Chrissie Hynde and Co. return for their seventh studio album: "Viva El Amor," and much like all their other albums, it features great music, lyrics, and Hynde's signature voice. The album is a grab bag of genres and, while distinctly from the 90s, does have some standouts that sound timeless. Its position in the Pretenders' discography may not be so prominent, but it does represent a shift in the band's approach to albums. This album sounds like a band album. The first sense is "Learning to Crawl," and when the juices are flowing between Hynde and her cavalcade of talented musicians, the sound of the album stands out.
The band consists of Chrissie Hynde, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Adam Seymour, singer, songwriter, and lead guitarist; Martin Chambers, Drummer; and Andy Hobson as bassist. Hobson does spottily appear on tracks here and there, but overall, the band is solid with these four plus Zeben Jameson on keys.
Coming off their successful release of 1994's "Last of the Independent," the band returns with a more direct sound and approach to their songs. While "Last of the Independents" sees a list of session musicians and the forming of a permanent line-up, "Viva" sees the permanent line-up with some session musicians dropping in, and that makes a world of difference.
Adam Seymour breathes new life into the band. His playing has such a stark resemblance to original Pretenders guitarist James Honeyman-Scott that it is tough not to consider that this is where the band could have ended up if Honeyman-Scott hadn't suffered that fatal and tragic overdose in the 80s. Hynde's tough exterior and sound have mellowed over time, but the balance of her attitude and Seymour's melodic counterpoint is what made the Pretenders so unique when they came on to the scene, and now that alchemy is back under new terms.
It also helps that Martin Chambers is firmly in the drummer's seat for this one. Though in albums and tours past, there have been some great drummers with incredible contributions to the sound, no one quite has the sound of Chambers. His drumming being unpredictable and strong, there's a level of chaos to the Pretenders that Chambers helps to bring to the front but also reigns in.
"Viva" creation even has its own unique story. Originally intended to be a concept album named "Biker," with each song being a different state in the character's journey from East to West Coast. Several of these songs would eventually find some release. "Biker," the song, appears on "Viva," "California" was released on the compilation box set "Pirate Radio" in 2006, and "Nebraska" found an obscure release in between, creating another thought-provoking what-could-have-been in the Pretenders' career.
V"iva El Amor," however, has its own distinct style, a mix of eclectic genres rolled into the rock category starting with "Popstar,"
Opening the album with a Rolling Stones adjacent rocker where Chrissie Hynde spins the yarn of being left for a younger and more popular version of herself is why Hynde remains one of the best writers in the rock business. Part sarcasm, part biography, but all cool, Hynde turns a phrase in a way that's biting but with a smirk. "And after a couple of hits/She'll be buying a new pair of mitts/I can see just where she's headed/She's as predictable as armageddon." It doubles (as many of Hynde's songs do) as a cultural critique of music and perhaps a personal recollection of some less-than-stellar times. Put that together with Chamber's driving drums and a muddy but infectious bass line, and you've got a classic. 'They don't make 'em like they used to.' Indeed.
"Human" follows and completes the one-two knock-out punch of pop genius. The standard cover on a Pretenders' album, this time Chrissie channeling Chrissy Amphlett of the Divinyls. Different from the original with a little 90's Pretenders flair, it's hard to believe Hynde didn't pen the song herself. It has so much of her sensibilities, but Amphlett isn't a nobody singer-songwriter, so it makes sense that genius has a wavelength that's shared. This song is the one that most captures the spirit of the album, faster-paced with edge but still a very tender message and song. This isn't "Precious" or "Tattooed Love Boys," but the Pretenders have always been good at doing multiple things, not being pigeonholed into one category.
"From the Heart Down" follows, a sweet ballad that interrupts the fast, fun openers. Hynde writes: "My senses must compete with a brain that lets me down/down/down/down," and her vibrato and expression really sell these songs aren't just pop songs intended to illicit a response but truly about something in her life but also something more universal. The listener doesn't need to know Chrissie's exact experience to understand where the song originated.
"Nails in the Road" is late 90s personified but with such an injection of classic Pretenders. On stage, Hynde has such showmanship. She is someone you would think was born to be center-stage, and on the record, she has the same aura, particularly on this track that is rock, pop, a little Motown, and some others. "If this public transportation/what are you doing here?/Royalty and people like thee/should queue up in the rear." Hynde opens the song, and immediately, you get what kind of song it's going to be. Sharp, eager, and fun. Martin Chambers isn't doing anything fancy on the song, but it's so undeniably Chambers drumming on the song. There's something about how he can pull the monologue into his drumming. It's something that is deserving of a study.
"Who's Who" starts with a little synth electronic stinger, and that sound, style, and phrasing is very much Adam Seymour. Expressions like these allow Hynde to show her masterclass in different areas. Instead of just following a lead, you can hear the collaboration in their work, Adam Seymour didn't start in the Pretenders; he came to be, which means his influences can both be similar and different than Hynde's and because of that, it breaks new ground for a band that could have easily been trapped in their history like many of the bands of that time were and are. The song itself is gorgeous, the music as lush and pretty as Hynde's vocals, and one of the best Pretenders' bridges in their discography.
