Customer Reviews

Break Up the Concrete

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I want to be clear: This is not a mind-blowing album. It doesn't reinvent rock and roll or even just The Pretenders. But it does confirm and remind us why we've loved Chrissie Hynde for all these years. Great singing, song-writing, and playing. It's not complicated, and it doesn't have to be.

Like the classic Pretenders albums of the early 80s, the production is lean, this time working in slide guitars and Bo Diddley shuffles, but maintaining the sound and feel of a live band. The songs speak for themselves, and Hynde's voice and signature hard-nosed attitude come across clearly. There aren't any songs here that match up with Brass in Pocket, Back on the Chain Gang, Middle of the Road, or The Pretenders' other classics, but the songs are smart and feel honest. The album is focused and real and plays to Hynde and co.'s strengths. And Chrissie's voice hasn't lost a bit of its range or power. She'll always be THE greatest woman in rock for my money.

My only complaint about The Pretenders is that I wish they (well, she, really) were more prolific. It'd be great not to have to wait so long for Hynde to give more of her singular talent to the world. So, in short, I think this a good, solid album, one that will appeal to longtime fans, even if it doesn't reach the peaks of past glories.

"Break Up The Concrete" is a flawless and diverse CD that vindicates why Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Hame. Hynde has always been the heart and soul of this band and her wondrous and versatile vocals resonate with grandeur throughout a CD that includes rock, punk, country, folk and ballads. Her voice can be as forceful as an angry punk icon and as a tender as the most ethereal angel. "Boots Of Chinese Plastic" is a compelling and frenetic hit and the highly emotional and yearning "One Thing Never Changed" is one of the greatest songs in Pretenders' history only to be topped by the endearing and gorgeously sung "Love's A Mystery." When Chrissie Hynde was busy with her vegetarian eatery in Akron, Ohio she also managed to somehow even enhance her sound as the greatest front-woman in Rock and Roll.

I knew I was going to love this the moment that I heard the first track was called "Boots of Chineese Plastic". For a brief moment, I hoped that she had done some sort of back-handed cover of Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather". Then I started the disc and was smacked in the face by the Pretenders stompin, rockin, blisteringly tight playing. They tear this music up--all of it--like this is their first and only chance to get heard. Not all the tunes are as in your face as that first track, but in every circumstance, this band is committed to delivering great music. How many bands with the longevity of the Pretenders can put out a disc this good? Not many, folks, not many.

Check out the wonders that this music holds: sharp guitar playing, driving drums, really melodic bass parts, and holding it all together, Chrissie Hynde's vibrato, alternatively husky and plaintive, round and full as an overripe plum, dripping with anger, sadness, and an all-knowing sense of understanding of itself. Chrissie understands that she makes the music something more than it is on paper when she sings.

Do you love the Pretenders already? Well then, you've probably already bought this disc. Go ahead and get a second copy to give to a friend. Do you like "Brass in Pocket" but haven't thought much about the band since the 80's? Well, give this a little chance. This is too good to miss.

I really want to gush over this, but alas... how about half of it?

I saw them 2 years ago (with Martin Chambers aboard) and there is no doubt Chrissie still has it and then some. But history is history, and myself being a longtime fan, how do you top the 1st three releases (P, P-II, Crawl)? No group could maintain that level of consistency. I think this release is typical of most of her work since (excepting Isle of View, a great live release). There is a lot of really really good stuff, a couple classics/great ones, and some songs that are certainly good but to be honest, forgettable. I think overall the lyrics are strong. The musicianship is fine. For me, too many of the songs just don't stand out in the arrangements or melody. This disc certainly has a good mix - rockers, ballads, stompers. And lots of pedal steel. Oh, and Jim Keltner (yay).

A quick track by track (clearly subjective and open to debate) omitting titles for brevity: 1 - Boots is classic. uh-1-2-3-4... Turn it up! 2 - a ballad and I like this one quite a bit; not classic, but moody and lyrically strong. 3 - Bluesy. just ok, will probably skip this one a lot. 4 - very good raucous stomping bo diddley/rockabilly number. we've heard it before but it still sounds good. 5 - I love Love's a mystery.. It just hits me right. great melody, simple yet smart lyrics, good pedal steel. 6 - quick paced acoustic number; good piano fills. very listenable but is this really memorable? a great example of what I'm trying to get across - good, can't criticize it, but I want more than good. 7 - I keep listening to Almost Perfect and on one hand think 'wow, this is great' and on the other keep feeling 'what the heck is missing'?? It's real moody, and here and there seems like it is about to explode (in a good way) but doesn't. I keep imagining this song with some snarky, fuzzy, distorted guitar fills (a la Honeyman-scott) to really bring it home. 8 - another ballad. ho-hum. does not do much for me; skippable. 9 - nice crunching guitar interplay, medium paced rocker, but on this one I find the lyrics boring. After a few listens I find now I drift off 1/2 way through and skip to... 10! title track. great stomper. rock on Chrissie - daga daga daga daga... 11 - I agree with another review - one of her best ballads ever. This is a gorgeous song, pedal steel really adds a lot. Chrissie just emotes so well in her singing on this. Beautiful, aching, tender, longing. Perfect.

