PRETENDERS – Packed! [Deluxe Edition remastered + bonus]

The eight PRETENDERS albums released by Warner Bros in the twenty years between 1979 and 1999 were reissued by Edsel Records few years ago as Deluxe Editions CD+DVD digipaks. Apart from a fresh remaster, these include bonus material including b-sides, live tracks, remixes, songs for soundtracks, demos and alternate versions.
I always had a soft spot for Pretenders’ happy rock&pop tunes, and of course love their ’80s hit album ‘Get Close’, but I think their album “Packed!” is one that deserve to be revisited – a glossy, polished 1990 production of the highest order.

After the commercial orientation of Get Close, 1990’s “Packed!” marked a return to the classic Pretenders sound. It doesn’t rock quite as hard as their earlier albums, and the original band is completely gone.
But we have the charismatic frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and most important of all; there isn’t a bad song here.
General listeners, and even many fans of the band, never heard “Packed!”. And it’s a shame, because there are some diamonds worth looking for into this album.

The CD opens with “Never Do That”, a love/hate song featuring clever use of guitar effects, something characteristic of the early Pretenders, and equally clever lyrics.
“Let’s Make a Pact” is, for Chrissie Hynde then and now, an uncharacteristically hopeful and touching love song. The album contains several songs in which Chrissie expresses painful vulnerability with regard to her love life, this being the first.
“Millionaires” is a fun rocker and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. It it good to hear Chrissie rocking again in a way she hadn’t since the early ’80s.

Just as she did on the previous Pretenders album, Hynde has included a Hendrix cover, a sweet version of “May This Be Love”, and also there’s The Beatles “Not A Second Time”, originally a B-side and featured as bonus track here. The reconciliation of both these distinctive approaches to arranging guitar parts provides one of the keys to “Packed!”, and Hynde’s own increased vocal flexibility and growing fondness for vocal flourishes and embellishments.

“No Guarantee” rocks in the style of the first Pretenders album, while “When Will I See You” is a magnificently-performed, wistful, jangly-guitared love song, and is the first of several songs here that include the pleasures of summer as part of their theme.
“Sense of Purpose” may be the best song on the album. It rocks gently but powerfully, and the lyrics are sublime. There is genuine passion and swagger.
“Downtown” is another really fun song that does try to capture the sound and fury of the first Pretenders album with success, while “How Do I Miss You” slow things in a poppy way.
“Hold a Candle to This” is another rocker in the early ’80s female-rock style, then “Criminal” closes the CD with a slowly rocking ballad in which the vocals, if not the lyrics, are sophisticated.

Then we have the bonuses, the aforementioned “Not A Second Time”, and “Spirit Of Life”, another track originally released as B-side and delivering Hynde’s velvety vocals in all its glory.
I love this song, and it’s great to see it available again and in a fully remastered sound.

“Packed!” is a tuneful, disquieting, tough, sentimental and thoroughly crunchy rock&pop album. All songs are good in this field, perfectly arranged and performed. I think Chrissie Hynde’s vocals never sounded better than on this one.
The remastering is awesome, crystal clear and plenty of dynamics. Ah, and you got a bonus DVD with the two official video clips made for this album plus a BBC appearance.
Highly Recommended.

01 – Never Do That
02 – Lets Make A Pact
03 – Millionaires
04 – May This Be Love
05 – No Guarantee
06 – When Will I See You?
07 – Sense Of Purpose
08 – Downtown
09 – How Do I Miss You?
10 – Hold A Candle To This
11 – Criminal
BONUS TRACKS:
12 – Not A Second Time (B-side)
13 – Spirit Of Life (B-side)

Chrissie Hynde – vocals, guitar
Billy Bremner – guitars, backing vocals
Will MacGregor, John McKenzie, Duane Verh – bass
Blair Cunningham – drums, backing vocals
Mitchell Froom – keyboards
Tchad Blake, David Rhodes – guitar
Dominic Miller – guitar, bass, backing vocals
Tim Finn, Mark Hart, Teo Miller, Adey Wilson – backing vocals

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www.wowhd.co.uk/CD/pretenders-packed/dp/40533547