Customer Reviews

Learning to Crawl

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
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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.

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

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!

When "Thumbelina" kicks in, I can feel the rigors up and down my spine. This is a timeless recording that mixes beautifully wonderful lyrics with memorable music. This recording is like a great road trip.

"Middle of the Road" and "Back on the Chain Gang" were big hits, but there are other wonderful gems on this. Robbie McIntosh on guitar is possessed: his "outside" playing on "Watching the Clothes" is positively stunning. And his relaxed melody on "Thumbelina" is chilling, while his finger-picking on "Middle of the Road" just about makes me cry.

There are no throw-aways on this CD. "I Hurt You" is a true-to-life song of vengeful feelings run amok, while "2000 Miles" is a beautiful piece of how many of us "middle-aged" rockers deal with separation from time to time: it's part of the business life you know?

But, of course, "My City Was Gone" is an anthem to all of us oldesters who remember when they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. The simplicity of this song is its strength and what makes it timeless. This CD is pure genius. My only regret is that I never saw this particular phase of the Pretenders play live. I envy those of you who have.

Who else but Chrissie Hynde can take you from degradation to elation with one turn of a phrase? She is the most able voice in female vocals today. Forget Alanis, Jewel and Sheryl. Chrissie is the originator of this style. She is the next Billie Holiday. Brilliant.

This is my favorite album by the Pretenders. One year in the early eighties when I was working as a waitress, this tape never left my player. "Serving the middle-class, yeah it's a cool routine" was my anthem as my clothes literally did "go round." It's funny (and scary!) listening to "Middle of the Road" now that I'm 33. I had the wonderful opportunity to see them in concert after they released this one with their new line up. They were even better in concert than on the album, hard to believe, but true. They're a great band and this album is their magnum opus, yet it still sounds fresh and relevant today.

"Learning to Crawl" is the only Pretenders album I like. The album has 8 great songs and 2 so-so ones (tracks 9 & 10). "Learning to Crawl" merges the personal and political, allowing its listeners to feel/view the world as experienced by a working class woman: Chrissie Hynde, an Ohio native who wrote all but one of the songs on this album. Hynde, a former waitress who bitterly remembers the experience on "Watching the Clothes" ("I been kissing ass/Trying to keep it clean/Serving the middle class"), is the authentic voice of a working class person, a voice not heard on pop radio since Bob Dylan faded from the scene. "My City Was Gone" mourns the destruction of Hynde's childhood Ohio: "My pretty countryside/Had been paved down the middle/By a government that had no pride." Quick, name another pop song that has a funky backbeat and a social/political message. Hynde's voice, with its limited range, is an advantage rather than a liability. No pretty melodies here, just some five-star writing/musicianship

After a classic debut album and a nearly as good second, The Pretenders should have been on top of the world. Instead, their world blasted in half. Forced to fire bassist Pete Farndon over his instability caused by drug use, then reeling with shock when guitarist James Honeyman-Scott died of an overdose days later, Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers found themselves as half of a formerly perfect whole. Tragedy compiled on itself when Farndon was found dead from drugs less than a year later.

Most bands would have thrown in the towel, but the surviving band-members went at making a new album with a determination to not let that happen. When the first notes of "Learning to Crawl" explode from the speakers, Chambers' solo drumshots are both symbolic (I'm still here, they seem to shout) and a herald. "Middle Of The Road" states the new rules with gusto as Chrissie declares "I'm standing in the middle of life with my plans behind me." Everything changed, and yet nothing changed.

This is my second favorite album after "The Pretenders" and - in my opinion - an indispensable 80's album. The subject of time and change permeates throughout "Learning to Crawl," from the obvious ("Time The Avenger") to the sublime "My City was Gone." The shock-wave of maturity brought force to several of these songs, but perhaps the best example was the subdued "Show Me," which could easily have been written about Chrissie's' child by The Kinks' Ray Davies. It's one of The Pretenders' most overlooked hits.

The standard for "Learning to Crawl," however, remains "Back On The Chain Gang." Where "Middle Of The Road" has a fury to it, "Chain Gang" has a bittersweet feel to it that lingers in the heart all these years later. Issued four months after Scott's death (but still before Farndon's), Hynde casts a rueful eye towards her fallen guitarist friend and the reactions of the world around her:

"But I'll die as I stand here today
knowing that deep in my heart,
they'll fall to ruin one day
for making us part."

There is hardly a weak instance on "Learning to Crawl," with even the new bonus cuts holding up well. The demo of "When I Change My Life" is better than the final version that eventually appeared on the lesser Get Close album, and the live US Festival cuts make you long for the full set. The Pretenders' version of "Money" holds close to The Beatles' version, complete with a sarcastic aside from Chrissie before the band kickstarts the song. Chrissie Hynde may have carried the band's name into the future and even cut a decent album or two afterwards (Last of the Independents still holds up well), but "Learning to Crawl" was the album where she proved, once and for all, what she was made of.

In my opinion the best Pretenders' album. Even better than their excellent debut album. The opener Middle Of The Road blows you away. It's followed by their fantastic hit Back On The Chain Gang. Other absolutely great songs are Show Me, The Thin Line Between Love And Hate, My City Was Gone, and Time The Avenger. But all material on the album is very strong. A flawless gem of pure melodic rock and roll

This cd I got about a year ago. Mostly because I wasn't a Pretenders fan. This showed me how close minded I was. I have heard a few of the tracks growing up, but my mind would always say, " don't waste your money". Once I gave it a full attentitive listen, I knew that I was wrong. For a few months it was stuck in my cd player. I also own their first release. I enjoy that as much as Learning To Crawl. So, if you haven't gotten it yet, get it. Try it with your lover and a bottle of Red wine. You will not be dissappointed!