Pretenders & Pretenders II Albums get 40th Anniversary Box Treatment

Have made my way through Pretenders S/T 40th three disc book and I am happy as can be. Nice presentation, nice sound quality and book is large and filled with pictures. For 40 bucks for 40th anniversary it has a nice place on the shelf with the rest of the Pretenders collection. Redundant, yes, but to me essential.

I ordered from Amazon expecting WMG - Warner/Rhino but it states “Warner Music UK” so it is a European release that is being disturbed here in the states. Made in Germany. Will report back with II when I have a chance to get through that set.

All of the discs are pristine and were obviously inserted into holders with extreme care. So in that regard, thankfully it’s not WMG Warner Rhino. So tired of ordering, returning and swapping discs in and out to get a decent (scratched free in other words, new) set of discs in, well, everything they release. Nice job with production, presentation, assembly and quality control Warner Music UK!

 

Are there new vinyl releases of the 2 albums also?

 

You might have sold an extra copy with this post...
I never had these albums on CD so for me apart from the main album tracks almost everything else will be new.

 

You will enjoy these sets, especially if you haven’t heard the extras before. Wow!

 

IIRC I think someone up thread mentioned there was, according to second disc.

 

I agree with you, and I wouldn't call it redundant because, in my opinion, this is the best it has ever sounded on CD, and the first reissue matching the original LP soundwise. It's ridiculous it took about forty years of digital audio technology to do that, and it's not as if the technology wasn't there. And some of those reissue were very disappointing.
I actually hope they will do the other albums as well, but I'm not sure it's going to happen... the first albums have a cult status, rightly so, and Hynde has always spoken very affectionately about that first band, not sure if she feels the same way about the other albums and/or Warner think there is a market for them.
Maybe if Pretenders I/II do really well they will have a go at the others... we'll see...

 

I cannot believe you two made me buy these albums again! I have several iterations already and was only going to purchase a vinyl copy of II but if these sound as good as you both say...
I also do love a nice booklet and it hadn't registered in my head that the CD sets are in a 12x12 package despite my looking at these for the last month.

Sold! I'll pick up the vinyl copy later. Btw, ImportCDs has a fantastic price ($30.26) on the deluxe sets for anyone interested.

The Pretenders Pretenders (Deluxe Edition) Deluxe Edition on ImportCDs
The Pretenders Pretenders II (Deluxe Edition) Deluxe Edition on ImportCDs

 

Strong chance I would say for Learning To Crawl, afterwards probably not.

 

Have the vinyl versions been released yet in the UK?

 

I agree. It is nice to see effusive praise. Since I have the 2006 Rhinos, I’m still sort of on the fence on these. The lack of vinyl in the CD sets is actually a plus for me. That combined with the price helps as well. Also, I’d be curious to see they follow up with Learning To Crawl and Get Close. Maybe down the line…

 

Their version of Higher and Higher is superb. What a vocalist

 

I’ll definitely be passing on these

 

I am currently reading her autobiography. Excellent. Highly recommended. She has a story. And digs music. Really different from my preconception. And the title really describes her life even more so than Lemmy. Great book.

 

Finally comprehending each 3cd set is sold separately. The new vinyl releases, where are they, anyone? I feel like I'm getting clobbered by temptation!

 

I was going to get it but then I think I read it only covers the early years and abruptly stops. Is that the case?

 

I've apparently been quite slow all around on the mental uptake front - the vinyl releases appear to be exclusive to the Rhino website - as I look on their site again, the two separate LPs and the LP bundle are actually listed under the "Exclusive" category. That, as well as I'm not seeing links anywhere else for them, and I've certainly been looking!

It's seeming like only the two colored vinyl editions will be available (no black), and that they're only being sold directly by Rhino. For now, anyway.

 

You are correct - which ticked off many! - but it's still totally worth a read regardless.

 

I checked and the longer version is on Pirate Radio and Singles.

 

Okay makes more sense to me now as last night I stumbled online across those 2 albums on colored vinyl from the Rhino site. Looked good.

 

It's a shame they didn't include Bob Clearmountain's extended version and remix/edit of Kid. We have yet another reissue of the first album and the Extended Remix was only included on the 2015 2CD/DVD set of the debut album. This is a big omission, IMO. I guess the band hates Clearmountain's remix...

 

Well I do hope my take isn't correct because it seems very short-sighted to only have limited copies available strictly through Rhino....especially if the new masterings sound as good as touted above! Lots of folks would snap up the s/t album at the very least, even those who already own it on vinyl (i.e., most of us).

 

There's an extended version of "Kid"...?

Oh a remix too? That might be sadistic - I couldn't spell sacrosanct and sacreligious with any confidence. Kid might be my favorite song ever. Any changing it, oh my!

 

I think I’ll just stream these. I’ve rebought their first three albums so many times.

 

I had to spend the first 45 minutes with this taking Precious from Central Park trimming some crowd and then a fade in; then took Porcelain and Cuban Slide from these sets, a little volume adjustment to combine with the MFSL of Talk of the Town and Message of Love and made a nice sounding digital Extended Play first time possible finally. I used to listen to this as much as I ever did II at the time.

My Initial impressions of the sq, only checking the four like tracks level matched, it’s not wildly different from say Pirate Radio; I don’t have the earlier DEs anymore, but they seem less loud/bunched up sounding here certainly. The two album tracks level matched seemed to even stack up pretty well to the MFSL. Looking forward to digging into all the other goodies next.

 

Yes, they were released in 1987. The Extended Version and the Re-mix are technically the same. The "remix" is an edited version of the Bob Clearmountain extended mix.
Kid is also one of my favorite songs and IMO, the Clearmountain mix is not drastically different from the original, it just adds some clarity and makes the instruments sound more "alive", it's similar to what he did on The Cure's Just Like Heaven or ´Til Tuesday's Voices Carry single mixes.
Both versions definitely deserved to be included on this reissue!!