Stop Your Sobbing: Rhino Expands First Two Pretenders Albums for 40th Anniversary SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 BY JOE MARCHESE They may have called themselves The Pretenders, but Chrissie Hynde, James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon, and Martin Chambers were as authentic as they come. The four-piece rock combo fused American and British styles (Hynde was the American émigré; the other three were British), bringing the swagger of punk to the craft of classic rock. The Pretenders’ hip, seemingly effortless sound was crystallized on the band’s first two records (not incidentally, the only two records with the original lineup.) Now, both Pretenders and Pretenders II will be reissued by Sire/Rhino in new 3-CD deluxe editions curated by Chrissie Hynde to mark the 40th anniversary of the sophomore set. Due on November 5, these 12 x 12 sets contain the newly remastered albums plus demos, rarities, and live tracks (many of which are previously unreleased). Both albums will also be available on limited edition red and white vinyl, respectively. 1979’s Pretenders set the tone for the band’s electrifying sound. Though filled with pop-worthy hooks in sync with the new wave movement, its attitude was sheer punk. Chrissie Hynde, who wrote or co-wrote ten of the album’s twelve tracks, was already a well-known figure around the U.K. punk scene, and brought that brash spirit to her own band. But Hynde knew the rules of rock before she broke them. The Ohio-born singer-songwriter found ideal (for the moment) conspirators in the three gents from Hereford, all of whom had diverse musical influences. “Gonna make you, make you, make you notice,” Hynde belted with assurance on “Brass in Pocket,” the hit single and future classic which anchored Pretenders. She kept true to that lyric on this raw, tough, sexy and surprisingly emotional record as produced by Chris Thomas. (Nick Lowe handled the production on a rendition of “Stop Your Sobbing” by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, with whom Hynde shared a long relationship.) Pretenders: Deluxe Edition features Chris Thomas’ album remaster and five B-sides on CD 1; eleven studio demos and eight BBC performances on CD 2; and live tracks from London’s Paris Theatre (1979) and Boston’s Paradise Theatre (1980) on CD 3. Alas, the original line-up only created one more full-length record. 1981’s Pretenders II followed the band’s Extended Play EP and adhered closely to the sound, spirit and style of the first LP, right down to the Ray Davies cover – in this case, “I Go to Sleep.” Once again, Hynde – as vocalist and writer or co-writer of every song on the album save the Davies tune – balanced her youthful, sexually-charged persona (“The Adultress” [sic], “Bad Boys Get Spanked”) with that of a mature woman reflecting on life and love (“Birds of Paradise,” “Talk of the Town”). Honeyman-Scott’s jangly, taut licks, Farndon’s confident bass, and Chambers’ hard-hitting drums all melded into one perfect unit in support of the frontwoman. But all wasn’t perfect behind the scenes. On June 14, 1982, Pete Farndon was ushered out of the band due to his escalating drug problem. Two days later, on June 16, James Honeyman-Scott died, a consequence of cocaine abuse. (Farndon would die a year later, drowning with heroin in his system.) Pretenders II stands as a powerful tribute to both musicians. CD 1 of the Deluxe Edition offers the original album remastered by Chris Thomas; CD 2 has seven studio demos, singles, and alternates plus six cuts from a 1980 Central Park concert; and CD 3 offers eighteen cuts live in 1981 from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. These releases expand upon both Rhino’s 2006 reissues and Edsel’s 2015 CD/DVD sets, though the video material from the latter editions hasn’t been carried over. Both Deluxe Editions are accompanied by a book featuring liner notes by Will Hodgkinson and many rare and previously unpublished photos. They’re due from Sire and Rhino on November 5. You’ll find pre-order links and track listings below. (Amazon links are not yet available but will be added as soon as they go live.) Visit Rhino.com for all items, bundles, and other swag including a limited print of the “Brass in Pocket” single artwork. Pretenders: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Sire/Rhino, 2021) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD Disc 1: Original album (Chris Thomas remaster) and singles Precious The Phone Call Up the Neck Tattooed Love Boys Space Invader The Wait Stop Your Sobbing Kid Private Life Brass in Pocket Lovers of Today Mystery Achievement Cuban Slide Porcelain The Wait (Nick Lowe Version) Nervous But Shy Swinging London Tracks 1-12 released as Real Records RAL 3 (U.K.) / Sire SRK 6083 (U.S.), 1980 Tracks 13 released on “Talk of the Town” U.K. single – Real ARE 12, 1980 Track 14 released on “Message of Love” U.K. single – Real ARE 15, 1981 Track 15 released on “Stop Your Sobbing” U.K. single – Real ARE 6, 1979 Tracks 16-17 released on “Brass in Pocket” U.K. single – Real ARE 11, 1979 Disc 2: Studio Demos and BBC Studio Recordings (* previously unreleased) The Phone Call Suicide * Brass in Pocket Precious * The Wait I Can’t Control Myself Stop Your Sobbing Tequila Kid I Go to Sleep * Do I Love You * The Kid Jensen Show – 2/5/1979 The Wait * Up the Neck * Stop Your Sobbing * Private Life * The Kid Jensen Show – 7/17/1979 Cuban Slide * Mystery Achievement I Need Somebody Tattooed Love Boys * All previously released tracks on Disc 2 released on Sire/Real/Rhino 8122-74178-2(U.K.)