Customer Reviews

Packed (Jewl)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a drastic change in style on the 1986 "Get Close", 1990's "Packed" marked a return to the classic Pretenders sound. This isn't a must-have CD, but it's arguably the best of the Pretenders lot after what most would consider the two essentials: "Pretenders" and "Learning to Crawl". It doesn't rock quite as hard as the earlier albums, even when it tries, and the original band is completely gone, but there isn't a bad song here.

There are 3 periods to Chrissie Hynde's work, each producing 3 full-length albums. In the first, a youthful band rocks incredibly well, recording classics: "Pretenders", "Pretenders II", and "Learning to Crawl". The second sounds like a bit of a mid-life crisis as an ever-changing band tries with mixed success to explore new sounds ("Get Close") or to recapture the Pretenders' fading youth ("Packed" and "Last of the Independents"). Finally, there's a phase that finds dignity in maturity, first giving up the attempt to rock like 30-year-olds by unplugging ("Isle of View"), then recording two solid albums with no pretense of recapturing the glory of youth ("Viva El Amor" and "Loose Screw"). If you're not a die-hard fan, that first period may be all you care about. If you are, then there are some diamonds worth looking for in that rough middle period, and "Packed" contains most of them. It is by far the most consistent CD from that time, and I can only guess at why it's not even been rated here previously. Perhaps it's just that it didn't include radio hits like "Don't Get Me Wrong" or "Night in My Veins".

The CD opens with "Never Do That", a love/hate song featuring a self-plagiarizing reincarnation of the "Back on the Chain Gang" sound. It includes clever use of guitar effects, something characteristic of the early Pretenders, and equally clever lyrics. "Let's Make a Pact" is, for Chrissie Hynde then and now, an uncharacteristically hopeful and touching love song. Though not musically memorable, it is lyrically so, even with an overly-cute word play on altar and alter. The CD contains several songs in which she expresses painful vulnerability with regard to her love life, this being the first. "Millionaires" is a fun and forgettable rocker. Though it's an enjoyable song with interesting guitar effects at the bridge, there's something vaguely disconcerting about a millionaire singing as if millionaires are the enemy, however tongue-in-cheek. Still, it was good to hear Chrissie rocking again in a way she hadn't since the early 80s. The cover of Hendrix's "May This Be Love" adds nothing to the original, but is more successful than her version of "Room Full of Mirrors" on "Get Close".

"No Guarantee" tries to rock in the style of the first Pretenders album, as do several songs on this CD, and it gets close, though it fails to fully live up to that early sound. "When Will I See You" is a magnificently-performed, wistful, jangly-guitared love song, and is the first of several songs here that include the pleasures of summer as part of their theme. "Sense of Purpose" may be the best song on the album. Like "Let's Make a Pact", it seems to makes noises about wanting to be made whole by a man, but it also has the swagger of the singer knowing she's a woman in her prime, and it exudes the mature confidence of someone I'm guessing was about 40 at the time. This song rocks gently but powerfully, and the lyrics are sublime. There is genuine passion here, without any misguided attempts to recapture the energy of "Precious". "Downtown" is another really fun song that does try to capture the sound and fury of the first Pretenders album with good if incomplete success, while "How Do I Miss You" is reminiscent of the slow reggae-tinged songs on that album; it has aged well.

"Hold a Candle to This" is another rocker that aims for that original tough Pretenders sound. I think Chrissie does better with venomous lyrics about relationships than about animal liberation. But it's quite possible that her singing here doesn't sound quite as passionate to me as it might simply because I lack the strength of her conviction that eating meat is evil. Maybe I'm just projecting my own lack of passion on the subject. "Criminal" closes the CD with a slowly rocking ballad in which the vocals, if not the lyrics, are sophisticated. This is another of the "when can I see you" songs on the CD in which Chrissie openly expresses painfully pathetic vulnerability - it comes across as quite heartfelt.

This CD was a mixed blessing to a Pretenders fan 13 years ago, and remains so. On the one hand, we got back some of that original passionate rock sound from her early years, something that had been sorely missed. Yet Chrissie couldn't pull it off quite as well as 10 years earlier, leaving a bit of a sense of loss mingled with pleasure at the at-least-partial return of a very special sound. With the perspective of a decade having passed, perhaps what's most important is that these are all good songs, several of them truly excellent, rather than disappointment that 40 year olds don't have quite as much energy as 30 year olds.

