The Pretenders - Break Up the Concrete
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Free Music Notes for Break Up the Concrete
Free Music Review: Back to the old days... GREAT!
Hit: 4 Stars
A nice mix of older sound and newer themes, lyrics (chinese boots made of plastic!). Good to hear Chrissie is still going strong and can always deliver. Hard to do when you had such a long career!Free Music Review: A stretch that works well
Hit: 5 Stars
I like this record very much, all of it but especially the Country tinged tracks. Yes, Love's A Mystery is strong, but The Last Ride is simply great song writing. Rosalee is excellent as well, and all the others. Almost Perfect will challenge you, but it'll get you eventually. For me also quite special is the addition of drummer Jim Keltner to the studio band. All in all, well done ChrissieFree Music Review: A Case of Alchemy
Hit: 4 Stars
How do you still make music 30 years on ? When your time of cultural relevance and commercial success has long gone ... Who are you making your music for ? It was many years ago that Chrissie Hynde was quoted as saying 'I can't believe that the world is waiting for another Pretenders album' & she hasn't busted a gut in providing them over the years. But she patently still wants to be in a band & it has never been her style to reproduce greatest hits packages live . The creative fire still burns and so we are treated to an occasional cd, exploring whatever musical territory Chrissie is currently inhabiting. 'Loose Screw' felt like an interesting reggae-influenced diversion. In part,'Break up the Concrete ' may come to be seen as a similarly diverting country-influenced project. But there is more to link this cd with Pretenders past, most particularly in the mix of rockers, mid tempo guitar- driven melodies and straight ballads. The disappointment for me, as a long term fan, is the absence of tracks that can compare with the classics on the earlier albums. And yet there is compensation in the quality of the playing (drums, guitars, excellent) and especially in the wonders of Chrissie Hynde's vocals. This for me is what elevates this album from being decent to being really good, and what ultimately justifies my continuing love of the band. She is simply the finest rock vocalist & age has not in any way diminished her powers - quite the opposite. She uses her extraordinary vocal range with consummate skill, and life experience has deepened her emotional resonance. On this cd she snaps, she snarls but she also caresses, yearns and laments. Late career, she resembles an alchemist, turning quite ordinary material, by the Pretenders incomparable standards, into something special. It's no accident that the acoustic cd 'Isle of View' was so good. Did another reviewer mention Rick Rubin ? Let's hear it for another acoustic project next .........Free Music Review: Impressive Effort from the Pretenders
Hit: 4 Stars
I was not a big Pretenders fan back in their heyday. I liked them well enough but they were not at the top of my list and I don't recall buying their albums. I heard some cuts from this CD on XM and was impressed with what I heard. I bought it and have listened to it several times now and I'm even more impressed. It's excellent from start to finish. If you're a fan of classic American music, rock/country/blues, I think you will enjoy this album, whether or not you have been a Pretenders fan in the past. Free Music Review: Break Up the Concrete
Hit: 5 Stars
Are you crazy? Concrete rocks... Enough of this and that. No boring details. Just get it and play. Chrissie is the best!