Get Close

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Get Close
Studio album by
the Pretenders
Released20 October 1986
Studio
Genre
Length47:01
LabelReal
Producer
The Pretenders chronology
Learning to Crawl
(1984) 		Get Close
(1986) 		The Singles
(1987)
Singles from Get Close
  1. "Don't Get Me Wrong"
    Released: September 22, 1986[1]
  2. "Hymn to Her"
    Released: November 1986
  3. "My Baby"
    Released: March 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Robert ChristgauB[5]
The Music Box[4]
Rolling StoneUnfavorable[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Get Close is the fourth studio album by

Mainstream Rock Tracks entries, "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "My Baby
", both of which reached number one.

Background

The Pretenders' previous album, Learning to Crawl (1984), was a critical and commercial success.[8] On the heels of its success the band performed at Live Aid in 1985. The same year Chrissie Hynde appeared with UB40 on their number-one single "I Got You Babe".[9]

Get Close, recorded during a particularly transitional period of the band's career, consisted of a variety of sessions and included multiple personnel. The early recording sessions, produced by Steve Lillywhite, started with the Learning to Crawl lineup put together by Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers (following the deaths of fellow founding Pretenders James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon) including guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bass guitarist Malcolm Foster (in addition to the band's touring keyboard player Rupert Black). These first sessions resulted in the recording of a cover version of Jimi Hendrix's "Room Full of Mirrors", which would become the album's closing track.[10] Shortly after the sessions, Hynde decided that Chambers' playing had deteriorated: "Martin was playing crap. Martin just fucking lost it, and to think about it, why shouldn't he have lost it? He'd just lost his two best friends. I was insane. I was traumatised. But you don't know it at the time. I was trying to keep my shit together. To be honest Martin was playing crap and I knew musically I was losing my inspiration. But I'd tried too hard and come too far to let it all go, so Martin went instead."[9]

Having fired Chambers from the band, Hynde was left as the only remaining original member. Foster's departure shortly afterwards left the band without a rhythm section.

Wix Wickens. Carlos Alomar
made further contributions on percussion and synthesizer programming.

The later album sessions featured contributions from two further musicians: former

T.M. Stevens and ex-Haircut One Hundred drummer Blair Cunningham
. Towards the end of the sessions, Stevens and Cunningham were recruited into the band full-time. On release, Get Close was credited to a formal Pretenders lineup of Hynde, McIntosh, Stevens and Cunningham, despite the latter two members only having played on half of the album. All four musicians appeared on the album cover art, as had been the case with previous Pretenders albums. Unlike previous albums, however, this time Hynde was the only member pictured on the front cover, emphasizing her dominance of the band (as would be the case with all subsequent Pretenders album art).

In comparison to the New Wave stylings of the first three Pretenders albums, Get Close had a strong funk element (partially due to the substantial session contributions from American funk, soul and rhythm and blues players). The album also featured Pretenders' first power ballad: "Hymn to Her", a paean to femininity, written by Hynde's former schoolfriend Meg Keene. The band also recorded a Carlos Alomar song, "Light of the Moon".

Tour and aftermath

As the Pretenders embarked on their 1986 tour in support of the album, Bernie Worrell was added to the live band on keyboards. Despite the strength of the musicians in the new lineup, it only took a few gigs for Hynde to realise that what had seemed to work for Pretenders in the studio was not right for live work, and that she was now fronting a slick funk band poorly suited to her ideas. She is quoted saying: "It wasn't an English pop band anymore. It wasn't the Pretenders."[9] Halfway through the tour, on the advice of manager Dave Hill, Hynde sacked Stevens and Worrell in an attempt to salvage the situation (although Cunningham was retained), a decision she would later refer to as ruthless.[9] Malcolm Foster and Rupert Black were rapidly re-hired to complete the band's live commitment. At the end of the tour, Robbie McIntosh also left the band.[9]

Much later, McIntosh and Cunningham would be re-united in 1991 as members of Paul McCartney's backing band (appearing together on McCartney's 1991 album Unplugged, 1993 album Off the Ground and the subsequent live release Paul Is Live). According to Paul McCartney's book, it was Linda McCartney (who was a friend of Hynde's) who recommended McIntosh to him.[citation needed]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chrissie Hynde, except where noted. All tracks produced by Bob Clearmountain and Jimmy Iovine except "Room Full of Mirrors" produced by Steve Lillywhite

Get Close track listing
No.TitleLength
1."My Baby"4:07
2."When I Change My Life"3:38
3."Light of the Moon" (Carlos Alomar, Genevieve Gazon, Wayne Ragland)3:57
4."Dance!"6:46
5."Tradition of Love"5:27
6."Don't Get Me Wrong"3:46
7."I Remember You"2:38
8."How Much Did You Get for Your Soul?"3:48
9."Chill Factor"3:27
10."Hymn to Her" (Meg Keene)4:58
11."Room Full of Mirrors" (Jimi Hendrix)4:44
2007 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Hold a Candle to This" (alternate version)3:44
13."World Within Worlds"3:47
14."Tradition of Love" (remix)6:13
15."Dance!" (take 1)5:06
16."Don't Get Me Wrong" (live)3:49
17."Thumbelina" (live)5:01

Personnel

The Pretenders

Additional personnel

Technical

  • Bruce Lampcov – engineer
  • Helen Backhouse – design
  • Richard Haughton – cover photography

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Get Close
Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[27] Gold 7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[28] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Singles". Music Week. 20 September 1986. p. 28.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ Chicago Tribune review
  4. ^ The Music Box review
  5. ^ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  6. ^ Rolling Stone review
  7. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8
    .
  8. ^ Metzger, John (20 July 2007). "Pretenders – Learning to Crawl (Album Review)". musicbox-online.com. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e 'The Story of the Pretenders' – article by Chris Wade in Hound Dawg Magazine #6, April 2010
  10. ^ a b "Get Close by The Pretenders | Classic Rock Review". 1 November 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  11. ^ Kent 1993, p. 238
  12. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0771". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Pretenders – Get Close" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  14. OCLC 29800226
    – via World Radio History.
  15. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5
    .
  16. GfK Entertainment Charts
    . Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  17. ISSN 1021-8254 – via Timarit.is
    .
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – The Pretenders – Get Close". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Pretenders – Get Close". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Pretenders – Get Close". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Pretenders – Get Close". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  23. ^ "The Pretenders Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  24. ^ Kent 1993, p. 439
  25. ISSN 0033-7064
    – via Library and Archives Canada.
  26. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1987". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  27. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – The Pretenders – Get Close". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  28. ISBN 8480486392
    .
  29. ^ "British album certifications – The Pretenders – Get Close". British Phonographic Industry. 1 December 1986. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  30. ^ "American album certifications – The Pretenders – Get Close". Recording Industry Association of America. 22 December 1986. Retrieved 13 December 2018.

Bibliography

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