Pretenders II

Pretenders II is the second studio album by British rock band the Pretenders.

Pretenders II
Studio album by
The Pretenders
Released15 August 1981
Recorded1980–81
StudioWessex Studios, London and Pathe Marconi Studios, Paris
GenreNew wave, punk rock, rock
Length46:11
LabelSire
ProducerChris Thomas
The Pretenders chronology
Extended Play
(1981)		 Pretenders II
(1981)		 Learning to Crawl
(1984)
Singles from Pretenders II
  1. "Talk of the Town"
    Released: April 1980
  2. "Message of Love"
    Released: February 1981
  3. "Day After Day"
    Released: August 1981 (UK)
  4. "Louie, Louie"
    Released: August 1981 (US)
  5. "I Go to Sleep"
    Released: November 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Austin Chronicle[2]
Blender[3]
Chicago Tribune[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
PopMatters9/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide6/10[10]

History

The success of the Pretenders' 1979 debut album created a great demand for more material from the fledgling band; however, a lack of songs precluded the quick release of a follow-up album. In the UK, the band released two hit singles in 1980 and early 1981: "Talk of the Town" and "Message of Love", respectively. In the US, where standalone singles had become rare, these tracks were combined with three others for a stopgap EP release called Extended Play, in March 1981. Their second album, Pretenders II, was released a scant two months later, to mixed critical reception, partly because two of the better songs on the album had been previously released, and partly because many of the songs were viewed as overly-similar (though not quite as groundbreaking) to the band's debut. Nevertheless, several of the album's songs became hits and the album has increased in critical stature with time.

The album is notable for the inclusion of a cover of The Kinks' "I Go to Sleep" (they had covered that band's "Stop Your Sobbing" on their debut album, and band leader Chrissie Hynde would have a personal relationship with Kinks' frontman Ray Davies), as well as the sexually-forward tunes "Bad Boys Get Spanked" and "The Adultress". Perhaps the album's most ambitious track, "Day After Day" spins a common second-album narrative of unaccustomed celebrity, with the band rushing from gig to gig, hotel to hotel, head-spun from the swiftness of it all. The song ends suddenly, mid-guitar-solo, with the sound of a crashing fighter plane. The song "Louie, Louie" is an original composition and not a version of identically titled and often covered song by Richard Berry.

The album would be the final release from the original line-up of the band, as shortly afterwards the band would be fractured by the drug abuse that would take the lives of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon, leading to a long recording hiatus.

In 2000 it was voted number 403 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[11]

Twenty years after its release, it was certified gold (500,000 sold) in 2001 in the United States.[12]

Rhino released a re-mastered edition of Pretenders II in 2006, including with it a second disc of live tracks and outtakes.[13] On disc two, tracks 1–3, 5–6, 8–13, and 15 originally appeared as a Warner Bros. promotional live album, Pretenders Live at the Santa Monica Civic, from 1982. Tracks 4 and 7 appeared as B-sides to the single release of "I Go to Sleep". Tracks 14 and 16–18 are previously unreleased.

Specialist label Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, known as MFSL or MoFi, released[14] a re-mastered version in 2010. The track listing, however, reverted to that of the original release, i.e. no bonus tracks.

The front cover portrait was photographed by Gavin Cochrane.

Track listing

All tracks by Chrissie Hynde except where noted.

  1. "The Adultress" – 3:55
  2. "Bad Boys Get Spanked" – 4:04
  3. "Message of Love" – 3:26
  4. "I Go to Sleep" (Ray Davies) – 2:55
  5. "Birds of Paradise" – 4:14
  6. "Talk of the Town" – 2:45 (edit of the 3:13 single)
  7. "Pack It Up" (Hynde, James Honeyman-Scott) – 3:50
  8. "Waste Not Want Not" – 3:43
  9. "Day After Day" (Hynde, Honeyman-Scott) – 3:45
  10. "Jealous Dogs" – 5:36
  11. "The English Roses" – 4:28
  12. "Louie Louie" – 3:30

Bonus disc, 2006 remastered edition

Tracks 1–15 were recorded live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, on 4 September 1981.
  1. "The Wait" (live) (Hynde, Farndon) – 3:23
  2. "The Adultress" (live) – 4:07
  3. "Message of Love" (live) – 3:28
  4. "Louie Louie" (live) – 3:50
  5. "Talk of the Town" (live) – 3:27
  6. "Birds of Paradise" (live) – 4:27
  7. "The English Roses" (live) – 4:51
  8. "Up the Neck" (live) – 6:16
  9. "Bad Boys Get Spanked" (live) – 3:19
  10. "Stop Your Sobbing" (live) (Ray Davies) – 3:46
  11. "Private Life" (live) – 7:04
  12. "Kid" (live) – 3:48
  13. "Day After Day" (live) (Hynde, Honeyman Scott) – 4:41
  14. "Brass in Pocket" (live) (Hynde, Honeyman Scott) – 3:28
  15. "Higher and Higher" (live) (Gary Jackson, Raynard Miner, Carl Smith) – 4:24
  16. "Talk of the Town" (FreeRange Studio demo, 21 December 1979)
  17. "I Go to Sleep" (guitar version) (Ray Davies) – 2:59
  18. "Pack It Up" (radio mix) (Hynde, Honeyman Scott) – 3:50

Personnel

The Pretenders

Additional personnel

Technical

  • Bill Price – recording
  • Gavin Cochrane – front cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts
Year Chart Position
1981 UK Albums Chart 07[15]
1981 Billboard 200 10

Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1981 "The Adultress" Billboard Mainstream Rock 12

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pretenders II – Pretenders". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2006.
  2. Caligiuri, Jim (15 December 2006). "Pretenders, Pretenders II". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  3. Lim, Dennis. "Pretenders: Pretenders / Pretenders II". Blender. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. Kot, Greg (12 August 1990). "The Best Of The Pretenders". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  5. Christgau, Robert (1990). "Pretenders: Pretenders II". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  6. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  7. Murphy, Sean (16 November 2006). "The Pretenders: Pretenders". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  8. Carson, Tom (1 October 1981). "Pretenders: The Pretenders II". Rolling Stone (353). Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2006.
  9. Considine, J. D.; Skanse, Richard (2004). "The Pretenders". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 653–54. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. Weisband, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  11. Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 151. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  12. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  13. "Rhino Expands First Two Pretenders Albums". Billboard. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  14. "The Pretenders – Pretenders II Hybrid SACD". Mofi. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  15. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/19810809/7502/
  16. "British album certifications – The Pretenders – Pretenders II". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 December 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Pretenders II in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  17. "American album certifications – The Pretenders – Pretenders II". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 December 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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