Pretenders

Time may have blunted some of the edges on the Pretenders' debut effort, but 20-plus years after its release, Pretenders still ignites like a powder keg. From start ("Precious") to finish ("Mystery Achievement"), the songs herein challenge convention and offer an emotional ally in love and life. A classic.

Pretenders spins the exciting, perverse tales that Paul Schrader's American Gigolo didn't
have the nerve to tell: stories about how good, tempestuous sex can be redemptive; how
bad relationships thrive on degrees of contempt; how passionate self-absorption can
sometimes open up into a greater understanding of the people with whom you're involved.
Indeed, the songwriting of the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde is the first indication I'... More >