Here we are in the Eighties. It’s been 25 years since the first year on the list, Sinatra back in 1955. And we’re still 45-46 years in the past from the time of writing and publication of this blog. There’s a scary thought for you if you remember any of these albums the first time around!
1980 is a year dominated by Iran (so much has changed), with various hostage situations and the start of the Iran-Iraq War. Elsewhere, Robert Mugabe is elected in Zimbabwe, and Ronald Reagan elected as US President. In response to these, Mount St. Helens erupts.
Later in the year, John Lennon is murdered, and IRA members in the Maze Prison go on a hunger strike, in some cases fatally, demanding to be recognised as political prisoners. But on the bright side, Voyager 1 passes by Saturn, the WHO announce the eradication of smallpox, and Konami release Pac-Man.
Later in the year, John Lennon is murdered, and IRA members in the Maze Prison go on a hunger strike, in some cases fatally, demanding to be recognised as political prisoners. But on the bright side, Voyager 1 passes by Saturn, the WHO announce the eradication of smallpox, and Konami release Pac-Man.
On to the music.
This album is listed on the website I’ve been using to track the 1001 Albums lists this as 1979, but the release date given on Wikipedia is 11th January 1980. And so I’m going to kick off the Eighties with it (and not A Kick *Up* The Eighties which was a satirical TV show featuring Rik Mayall, Tracey Ullman, and Miriam Margolyes).
The best known tracks from this album are the swaggering Brass In Pocket, the cover of the Kinks song Stop Your Sobbing, and the slow and sultry Private Life, which I’ve always associated more with Grace Jones, probably because (as I learned) she released a cover in the same year. Chrissie Hynde, however, does a good job with the smooth vocals.
Some of the album tracks sound similar to later Pretenders hits, especially Up The Neck and Kid, both of which call to mind especially Talk Of The Town. Much of the rest of the album is spikier, bridging that post-punk to New Wave to Eighties pop divide which is where we are musically at the moment.
Some of the album tracks sound similar to later Pretenders hits, especially Up The Neck and Kid, both of which call to mind especially Talk Of The Town. Much of the rest of the album is spikier, bridging that post-punk to New Wave to Eighties pop divide which is where we are musically at the moment.
This is probably due to the presence of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who will sadly die far too young in 1982 – from a “reaction to cocaine”. It feels like we’ve not had a drug-related death for a while; my suspicion is that the coke-frenzy of the mid-Seventies is perhaps dying down a bit, and that the newer batch of musicians are largely more wary having seen so many of the artists that they will have grown up listening to leave far too soon. Apart from the few that are inspired by leading a short but colourful rock and roll life. Or maybe it just costs too much now.
Anyway, Honeyman-Scott delivers some fast and scratchy guitar, a little reminiscent of Eno and Fripp, that complements Hynde’s vocals on tracks like Precious. Here, Hynde recites a lyric like “I like the way you cross the street 'cause you’re ... precious. Moving through the Cleveland heat how ... precious” by gabbling through the first part, then pausing and then almost swallowing the word “precious” into inaudibility. While the rhythm section lay down a hard and fast New Wave-y beat, Hynde and Honeyman-Scott practically do their own thing that is only loosely hung on the beat (not unlike PIL, it has to be said). It’s great.
The Wait is a similar track, with Hynde doing something like a fast rap with lyrics about child neglect -
“Said the wait child / bruised ball child / pride slapped child / hurts.
The wait child / crest felled child / tear eyed child / hurts”
The wait child / crest felled child / tear eyed child / hurts”
For the most part the rhythm part of The Pretenders do the solid bits while the front do the flashy bits, but here bassist Pete Farndon (with a writing credit) does some fantastic runs on the bass. Space Invader is a krautrock-like instrumental that ends with some sounds from the video game – very modern at the time. Finally The Pretenders throw in some big soaring dramatic numbers where Hynde gets to flex a different vocal style – Lovers Of Today builds to a great ending, while Mystery Achievement starts with a drum beat by Martin Chambers that made me expect the opening bass of I Am The Resurrection by The Stone Roses.
This album was a grower – I ended up listening to it twice to be able to pick up the nuance, and I think Precious and The Wait are going to go into my favourites file. I’m generally lukewarm to the more commercially successful Pretenders tracks, so it was nice to encounter some off-piste work.
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