Pretenders - Pretenders (180g) (LP)

Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 152/500

Pretenders is widely regarded as one of the greatest debut albums of all time. Featuring Chrissie Hynde's incredible vocals and guitar, James Honeyman-Scott's glistening guitar, Pete Farndon's driving bass and Martin Chambers' drums, the album, originally released December 27, 1979, is quintessential new wave, and a defining album of the '80s.

This pressing of Pretenders features 2018 remastered audio by the album's original producer, Chris Thomas.

It started with the release of their first single, a cover of The Kinks' "Stop Your Sobbing," produced by Nick Lowe. It would end up a top 40 hit in the UK, with their follow-up single "Kid" also reaching the top 40. They then released one of their most famous tracks, "Brass In Pocket." Leading with a glorious guitar rhythm embodied by luscious chorus, "Brass In Pocket" launched Pretenders onto a different level, with the track finishing at #1 in the UK, Ireland, Sweden and South Africa, as well as top 5s in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, New Zealand and more. It was also a success in the US, reaching #14 and becoming the seventh music video aired on MTV. The album continues to be highly acclaimed to this day, regularly featuring amongst "best of the 1980s" lists.

After years of knocking around Ohio and England, writing record reviews and hanging with the Sex Pistols, Chrissie Hynde put together a band as tough as her attitude. The Pretenders' debut is filled with no-nonsense New Wave rock such as 'Mystery Achievement' - plus a cover of 'Stop Your Sobbing,' by the Kinks' Ray Davies (three years later, the father of Hynde's child). The biggest hit was 'Brass in Pocket,' a song of ambition and seduction. Hynde, however, wasn't so sure about the song's success. 'I was embarrassed by it,' she said. 'I hated it so much that if I was in Woolworth's and they started playing it, I'd have to run out of the store.'