Get Close [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

The Pretenders

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Original Release Date: June 4, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000NA2AM8
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,654 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This Iovine/Clearmountain production features hits like "Don't Get Me Wrong," "I Remember You," and "Room Full of Mirrors." Bonus content includes an alternate version of "Hold a Candle to This" and a take on "Thumbelina."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven album improved with bonus tracks , October 28, 2007

By	Wayne Klein "If at first the idea is not absu... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

"Learning to Crawl" found The Pretenders coming back with a terrific, powerful album that equaled their debut. The follow up "Get Close" is more polished with a nice pop sheen but is inconsistent with great songs standing beside ordinary songs or material that should have been a B-side to a single. Producers Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain were aiming for a more funky feel with the band's fourth album. They achieved that aim but sacrificed much of what made The Pretenders great in the first place in the process. It's still an appealing album but the rhythm section which includes drummer Blair Cunningham just can't take the place of skin basher Martin Chambers (who appears on only one track--one of the best--the Hendrix cover "Roomful of Mirrors").

The album opens with a pair of great mid-tempo ballads "My Baby" has the infectious melody that has become a hallmark of Hynde's best work. "When I Change My Life" is a reflect ballad that more than holds its own with some of Hynde's best work. The filler starts with the third track Carlos Alomar's "Light of the Moon" sounds like second rate Hynde and is arranged (without a dose of irony I'm sure)like a Simple Minds cast off tune. "Dance!" has a nice funky groove and a witty lyric. It's probably the best example of what Iovine and Clearmountain were after and comes closest to integrating the funk element into The Pretenders sound.

Much of the rest of the album has filler but there are occasional gems that crop up. The arrangements aren't quite as tough as previous Pretenders albums but they do highlight Hynde's oft praised melodic sense. Guitarist (the only hold over from the previous edition of the band that appears on the entire album)Robbie McIntosh plays some scortching solos that breathes much needed life into some of the songs.

The bonus tracks are a mixed bag. The alternate version of "Hold a Candle to This" is good (the song would eventually show up on "Packed!")while the remix of "Tradition of Love" isn't substanially better than the original. "Dance!(Take One)" is a rough and ready version of the same song and I find it superior to the final version. It works better without the overproduction of Iovine and Clearmountain and is just as funky. "Worlds Within Worlds" is a song that was dropped from the running order featuring Chambers and bassist Malcolm Foster. It was part of the earlier rejected sessions produced by Steve Lilywhite and is tougher than much of the rest of the album. It would have worked well as part of the original album.

We get two live tracks with the new line up of Hynde, McIntoch, Cunningham and Stevens. "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Thumbelina" are from an Austin, Texas appearence. The former sounds tougher than the album version. The latter from "Learning to Crawl" proves that this edition of the band could rock live pretty convincingly. It's a pity that we don't have a full disc of these performances (a flaw with the "Learning to Crawl" album as well which only features two tracks from the US Festival appearence).

While this album isn't quite as essential as the first three albums, it does have some terrific material mixed that suffers from the production sheen of Iovine and Clearmountain. "Packed!"(probably the weakest Pretenders album ever relying primarily on studio players and former Rockpile member Billy Bremmer to give life to Hynde's songs)would follow then there would be a long silence from The Pretenders. After that, Hynde would form a new line up with Adam Seymour and returning member Martin Chambers that would capture the spirit of the original band).

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Album By A Great Band, December 1, 2008

By	Garth T. Hudelson (Califonia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Its the eighties. The White House goes Hollywood. Reagan , Iran -Contra, Olie North and good lord even Dylan is getting all Jesused up and Punk has gone god awful Madonna. All in all as good a decade as any to spend in a blackout. Yet shining through the coma is this glorious shimmering,pulsating tasty bit of aural reprieve. Miss Christie is here to save the day! Give it a close listen and maybe you'll even remember where you left the car.

5.0 out of 5 stars I give it a 5, July 3, 2008

By	J. Keeton (Douglasville, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thought this album was pretty good when it was released and it still sounds good. "Don't get me wrong" was the single and probably my least favorite song because it's a little fluffy for my tastes. Overall, the songs aren't as edgey as on previous albums but I think the writing and arrangements are very consistent and well done. Probably a disappointment only to hard core fans.