The new album ‘Break Up The Concrete’ sees Chrissie Hynde at her blistering best. Attacking from the off in mind-blowing fashion with the rockabilly stomper ‘Boots Of Chinese Plastic’, which sets the tone for the rest of the record.

It’s an album steeped in rock ‘n’ roll all wrapped around Chrissie’s timeless vocal, searing melodies and thought provoking lyrics carrying a true emotional heft.
 
The eleven tracks on ‘Break Up the Concrete’ are stamped with Hynde’s inimitable trademark style and supreme musicality. None of the five musicians who comprise this set of Pretenders have recorded with her before. It brings a fresh sound to the record without losing the raw heat of early Pretenders albums and they take to her songs like they’ve been waiting all their lives for this moment.

Legendary drummer Jim Keltner needs no introduction having drummed with John Lennon. “I met Jim when we toured with Neil Young and dreamed of working with him ever since,” says Chrissie Hynde.

“Martin Chambers is the worlds most entertaining rock drummer that’s for sure, but Keltner is an alchemist, a magician.  I wanted a different groove on this album and Martin had no problem letting Jim take over for the project.”

English guitarist James Walbourne has played with The Pogues and Jerry Lee Lewis, his fluid, tasteful beautiful solos drop the jaw. On pedal steel is Eric Heywood, who’s brought his signature overdriven sound to the original lineup of alt-country trailblazers Son Volt.

“His playing is often more akin to a sound effect.  Imagine our surprise when we heard the jazz flute of “Almost Perfect,” says Chrissie.

The crew collectively represents something dynamic and new. Added to this is Concrete showing Hynde in peak form as a singer, engaged as a writer and performing with the same vitality and intimacy of the classics she penned years ago.
 
In an album full of highlights ‘Don’t Lose Faith In Me’ showcases Hynde’s soulful vocal in its full glory, a beautiful, poignant and elegant track. ‘Don’t Cut Your Hair’ is another song packed with force and bounces along to the buoyant beat, while the rejoiceful ballad ‘Love’s a Mystery’ ponders the ongoing challenges of conjugal commitment, enhanced and underlined by Chrissie’s vibrato.

‘Rosalee’ brings about the only non-Hynde penned song on the album, written by Robert Kidney, it’s a blood and guts track, rocking out from Chrissie’s initial throat clearing and command to the band to crank out one more chorus.
                                                                                               

The second album needs no introduction. A ‘Best Of’ 22-track record brimming with hits, which brings all the most memorable moments from their incredible 30-year career together. From the majestic ‘Talk Of The Town’ to the instantly recognisable opening bar of No.1 smash ‘Back On The Chain Gang’. The hits come in thick and fast, featuring the ever popular ‘Brass In Pocket’, ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’, ‘I’ll Stand By You’ and many, many more.

The Pretenders play a special show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, July 15^th where they will be showcasing tracks from their new album and resplendent back catalogue. Preceding this is an appearance at Hyde Park’s, Hard Rock Calling, June 27^th.

Rock’s great iconoclast, Neil Young, perfectly summed up what we all know about Chrissie Hynde: “She’s a rock & roll woman. She’s got it in her heart. She’s gonna be rocking till she drops.”

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