The Pretenders- Learning To Crawl
(Numbered 180G Vinyl LP)
Track List
1. "Middle of the Road" – 4:08
2. "Back on the Chain Gang" – 3:44
3. "Time the Avenger" – 4:47
4. "Watching the Clothes" – 2:46
5. "Show Me" – 4:00
6. "Thumbelina" – 3:12
7. "My City Was Gone" – 5:14
8. "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"– 3:33
9. "I Hurt You" – 4:27
10. "2000 Miles" – 3:30
The PretendersLearning to Crawlon Numbered-Edition 180g LP from Mobile Fidelity
1984 Smash the Sound of a Band Overcoming Tragedies and Staggering Odds With Gutsy Performances
Vigorous Determination and Solemn Reflectiveness Pepper Hits Such as "Back on the Chain Gang," "2000 Miles," "My City Was Gone"
Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Punchy, Immediate, Deep Sound
What is the sound of a fledgling band dealing with multiple tragedies, coming to terms with drastic changes, digging deep into its consciousness, finding resolution in hurt, and overcoming staggering odds to record a bonafide masterwork? It's the sound of every note that graces thePretenders'Learning to Crawl.Stillrecognized as one of the most emotionally gripping and musically gutsy performances ever made, the smash 1984 album hasn't aged a day. And now, it sounds better than could ever be imagined.
Mastered from the original master tapes,Learning to Crawlfinally possesses the combination of whisper-in-your-ear intimacy and nerve-checking toughness that it's always demanded on Mobile Fidelity's super-quiet analog LP. LeaderChrissie Hynde'svoice is made viscerally apparent, wavering between vigorous determination and solemn reflection, while drummerMartin Chamber'spunchy backbeats register with requisite punch. To say nothing of how fresh the effort's hit singles ("Middle of the Road," "Back on the Chain Gang") and incredible deep cuts sound.
The story behindLearning to Crawlis directly connected to the powerful, moving music within. After releasing two records that swept the world by storm (PretendersandPretenders II, the latter available on hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity), the group's fortunes reversed after guitaristJames Honeyman-Scottwas found dead of a drug overdose in 1982. Shortly thereafter, founding memberPete Fardon, fired just two days before his partner's death, also succumbed to an overdose, leaving the band's state in tatters. Would there still be aPretenders?
Hyndeanswers this question with a resounding "yes" onLearning to Crawl, which still contains signs of the band's early, street-wise rawness but also adds new wrinkles, with more streamlined melodies, sensitive ballads, and reflective tones. "Back on the Chain Gang," thePretenders'most commercially successful hit, functioned as a bittersweet tribute to her ex-mates while the Christmas-themed "2000 Miles" holds rank as one of the most effecting, penetrating love songs of Hynde's career. Throughout the record, thePretendersare again one.
New guitaristRobbie McIntoshsupplies simpler, bluesier, basic guitar lines and the foursome know how to all-out rock, with the furious "Middle of the Road" and socially conscious "My City Was Gone" testifying to a stinging, thrilling sensibility that can exist only because of the devastation that the band survived. Call it the rise of the phoenix or triumph of the human will, but any way you see it,Learning to Crawloccupies a rare territory--akin to the space referred to on the superb cover of "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"--that registers in the pits of the human soul.
Whether you've grown up with this album, heard it in college, or are just learning about it now,Mobile Fidelity'sexpertly mastered 180g LP version is the only analog edition worth owning.Hear Hynde and Co.'s cathartic, transcendent effort in all its full splendor, and, like the Pretenders, refuse to settle for less.