The Pretenders
Greatest Hits

THE REVIEW

Curiously, to this day on DeBaser, reviews of Chrissie Hynde's Pretenders are missing, a band that, especially in the early '80s and before being halved by the loss of two founding members (guitarist James Honeyman Scott and bassist Pete Farndon), authored beautiful pages of pop rock, probably underestimated worldwide and particularly in Italy.

The music of the American group (but British "by adoption"), led by the unmistakable voice of its singer, derives equally from late '60s British pop (especially the Kinks... Hynde was also married to Ray Davies before pairing up with Kerr from Simple Minds), from folk rock à la Byrds (especially in the jingle jangle of the guitars), and from certain new wave (especially regarding the rhythm section and the cold dynamism that sometimes characterizes the quartet's songs).

In some ways, the Pretenders revive the roots of beat rock in the confusion of the early '80s, trying to refound the genre precisely from its origins, doing, in the field of white music, what the Talking Heads, also thanks to the aid of mentor Eno, did in the field of black music. A style, therefore, eclectic and well-balanced, highlighting the interplay between the four band members, characterized by a compositional and executive balance that is rather rare.

Limitation, and at the same time, fundamental merit of the group, in addition to the troubled events that led to the departure and death of guitarist and bassist, is perhaps precisely not having found the support of an Eno or other producers of similar lineage: which, on the one hand, marked the repetitiveness of the Pretenders' genre - confined to a pop-rock that winks at the mainstream - on the other, confirms the image of a genuine band, simple and straightforward, with a recognizable and passionate sound, far from the cogitations of other new wave groups.

In this anthology you will find, in my opinion, the best of the group, with a series of songs (above all "Brass in Pocket", "Human", "2000 Miles", "Middle of the Road") that do not easily tire and never reveal a lapse in tone - a rare thing even for best offs -, clearly highlighting the grace and style of the Pretenders.

There is nothing more to add, it is better to be simple as simple is, after all, the musical offering of Hynde and her associates.