"Dragway 42" is next and showcases what's wrong with this album at its core: the ordering of the songs. This masterpiece of a song deserves to be the closing track. Every now and then, the stars align, and Hynde outdoes herself and writes something that is the equivalent of an atom bomb in her collection, "Dragway 42" is one of those songs. Absolutely sublime in its use of strings, eerie but poignant, Adam Seymour's guitar lick feels like it is the foretelling of a mental breakdown like Gabirel's horn before the Return.
"Dragway 42" is such an odd song in the Pretenders catalog among fans that it has a mysterious existence. The song is one of the few to have never been played live and even, at some point, had a music video that seems to have been wiped from the face of the Earth. Only every now and then, a clip of the video resurfaces as if to taunt fans into not forgetting its existence but never fully revealing itself. In all actuality, an essay could be written about "Dragway 42" from the origins of its title to the instrumentation used in the song to Hynde's dark, brooding, but sobering lyrics. It's songs like these that set the band apart from others.
"Baby's Breath" takes the album in another direction. While "Dragway 42" brings depth, "Baby's Breath" is a fun pop-break-up song. Easy to groove to, at concerts, Hynde introduces the song with "Who wants to dance with me?" and an apt question it is. At worst, "Baby's Breath" is a toe-tapper at best, it's a dance session. "Why did you send me roses?/Save them for someone's death/the love you have to offer/is only baby's breath," again biting with a smirk. She can get you at any angle, always clever in her insults.
"One More Time" is a gratuitous display that Hynde has one of the best voices in the business. Framed as an old Motown ballad, Hynde takes the time to indulge herself in some fancy vocal work. Usually, her voice soars but remains reserved, no runs or adlibs here, but for "One More Time," Hynde shouts and exclaims the chorus, building to a climax of a serious high note that feels more like a release than a sung note. It's as if the song had to end this way How else do you cap off a song this good?
"Legalize Me" is what you think it's about Marijuana, back to a classic rock song for the album after deviating with three completely different genres in the preceding tracks. This time, Hynde and the gang are joined by the legendary Jeff Beck, who tears down a solo in the middle of the song. This song is all fun; you can tell they had a great time recording it, and it comes to a sudden end, cut off though a longer version of the song exists on the "Pirate Radio" compilation that shows off Beck and Seymour trading solo licks as the song fades out.
"Samurai" again brings the pace down. A somber song that evokes images of Pete Farndon. If "2000 Miles" was written for James Honeyman-Scott, then "Samurai" was written for Pete. Again, Viva's nature to be unpredictable in its tracklist does lead to some strange issues. "Samurai" is a great song and features one of my favorite Pretenders solos, but it feels misplaced coming after "Legalize Me" but before "Rabo De Nube." In any event, Adam Seymour proves once and for all that he is a perfect foil for Hynde. The song is simple and offers little frills outside of Seymour's gorgeous solo, but the mix of his guitar, piano, and Hynde's voice makes for a combination that brings such dark beauty to the song. "I stood beside your tomb last night/recalling how you rose/did you think I would persist/refusing to die/See how I persisted/My favorite Samurai." Rare is a song so clear in its intent and meaning. Fans of the band will know this to be about Farndon, but hearing the lyrics sung by Hynde gives it such a heartbreaking reality.
"Rabo De Nube" is the second cover on the album. An incomplete segment of the song that sees Hynde singing Silvio Rodriguez's lyrics over light keys and accordion. It's fast and has a good vocal but otherwise forgettable, especially being sandwiched between "Samurai" and...
"Biker" closes the album, and I can understand the intention of closing the album with this song. Hynde has confessed this to be one of her favorite songs that she's written. In ways, it captures the spirit of Hynde better than most other songs. If other songs are about things that have happened to Hynde or her reaction to those things, then "Biker" is a song that is about Hynde at her core. Guitar-driven with heavy drums and lyrically touching. The song focuses on someone who is the epitome of Hynde's idealism. "Because you've no interest/you struggle to obtain/The status and bogus desires/ that drive most people insane." This edict of sorts has always been something that Hynde has exuded.
The music is good, the playing is good, but all the rest, the adulation, the exalted hand wringing, even things like this review, are ultimately unimportant. "Biker" closes the album with the same mindset that "Popstar" opened with. That this world and culture we've made for ourselves seeks the wrong desires. It looks to pleasures that are too fleeting; real life is inside of all of us, and our enjoyment of it will only come from letting go of the silly material things.
Enjoy the music for what it is because, like all things, it is here today and gone tomorrow.
So, in the end, though "Biker," the album never came to be "Viva El Amor," actually has a bit of the spirit of a concept album. From the declaration that "I'm only Human on the inside" to the lament of persisting on beyond a dead lover in Samurai to "The falling rain/oh heal me" in "Dragway 42". "Viva El Amor" may be the most daring look into Hynde's life that we've seen. Honest, in a brutal but gorgeous way, it seems to be the shedding of some things for new things to come into the Pretenders, and its title, translated, really says it all.
Long Live Love.
My Verdict: 9/10
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