Welcome to the great "lost" Pretenders album. I'm always amazed by the dismissal of this record by most reviewers (honorable exceptions - Spin alt rock guide, and Robert Christgau. Plus Q.)

After 11 years, I never get tired of listening to these songs. Is this the best Pretenders album? Maybe not, but I seem to play it more than any of the others. It has an emotional honesty (let's say 'soul') and streaks of world-weary humour that repay endless listening. Oh, and 98% of the songs are great. Despite the impossibility of describing music in words, here's my track assessment.

Side 1 (yep, I'm listening on vinyl):
Never Do That: A classic mid-tempo Pretenders sound, like a hybrid of Kid and Chain Gang. That's a recommendation.
Let's Make A Pact: With its beguiling melody and lyrical guitar lines, one of my favourite tracks. And typically soul-baring lyrics from Chrissie.
Millionaires: A great, witty rock song, which is more than it seems. She isn't just slagging off the rich, but all of us (and herself) for being so pathetic.
May This Be Love: Another of CH's Hendrix covers. Perfectly listenable, although doesn't add anything to Jimi.
No Guarantee: Great driving rocker with a propulsive 'don't-get-me-wrong' beat. And wonderful wild guitar, especially on the long outro.
When Will I See You?: Atmospheric, romantic, etc, but the only track I don't much care for, mainly due to some overblown lyrics (which we probably can't blame on co-writer Johnny Marr).
Side 2 (sounds best on vinyl, says Chrissie):
Sense Of Purpose: A jaunty song of desperation, this one really grows on you. And there's the Louie Louie ending again...
Downtown (Akron): With salacious, spat-out lyrics, guitar mayhem and a stunning bridge, this is one of the three greatest 100% rockers that Hynde has written. It's impossible to play this loud enough.
How Do I Miss You?: A total change of mood with this melodramatic deep-groove reggae, recorded with Tony Gad of Aswad. I love this, even though I'm not quite sure how seriously the song's meant to be taken.
Hold A Candle To This: Another great driving rocker, with Chrissie lashing out at everything angering her, which is quite a lot.
Criminal: A superb heartfelt ballad with typically soulful vocals. The chime of guitar at the end sounds like a perfect way to end the album.

OK, this isn't a slick record. For various reasons, the "band" here is Chrissie plus session musos, and the production and playing are often basic and simple. And many of the songs are downbeat. But if this puts you off, it's your loss. What counts are the songs and the performance of the leading lady - which at least match anything else she's ever done; it's also as musically varied as any of the other albums.

So please give this obscure record a chance to get into your bloodstream, even if you have to pay import prices. (I promise it won't take 11 years.)
(PS you CD people: stop using the skip button, or you'll never get to appreciate tracks that aren't immediately appealing.)

This is a notoriously bad album. Out of print for years, most people seem to think it was the essence of everything that "went wrong" with the Pretenders when it became a pseudonym for "Chrissie Hynde and various musicians." But honestly it's one of my favorite Pretenders albums! Sure it's more produced and more ballad-friendly than early Pretenders albums, but it's not bad at all. Nothing terribly schmaltzy like "I'll Stand by You," and a few really great songs like "Never Do That," "Criminal," and "Sense of Purpose."

After the tour for the below par "Get Close" album, the latest version of the Pretenders pretty much disintegrated. Although Chrissie Hynde brought along drummer Blair Cunningham from this lineup, this fifth album could really be considered Chrissie Hynde's first solo album, recorded, like "Get Close", with session men.

Fortunately, this album sounds nothing like "Get Close", which was largely a product of overdone 80's pop sounds. Hynde hired a new producer, Mitchell Froom, and he returned to the guitar-centered rock that was the trademark of the group's earliest albums. The occassional keyboards are only used for flavor. The sounds lacks the in-your-face power of original producer Chris Thomas, but it sounds like very much a piece from beginning to end. Even the group's best records (even the first, still the top choice) had at least one track that sounded out of place due to differing personnel, producer, or recording session.

