the Pretenders
Viva El Amor
(Warner Bros.)
The Pretenders, Learning to Crawl
and the overlooked Packed! were all pretty terrific, but Chrissie Hynde's legend is
built
more on her memorable singles output than classic LPs. Until
now, that is. Viva
El Amor is the Pretenders best album yet because,
for once, putative hits like
"Human" and "Popstar"
don't have to carry the rest of the recording.
In fact, they're
just a part of the embarrassment of riches here, from the
romance-in-leather
"Biker" to the unabashed pop of "Nails in the
Road." But great records take more than stellar songwriting,
and Hynde has two other
things working in her favor on Viva El
Amor: new guitarist Adam Seymour, her most
sympathetic sidekick
since James Honeyman Scott, and a surprisingly cohesive (and
gritty) production job by two different knob twisters, Stephens
Hauge and Street. I bet
she'll get the singles she wants off
this one. At least this time she's thrown in a little
extra for
the rest of us.
Rating: 9
Artists l Essays l The List l Sites & Sounds
New Issue l Best Of l Fave Links l About Us