would take another break following Real Life and by the time they returned Nirvana and the alt rock revolution had changed things considerably. Their next album,1995’s Good News From The Next World, saw the band earn their final commercial success of any size, largely with the single “She’s A River”. Beginning with 1998’s Néapolis Simple Minds moved from hitmakers to respected elder statesmen even while continuing to release innovative and, at times, critically acclaimed albums.

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6. “Alive & Kicking” – Simple Minds: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “Alive & Kicking” – Simple Minds

(From the album Once Upon A Time)

1985

1985 saw Simple Minds finally find American success when “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” went to #1 in the US. The band almost immediately had a conflicted and complicated relationship with that song (largely because it was penned by writers outside the group) and decided to leave it off of their new album Once Upon A Time when it came out six months later. This omission doesn’t seem to have hurt the sales of Once Upon A Time too much however as the album still went Top 10 in the USA and to #1 in the UK. For the record Simple Minds chose to work with American rock producer Jimmy Iovine and he pushed the band further into the anthemic, stadium rock direction they had already been moving towards and that “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” used to great effect. Simple Minds however were showing a greater interest in American soul and gospel influences and Once Upon A Time mixed in these sounds with the rock influences while playing down the new wave and post-punk of their early career. While Simple Minds continued to have success this was a tumultuous period for the band itself as both bassist Derek Forbes and drummer Mel Gaynor (who had joined the group during the tour for New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)) decided to exit the band while recording Once Upon A Time due to the grinding touring schedule and rising tensions within the band. Going forward the lineup of Simple Minds would change regularly around the core duo of singer Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill although the “classic” lineup of the band would reunite many years later. In spite of all the difficulties Once Upon A Time is a solid and consistent record that had three songs hit the Top 40 in the US and four do so in the UK. The most successful of these songs was the soulful rocker “Alive & Kicking” which went to #3 in America and #7 in Britain and featured Robin Clark, who had previously worked with Chic and David Bowie, on what amounts to nearly a co-lead vocal with Kerr. “Alive & Kicking” was both anthemic enough to appeal to new fans who had discovered the group via “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and different enough from that song to show that Simple Minds had no real interest in simply copying that hit. The formula worked and “Alive & Kicking” proved to both be a vibrant song that could appeal to old fans without alienating new ones. The success of “Alive & Kicking” as the lead single helped both “Sanctify Yourself” and “All The Things She Said” become hits as well on both sides of the Atlantic, while a fourth single “Ghost Dancing” did well outside of the United States as well. 

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