Learning to Crawl [Original recording remastered]

The Pretenders | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B000NA2ALY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,652 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Middle of the Road

2. Back on the Chain Gang

3. Time the Avenger

4. Watching the Clothes

5. Show Me

6. Thumbelina

7. My City Was Gone

8. Thin Line Between Love and Hate

9. I Hurt You

10. 2000 Miles

11. Fast or Slow (The Law's the Law) [*]

12. Tequila [*]

13. I Hurt You [Denmark Street Demo][#][*]

14. When I Change My Life [Denmark Street Demo][#][*]

15. Ramblin' Rob [Denmark Street Demo][#][*]

16. My City Was Gone [Live][#][*]

17. Money [Live][*]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The departure of bassist Pete Farndon, and the drug-related death of lead guitarist James Honeyman Scott in 1982, left Chrissie Hynde's Pretenders in disarray, but she and drummer Martin Chambers rallied to produce the stunning 1983 single, "Back on the Chain Gang" (dedicated to Scott), and over the course of the next year, cobbled together enough material for a new album, some of whose tracks included new members: guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster. Nontheless, the album held together due to Hynde's uniformly strong material, which ranged from the rocking, bluesy "Middle of the Road" to the near-protest tune "My City Was Gone," to the piercing "Time the Avenger." --Billy Altman

Product Description

Newly expanded and remastered editions of a pair of the legendary band's mid-career album masterpieces, boasting a wealth of previously unreleased and rare bonus tracks. LEARNING TO CRAWL, their stellar third album, debuted in 1984 and hit #5 on the Billboardr 200 allmusic.com calls it, one of the best rock & roll records of the early `80s. Produced by Chris Thomas, features the all-time Pretenders classics Middle Of The Road, My City Was Gone, Show Me, and Back On The Chain Gang, a #5 pop single. Also includes the band's memorable cover of the Persuaders' '71 hit Thin Line Between Love And Hate, and Hynde's gorgeous contemporary Christmas classic 2000 Miles. Presents seven bonus tracks two previously unissued including live versions of My City Was Gone and Money. Bonus material also features three Denmark Street demos including I Hurt You and When I Change My Life. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time on her side, October 1, 2007

By 

James Ferguson (Vilnius, Lithuania) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning to Crawl (Audio CD)

This was my favorite Pretenders album and what a treat it is to find it remastered and in a nice little slip case with exclellent photos and liner notes, recapturing that era. Chrissie Hynde has endured a lot of hardships over the years, reshaping her band many times, but there was something really special about this group, and it shows on these recordings, which include some great extras such as live recordings of "My City Was Gone" and "Money." She had moved away from her punk roots, drawing on a wide variety of rhythms, including a long distance Christmas ballad "2000 Miles," which was a big hit in the UK. There is a Brit-rock feel to these songs, even when evoking her home state in "My City Was Gone." Fun to hear Martin Chambers on "Fast or Slow," and Robbie McIntosh show off on his guitar on "Ramblin' Rob," which didn't appear on the original album. You won't be disappointed.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars best Pretenders album since the debut, August 7, 2001

By 

W. K. Miller "kenmiller32" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning to Crawl (Audio CD)

I started out as a Pretenders fan with "Brass in Pocket" from the first album. While I admit that I wholeheartedly recommend the first album, Pretenders, over this one, I have to give this the thumbs up for the next CD to buy. If you already have the debut album, and want to sample more by Pretenders, then Learning to Crawl is your next best bet.

And PLEASE, if you're only familiar with Pretenders' output from the 1990s, and you like it, then do yourself a favor and buy the debut CD or Learning to Crawl. They're both SO much better than what Hynde & Co. have done in the 1990s. You might want to give them both a listen.

Admission: "Watching the Clothes" is terrible. It's a woeful song. I have heard many people say they don't like Pretenders. "Aren't they the band that sings that stupid 'Watching the Clothes'?" they ask. I don't quite know what to say. They usually don't believe me when I tell them that they had three outstanding albums, and this abysmal track is actually ON one of them.

This CD has the standard "Back on the Chain Gang," and the excellent "Middle of the Road." A bonus-- "2000 Miles" is one of the few rock 'n' roll Christmas songs that is actually a decent song with quality lyrics. Chrissie Hynde has never sounded so wistful (or so confident) as on "Show Me" and "Middle of the Road" from this album. The band sounds tight, but not uptight.

I always reach for the FF button when "Watching the Clothes" comes up, but otherwise, this CD has strong tracks start to finish.

4 stars.

ken32

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The second coming of "The Pretenders", August 25, 2007

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Learning to Crawl (Audio CD)

Chrissie Hynde carried on with Martin Chambers after the death of James Honeyman-Scott (bassist Pete Farndon had already been fired from the band for drug use and would die two months after Honeyman-Scott died from a lethal combination of heroin and cocaine)with two members producing one of the finest albums of the band's career. "Learning to Crawl" was aptly titled for a band that had been hit so hard and was continuing.

Opening with the killer "Middle of the Road" with a riff fashioned by guitarist Robbie McIntosh (formerly of Manfred Mann's Earth Band and later to play with Paul McCartney, McIntosh has branched off into a terrific solo career of his own), Hynde demonstrated that she hadn't softened in her time away from music. "Back on the Chain Gang" and "My City Was Gone" recorded with Tony Butler on bass and Billy Bremmer on lead guitar(from Rockpile and a frequent guitarist on Nick Lowe's early albums)became a tribute to the band's spirit. Just about every track on here shows Hynde in top form and even the one track that isn't quite up to the other material (here's a hint--it's an older song that Hynde originally conceived of before the original ine up formed)doesn't harm the album because of the top notch arrarngement and performances.

This new edition sounds quite good however be aware that it is a bit louder than the previous release and a bit brighter sounding. These aren't bad things necessarily it just depends on your preference (although it does impact dynamic range). We get seven bonus tracks four which haven't been released before. Martin Chambers' "Fast or Slow" and Robbie McIntosh each get a composition the former of which was a b-side and the latter has never been released. We get demos for three tracks one of which "When I Change My Life" would show up on the next Pretenders album "Get Close". "My City Was Gone" shows up in a killer version from the US Festival along with "Money" (which uses the Beatles arrangement of the track from their album "With The Beatles").

My only disappointment is that there aren't more live tracks from the band's Us Festival appearence. That might have required a second disc but I would be willing to pay the extra money for a full live album of this line up of the band. Fans will be happy though with the seven bonus tracks here which includes the second edition of the band's take on "Tequilla" (also recorded but not released by the original line up).

As with the two other reissues in the series there's a booklet discussing the making of the album and the tracks eventually released as well as the bonus tracks. Released in a replica of the original sleeve (except this version is a gatefold to allow all the credits and photos from the original vinyl release to be included), it's not quite as sturdy as the first two sleeves but looks quite nice. What are you waiting for? Order it already!