OK lets get one thing straight. This is a great album--of course it can't compare to the debut, but what can? The original Pretenders were one of those rare bands where all players figure prominently into the final sound. (Listen to how you can hear Pete Farndon's bass in almost every song) Chrissie's songwriting is still great, Martin Chambers and James Honeyman Scott are in fine form. Message of Love is just a flat out great rollicking(that is the word that keeps coming to mind) single, The Adultress and Jealous Dogs keep rockin' right where the first record stopped. Birds of Paradise and The English Roses are beatifully written and performed songs comparable to Kid from the debut. But my favorite song and one of the Pretenders finest tunes has got to be Talk of the Town--gorgeous driving melody and wistful lyrics with that Chrissie Hynde stamp "Oh but its hard to live by the rules, I never could and still never do"

In 20 year hindsight there are some weaknesses that I can reluctantly admit--Some critics have rightfully accused Pack It Up as self parody (but it still sounds cool), a second Kinks cover in as many albums, and as one astute reviewer noted, Bad Boys Get Spanked is a re-write of Tattooed Love Boys. (But check out that Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry sample)

Sometimes reissues are worth plunking down money for, and this is one of them. The packaging and sound are great, disc one is the album as originally issued (no extras), and the extras on the generous disc two are good to great (most of it is a vintage live show, with a couple of demos and outtakes at the end of the disc). The live stuff is pretty hot and sealed the deal on my satisfaction with this purchase. To the reviewer who complained about the cardboard album jackets, i often have the same problem: sometimes they scuff the disc or the disc is hard to get out without damaging the sleeve - I think i found the solution. Since the packaging is slightly oversized, if you go get a packet of paper cd sleeves (available from a number of places on the net, like Bags Unlimited), they should fit into the pocket and protect the disc, and allow for easy removal and protection of the disc. i've had to do this with several 'mini-lp' reissues and the Pretenders reissues have jackets big enough to accomodate the sleeves without any trimming. (I also recommend upgrading to the 2CD reissue of the first album, too - Rhino did a bang-up job on these. The Box set (Pirate Radio) is also quite good).

If this had been The Pretenders' first album, it would probably have been considered one of the best debuts ever. However,Pretenders 1 was an awesome debut, and Pretenders 2 suffered from unnecessary comparisons to it. Only "Bad Boys Get Spanked" is overtly a rewrite(of Tattooed Love Boys, so I docked them a star)There are huge chunks of great stuff on this record! Especially "Talk of the Town","Birds of Paradise","Message of Love","Waste not Want not","I Go To Sleep","Pack It Up","The English Roses",and "Day after Day". I truly miss James Honeyman-Scott, and Pete Farndon. Their expertise shines here, just like the first album, and Chrissie is a true original, and always fascinating. The whole thing is tied together by one of rock's greatest drummers, Martin Chambers. All in all a truly heartfelt and melodic enigma.

I wasn't gonna, but then I did...I broke down and bought the re-issue. I'll probably go back and buy the re-issue of the debut album, too, because I enjoy the hell out of this one!

The music itself is still as fresh and rocking and pleasing as it was when I first bought the vinyl version way back when it was released. Seeing them on that tour in Pittsburgh was one of my favorite concert experiences as well. Now, with the extra concert bonus stuff on disc two, it is that much more difficult to stop listening to it over and over and over! I get just as frustrated as the next working stiff when I face the prospect of buying a disc I already own just to pick up more stuff, but this is a legitimate case for dropping the dime. If you need to, sell the original to a store that buys back used discs and get some in-store credit towards something else or better yet, a few bucks for some refreshments! If you like this album, you'll love the re-issue. Viva the Pretenders!

So snarled Chrissie Hynde on The Pretenders' second full force album.

I have to admit, I held off on buying this because I never felt it measured up to either the brash originality of the debut or the defiant sense of odds-breaking that propelled

. But then I bought both of those remastered CD's and just knew I needed this (and

) again. I admit to grievously under-rating "Pretenders II."

While the sting of the debut may have raised expectations for the follow-up to a level I could not accept less than at the time, this sophomore album has all the great things the debut offered. There is Chrissie as the tough/tender woman whose voice could tremble seductively ("Two Birds of Paradise") or snarl dismissively (the aforereferenced "Pack It Up"). The group displays a solid understanding about what being in a rock band is all about, coyly referencing classics like "Louie Louie" or "Day After Day" for titles, and then actually covering a classic (again, turning to The Kinks for "I Go To Sleep"). Sadly, Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott maybe understood it too well; they would both be dead of drug abuse within two years.

There is also Chrissie and The Pretenders' true secret weapon in evidence here, and that is their uncanny early knack to turn catchy, classic singles loose with ease. Both "Talk of the Town" and "Message Of Love," while not US hit singles, have become classics in their own rite. The playfully naughty "The Adultress" ("but I'm convenient, and I make good tea" is one of the best couplets in rock, ever) and "Bad Boys Get Spanked" sound better today than they did 27 years ago. It makes you remember that this classic line-up of The Pretenders only held together for two albums, and it's a packet of music that holds up beautifully. Honeyman-Scott's clever guitar riffs have since received the accolades they deserve, and "Pretenders II" has, as well. "Pits of the world?" Hardly. Maybe I held off on buying this reissue early, but I'm glad I have it now.

Yet there is even more to this; That second full length concert disc. Even with the three superfluous demo/outtakes, the bonus CD could have made its own four star stand-alone offering. This was the classic early line-up playing with gusto to win a Santa Monica live audience over (plus recording the show as a college radio music special - I used to actually have the LP, dangit!) to the new material plus three songs from the debut. It should probably be re-emphasized that those two albums were all the band had to draw from at this stage of the game, and the powerful line-up was a monster, live. When Chrissie cuts loose with a banshee wail on "Bad Boys Get Spanked" and Honeyman-Scott fires off a scorching solo during "Up The Neck," you'll realize just why The Pretenders were one of the great rock and roll hopes of the early 80's.