Anyway, the songwriting is top notch here. The album starts off strong with a lovely Byrds-like pop-rocker, "Never Do That". There's also a fun attempt at rockabilly ("Millionaires"), Hynde's first successful attempt at reggae ("How Do I Miss You?), moving ballads ("Criminal", a great cover of Hendrix's "May There Be Love" ), and best of all, fun hard rockers like "Downtown", "Hold A Candle to This" and "No Guarantee". Forthright statements like "Sense of Purpose" and "Let's Make a Pact" show that Chrissie wasn't ready to give up, despite all the problems.

It's a high-quality release, but it was a bomb both critically and commercially, and at that point there were no "Pretenders" to tour and promote it. For reasons I don't get, it's got a bad reputation among fans. It doesn't deserve to be out of print, and maybe Rhino's reissue campaign will get it the reassessment that it deserves. In the meantime, although most of the other albums have individual songs that are better and rock harder, this is a consistently strong album that fans will enjoy. The first album is always the first choice, but you won't be sorry if you buy "Packed."

"Packed!" was only disappointing compared to what came before from The Pretenders. Chrissie Hynde dismissed the rest of the band (only drummer Blair Cunningham who appeared on "Get Close" appears here)and worked with a stellar series of session players and while "Packed!" might lack the punch of previous Pretenders albums, it has a number of worthwhile songs on it to make it worth checking out for fans of the Hynde. This has been reissued as part of Rhino's "Encore" series using the same original mastering (near as I can tell) as the original album which is a good thing since many remasters from Rhino have often been too loud and compressed squeezing the life out of the music.

"Never Do That" became the big single for the album along with "Sense of Purpose. There are other solid tracks throughout the album as well such as "No Guarantee" and "How Do I Miss You" the main flaw with the album is that there's a bit too much filler and Hynde isn't really working with a "band". That was one of the benefits of the first three Pretenders albums and the ones after this when guitarist Adam Seymour (former guitarist for The Katydids) and Martin Chambers rejoined the band. Some artist don't need the same players from song to song but Hynde's songs really benefit from a band.

Billy Bremner who played on "My City Was Gone" and "Back on the Chain Gang" and the former guitarist in Rockpile appeared on the album playing lead guitar on most of the tracks. Mitchell Froom's production isn't as obtrusive as some of the other albums he worked on (many people hate the work he did on Richard Thompson's albums but I for one like his work)during the same time frame and compliments most of the songs.

A good, solid album from Hynde who was no longer pretending that there was a band with this effort.

Found this one in a discount bin. Wait! It's a Pretenders CD. They're good, right? Let's give it a listen. Turns out to be a pleasant album to listen to, and worth keeping. Seems to be more a a reflective personal album than one made to hit the charts big time. Which is why it's three stars. I enjoy listening to it, but it could use a couple of killer singles to anchor it down. Nice album, but not much I'd put on a "Best of" set.

And their MOST underappreciated cd as well! I can say, without equivication, that "Never Do That," is a PERFECT pop confection (with a poisonous center)! The tune, the length, the production, the off-center sentiment ("take my mouth as far as you can see, it stretches farther than I care to think") all combine into a rock-pop masterpiece. Chrissie GETS IT. She crafts some of the best rock-n-roll of her then, 10-year career here, like "Sense of Purpose" and "Let's Make a Pact." And what would a Pretenders disc be without Chrissie's twisted concept of a rock "ballad"? Thus, why "Criminal" is a classic.

Far and away the weakest Pretenders album. Most of the songs come across as little more than Chrissie Hynde with a bunch of studio musicians and while a few songs such as the glorious "Sense of Purpose" manage to shine through the otherwise mundane proceedings there is a good reason why this remains the sole Pretenders album out of print.

Length:: 1:25 Mins

This is not the Pretenders of old. This is aged and more mature Pretenders. Yes, it's tamer than the first two albums and not quite as edgy. However, the quality of musicianship has not diminished and Chrissie's voice only gets better with age. Overall, it is an excellent album with some gorgeous songs on it and a fantastic cover of Hendrix's May this be love. Along with the Last of Independents, this album marks the high point of their later phase. If you are a true fan of the Pretenders and good songwriting, then this is one you must have.