Look, fans are no doubt going to like this a lot, and overall I do like it. The songs that don't grab me are by no means bad; I guess I just expect more (maybe too much?). And I gotta respect Chrissie's talent - certainly earned her spot in the Hall! I just can't give this the accolades others have. In retrospect I would have downloaded 1/2 the songs and left the rest. But it is still good to have a CD from Chrissie, no matter who backs her as "the Pretenders". It's her show and when she is good (songwise), you don't get many better.

Chrissie Hynde, thanks for keeping it real.
The music is exceptional, everybody is tight, loose and together.
Lyrics just as brilliant.

I know I mentioned the guitars and the vocals..but don't let anyone know
but the drummer was brilliant too.

The mastering on this incredible. This is the best sound quality
I have ever heard from a standard cd.

great great album..nuff said.

When I heard that Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders were releasing a new album I was excited.Bought it and am so happy I did...I always respected Chrissie and appreciated all the great rock she has given through the years.This album is filled with the traditional sound of Chrissie throughout.The mid-tempo rockers and slower Chrissie style ballads...capturing the old style Pretenders with a modern twist.If you are a Chrissie Hynde/Pretenders fan,there is no reason not to buy this one.It rocks...My personal faves are Boots of Chinese Plastic,The Nothing Maker,Don't Cut Your Hair,Love's A Mystery,The Last Ride,Rosalee and Break Up The Concrete.Pretty much every song.Just to tell you how rich an album this is...Rock on Chrissie...Glad you are back...

I'm a big Pretenders fan, but I'm in the camp (which seems to be a minority) who prefers the 90s material over that from the early 80s. My favorite album is Last of the Independents and I also love Viva el Amor! and Loose Screw, which I find more melodic than some of the early albums.

With "Break Up the Concrete", Chrissie Hynde has gone back to her roots. The album sounds more like 80s than 90s era Pretenders. This does not mean there's no catchy songs on the album; there are (and there always were a few on the early albums as well). My favorites are Love's a Mystery and The Last Ride. I wish there were more songs like those and less songs like "Rosalee" and "Don't Cut Your Hair".

Your enjoyment of the album depends on which Pretenders era is your favorite. I give it 3 stars. Fans of the earlier Pretenders would probably rate it higher.

For the ever growing band of ageists out there who continue to proclaim talent diminishes with age, this is your wake up call. Ms. Hynde and this latest compilation of Pretenders let it rip with unapologetic gusto and deliver one of the best ablums of the year. Give it a listen and get an education. You will not be dissappointed.

Excellent First Listen. I am not a huge Pretenders Fan but have the utmost respect for Chrissie Hynde and her music. I am very impressed with the CD and would recommended it. It certainly is not like the classics but it is a very tight CD and well produced and might be a classic in its own right.

How do you still make music 30 years on ? When your time of cultural relevance and commercial success has long gone ... Who are you making your music for ? It was many years ago that Chrissie Hynde was quoted as saying 'I can't believe that the world is waiting for another Pretenders album' & she hasn't busted a gut in providing them over the years. But she patently still wants to be in a band & it has never been her style to reproduce greatest hits packages live . The creative fire still burns and so we are treated to an occasional cd, exploring whatever musical territory Chrissie is currently inhabiting. 'Loose Screw' felt like an interesting reggae-influenced diversion. In part,'Break up the Concrete ' may come to be seen as a similarly diverting country-influenced project. But there is more to link this cd with Pretenders past, most particularly in the mix of rockers, mid tempo guitar- driven melodies and straight ballads. The disappointment for me, as a long term fan, is the absence of tracks that can compare with the classics on the earlier albums. And yet there is compensation in the quality of the playing (drums, guitars, excellent) and especially in the wonders of Chrissie Hynde's vocals. This for me is what elevates this album from being decent to being really good, and what ultimately justifies my continuing love of the band. She is simply the finest rock vocalist & age has not in any way diminished her powers - quite the opposite. She uses her extraordinary vocal range with consummate skill, and life experience has deepened her emotional resonance. On this cd she snaps, she snarls but she also caresses, yearns and laments. Late career, she resembles an alchemist, turning quite ordinary material, by the Pretenders incomparable standards, into something special. It's no accident that the acoustic cd 'Isle of View' was so good. Did another reviewer mention Rick Rubin ? Let's hear it for another acoustic project next .........