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.

PRETENDERS LEARNING TO CRAWL

Average Customer Review: ( 52 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

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 found the following review helpful:

The second coming of "The Pretenders"Aug 25, 2007
By WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.-Albert Einstein"
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!

9 of 10 found the following review helpful:

The only one you needNov 25, 2002
By Richard Harrold
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.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

sublimeJun 25, 1999

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.

See all 52 customer reviews on Amazon.com