/R2 74178 (U.S.), 2006 Disc 3: Live material (* previously unreleased) BBC in Concert: Paris Theatre, London – 1/2/1979 The Wait Stop Your Sobbing Kid Cuban Slide Brass in Pocket Tattooed Love Boys Mystery Achievement Live at the Paradise Theatre, Boston, MA – 3/23/1980 Space Invader The Wait Precious Kid Private Life Cuban Slide The Phone Call * Talk of the Town Tattooed Love Boys Up the Neck Mystery Achievement Stop Your Sobbing Tracks 1-7 released as BBC Transcription Services disc CN 3504/S, 1980 Tracks 8-13 and 15-19 released as Live – Warner Bros. promo LP WBMS 114, 1980 and Live! At The Paradise Theater, Boston 1980 – Sire/Real RCV1 114, 2020 Pretenders II: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Sire/Rhino, 2021) 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Disc 1: Original album (Chris Thomas remaster) (originally released as Real Records (U.K.)/Sire (U.S.) SRK 3572, 1981) The Adultress Bad Boys Get Spanked Message of Love I Go to Sleep Birds pf Paradise Talk of the Town Pack It Up Waste Not Want Not Day After Day Jealous Dogs The English Roses Louie Louie Disc 2: Bonus tracks Talk of the Town (Demo) What You Gonna Do About It I Go to Sleep (Guitar Version) Pack It Up (Radio Mix) Day After Day (Single Mix) In the Sticks Louie Louie (Monitor Mix) * Central Park, New York City – 8/30/1980 Precious Space Invaders Cuban Slide Porcelain Tattooed Love Boys Tracks 1 and 3-4 released on Sire/Real/Rhino 8122-74177-2 (U.K.)/R2 74177 (U.S.), 2006 Track 2 released on Flexipop single 006, 1981 Tracks 5-6 released as Real single ARE 17, 1981 Track 8 released on Extended Play – Sire MINI 3563, 1981 Tracks 9-12 released on King Biscuit Flower Hour/D.I.R. promo disc 365, 1981 Disc 3: Live At The Santa Monica Civic Center – 9/4/1981 The Wait The Adultress Message of Love Louie Louie Talk of the Town Birds of Paradise The English Roses Up the Neck Bad Boys Get Spanked Stop Your Sobbing Private Life Kid Day After Day Brass in Pocket * Higher and Higher Tattooed Love Boys Mystery Achievement * Precious Tracks 1-6, 8-13 and 15 released as Warner Bros. promo album WBMS 121, 1982 Track 7 released on “I Go to Sleep” single – Real ARE 18, 1981
So the first thing I need to do is check on how much duplication there is on the previous expanded sets.
by my count there a 3 unreleased studio songs on the first one and one unreleased studio song on the second one. no idea about the live stuff, sorry.
Both albums will also be available on limited edition red and white vinyl, respectively. From The Second Disc.com
When I compared these to the 2006 Rhinos, there appeared to be only one track exclusive to the 2006 Pretenders, which was the live version of “Sabre Dance”. Assuming that all the demos are the same versions, that looks like the only one not on these new sets. I never bought the Edsel ones, so I couldn’t speak to those. I’m of two minds about his because I quite like the remastering on the 2006 editions, and I’m not certain I want more 12X12 packaging in my collection.
Definitely worthy releases, but have one issue. Got the MFSL SACD's of I & II here, as well as the Edsel box. So, basically the only incentives would be to get new remasters in order to have the more comprehensive concerts.
Am I correct that the Precious from Central Park, used on Extended Play, will be the first time digitally released here?
So the first album plus the Extended Play tracks Porcelain and Cuban Slide is a NEW 2021 remaster by Chris Thomas or the same remaster from ‘06 or ‘15 ?
Same here plus both 2006 expanded Rhinos. (I love overlapping as much as you dislike . . . ) The concerts are must have and given what is on your shelf, likely the sole reason to purchase.
Rhino has always maintained that The Pretenders was released in late '79 and not 1980 - like it says everywhere else. I wonder where they're getting this info from?
According to Wikipedia, it was released on 27 Dec 1979 in the US (my birthday) and 7 January 1980 in the UK.
I think Tattooed Love Boys, The Wait and Stop Your Sobbing are 1979 and the others 1980. Checking the 'Punk diary' (Girmarc, pg. 259), 'Stop Your Sobbing' b/w 'The Wait' was released on Real Records February 8th 1979 and 'Kid' June 27th 1979 and 'Brass In Pocket' November 12th 1979. I'll wait for others on sound quality as the Pretenders from 2006/2015 is a hard listen. One of my all time fav LPs though!
Agreed totally about the concerts. Other artists have been teasing partial classic concerts (Pink Floyd, Eagles) to sell larger sets. Just wish that there were an option to get a standalone live disc. This is really the only way most people have been able to hear the original Pretenders.
Same. All respect for Pretenders, but, speaking only for myself, I don't see me biting on this bait. Wishing them well, though... Certainly great albums, both of them (and more)...
That's my understanding. I have a note in my database that the live Precious from Extended Play has never been on CD. It's definitely not on the 2015 CD/DVD releases, which I have. But now I've forgotten: the other four on Extended Play are just the standard studio versions, right?