Chrissie is a compelling vocalist and top-notch songwriter whatever her outlet. Were we in charge of marketing, we’d’ve promoted this as a Chrissie & Dan album, as her name would pull in Pretenders diehards, and his would yank in the younger generations. But we’re not, but we still feel compelled to insist that this is not a Pretenders album, nor should it be mistaken for one, despite the advertising. (A later pressing coupled the album with a bonus disc recorded live the following year with the previous version of the Pretenders including, yes, Martin Chambers on drums.)
The title track mixes Lou Reed swagger with a more tuneful chorus, but doesn’t really convince. “Roadie Man” and “Let’s Get Lost” are pointed throwbacks to a pre-punk era, but “Gotta Wait” brings in the stomp. “Never Be Together” is co-written by the guy she worked with on her Stockholm album, plus it’s got Duane Eddy sitting in on guitar. “Chord Lord” turns the sequence of “Lay Lady Lay” inside out nicely, so that’s good.
Acoustic and lowkey, “Blue Eyed Sky” is a welcome change of pace at the halfway point, but while “The Man You Are” also begins acoustic, it’s soon swallowed up by clattery production. The spaghetti western vibe on “One More Day” is too cheesy to work, and the overly whiny “I Hate Myself” isn’t going to win her any sympathy. “Death Is Not Enough” comes from obscure musician Marek Rymaszewski, so she’s still got a head for a hook when she hears one. Finally, “Holy Commotion” would be a much better song if it hadn’t been built around what sounds like a synthesizer preset.
We’d like to say Alone is good for what it is, except that it is NOT a Pretenders album. We will not begrudge Chrissie any desire to experiment, since she’s still one of the baddest rockers out there, and we like our teeth just the way they are.
Pretenders Alone (2016)—2
I’ve been trying to figure out why this is the most boring project Chrissie had been involved with since “Get Close”. Such things can be hard to quantify, but I think that I’ve hit on something. Before this, she’s worked with (mostly) British musicians and (mostly) British producers. That chemistry, somehow, brought out the best in her.
ReplyDeleteFor the first time, she worked with Americans in Nashville, which was a big mistake. Songs like “Gotta Wait” and the title track should reach out of the speakers and grab you by the throat. Ballads like "Blue Eyed Sky" or the Hendrixian “Chord Lord” should sound like shimmering psychedelia. I nstead, the production is this dull alt-country-rock thing. I don’t know quite hard to describe it. Even her vocals sound a little off.
I don’t think that the actual songwriting is that bad. The endless litany of self-pity called “I Hate Myself” is a hard to take, but I suppose that’s the point. The one song that is absolutely wrecked by the production is “Holy Commotion”, which seems to be a leftover from “Stockholm”. (I suspect that the Primal Scream guys get credits because Hynde found herself in a “Anybody Seen My Baby?” situation. Someone noticed that it sounds like a PS song, but I couldn’t tell you which one). Yttling would have added a light pop touch. Instead. Auerbach mixes a drum track way too loudly, demolishing the song.
As for the rest of the album, it’s the first one where I wouldn’t add a single song to a Pretenders/Hynde playlist. I wish that they had scrapped it, gone out and found the REAL Pretenders, and started all over again. Well, she survived “Get Close”, and this one, too. Better luck next time.