Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Time on her side, October 1, 2007
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The second coming of "The Pretenders", August 25, 2007
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!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now we're back in the fight..., December 7, 2007
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.
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by The Pretenders 
