Back on the Chain Gang: The Pretenders’ Learning to Crawl at 40
Looking back on the band’s invigorated third album
It’s become a cliche over the years to say that an artist’s music has provided the soundtrack to your life.
But there’s more than a little truth to some cliches and this is one of them. Several artists and bands have provided the soundtrack to this particular life — and one of them is the Pretenders.
I was a fan from the first time I heard “Brass in Pocket” on the radio as a kid in Connecticut. Though I wasn’t clear on what some of the phrases meant (new skank?!), there was no denying Chrissie Hynde’s voice or the song’s irresistible, mid-tempo swing. When the Pretenders’ self-titled debut appeared, at the start of the 1980s, it did not disappoint. Rather, it showed a band that was as capable of rocking out furiously as it was playing ballads and jangly tunes. And it made Hynde the first female rock star of the decade.
It didn’t take long for the band’s star to descend, though. A combination of drug addiction, record company pressure and intra-band bickering nearly unraveled the Pretenders. Indeed, their 1981 sophomore set, Pretenders II — while certainly decent — did not live up to the promise of their debut. Not long after that, the band lost not one but two original members: lead guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon — to overdoses. Scott’s death was significantly more surprising than Farndon’s.
VIDEO: The Pretenders “Back on the Chain Gang”
Understandably, Chrissie Hynde took a breather after that. It would be awhile before there was a third Pretenders studio outing. But we got a teaser in the summer of 1982 with an extraordinary, two-sided single. The A side, “Back on the Chain Gang,” was a jangly, guitar-based tune that was simultaneously infectious and moving. “Chain Gang” started out being about loss in a broader sense — but in light of Jimmy Scott’s death, it wound up being an ode of sorts. The B-side was just as great, if drastically different. “My City Was Gone” was an autobiographical, bass-heavy rocker about the gentrification of Hynde’s home state of Ohio. On both songs, the lead guitar was handled by Billy Bremner (Rockpile member and underrated solo artist) while the bassist was Tony Butler of the then-popular Scottish band Big Country. But it was clear that they were on loan and neither was a permanent Pretender.
The band’s third album, Learning to Crawl, finally appeared in January of 1984. Both “Back on the Chain Gang” and “My City Was Gone” were included — but they were just the tip of the iceberg! Learning to Crawl was a very different album than the Pretenders’ debut but, to these ears, it was just as good — and a definite step up from Pretenders II.
The two new Pretenders were guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster. McIntosh had known Jimmy Scott and did a very good job of stepping into some big shoes. He would stay with Chrissie and company for five years before going on to play with Paul McCartney (among many others). Foster only lasted the one album with The Pretenders, but later served time with Simple Minds and is now based in New Zealand.
Despite the two new additions, there was some familiarity on Learning to Crawl. Drummer Martin Chambers — now the only surviving band member besides Hynde — returned, and he played up a storm. And producer Chris Thomas, who had helmed the first two Pretenders efforts, was also back on board. But the most important familiarity was Hynde herself. An album is the sum of its songs and, for Learning to Crawl, she wrote some of her best!
The album kicks off with “Middle of the Road,” a furious rocker. Over pile-driving guitar and drums, Hynde ponders both her world and the world. It’s a great opening song and statement of purpose — witness the oft-quoted kiss off, “Don’t harass me, can’t you tell / I’m going home, I’m tired as hell / I’m not the cat I used to be / I got a kid, I’m 33.” [In addition to all the other changes she’d been through, Hynde was now a mom. The album title was, in fact, inspired by her daughter Natalie, who was literally learning to crawl when it was recorded!] Interestingly, Hynde doesn’t sound tired as Hell; if anything, she sounds reenergized.
“Middle of the Road” is followed by “Back on the Chain Gang,” still upbeat but also wistful and, quite frankly, beautiful. Two more rockers follow. “Time the Avenger” is one of several songs in the Hynde catalog about an anonymous businessman. “Watching the Clothes,” which was written several years earlier, is about spending Saturday night at the laundromat. It’s two and a half minutes of chaos with some unforgettable lyrics. Side one ends with “Show Me,” a lovely song that was inspired by Natalie. Here we get to see Hynde’s sentimental side as she sings, “Welcome here from outer space / The milky way is still in your eyes.”
Side two, if not quite as amazing as side one, is nearly as good and more diverse musically. It leads off with “Thumbelina,” a rockabilly-tinged tune about a woman traveling across America with her two young kids. The last line — “What’s important in this life? / Ask the man who’s lost his wife!” — is a classic. Next up is the aforementioned “My City Was Gone.” Then comes the one cover on the album — and it’s an interesting one. Hynde tackles the ballad “Thin Line Between Love and Hate,” which was a 1971 hit for R&B group The Persuaders. If not one of the best songs on Learning to Crawl, it’s not bad and offers a very different mood from anything else on the album. “I Hurt You,” a midtempo rocker with overdubbed dual vocals, comes next.
VIDEO: The Pretenders “2000 Miles”
And that brings us to the classic album closer: “2000 Miles,” the album’s second ballad, is a beautiful Christmas song that features vivid lyrics and sparkling guitars from McIntosh.
You can’t really call Learning to Crawl a comeback because The Pretenders never really went away. It’s more of a return. And it offered proof both of Hynde’s resilience and of her songwriting talent. The album was both a critical and commercial success; beyond “Back on the Chain Gang,” both “Middle of the Road” and “Show Me” were stateside hits (and “2000 Miles” has become an evergreen holiday hit in the UK). Hynde would switch gears again for the next Pretenders disc — 1986’s Get Close — and again several times after that. And, like any long running artist, some of the band’s albums would be better than others.
But Learning to Crawl remains one of the highlights of a stellar catalog.
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