Mobile Fidelity - UDSACD 2144 - SACD Hybrid Stereo 

Numbered Limited  Edition - Plays On All CD Players

Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity GAIN 2™  Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD  

Warm rich full analogue sound is what you will get here. The soundstage is excellent and separation of instruments likewise. One of the many revelations for me has been the bass playing, now there in all its glory. The disk is also highly crankable. Play it loud, just like the album cover recommends.Get it while you can.5/5 Hraudio

 

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes: Added Extension, Sharper Imaging, Multi-Dimensional Soundstaging Place the Pretenders on a Small Stage in Your Room

 

Pretenders' Self-Titled Record Moves Fast With Biting Hooks, Soulful Melodies, Guitar-Charged Toughness, and Chrissie Hynde's Inimitable Mix of Toughness and Tenderness: Includes "Brass In Pocket," "Precious," and "Tattooed Love Boys"

 

The milieu the Pretenders create on their groundbreaking debut didn't exist when the album came out in early 1980. Such is the magnitude of originality, creativity, and nerve the band captured on a record that captivated each side of the Atlantic and both upended and advanced tradition. The no-nonsense set also announced the arrival of the inimitable Chrissie Hynde, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in rock history, gender be damned. Equally significant, the album remains just one of two studio efforts featuring the original members before tragedy ended the lives of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon.

 

Mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's collectable SACD of Pretenders grants the influential music newfound clarity, punch, dynamics, and perspective that enhance the realism and attack of everything from Hynde's vocal snarl to the band's myriad textures. Originally recorded live in the studio at high volume levels by producer Chris Thomas, the record now boasts added extension, sharper imaging, multi-dimensional soundstaging, and a crispness that practically places the Pretenders onstage in your room. Replete with detail and nuance—particularly, Hynde's singing and Honeyman-Scott's terrific array of hovering chords, colorful palettes, and inventive effects—this is a record that rewards repeat listening and full-bloom playback.

 

Cited by Rolling Stone as the 155th Greatest Album of All Time, Pretenders took shape via the vision of the Ohio-born Hynde and chemistry she achieved with three Brits circling the same punk orbit—one that saw the frontwoman work with the Sex Pistols and briefly embark on a serious music-criticism career. Indeed, while Hynde is the unquestionable leader of the gang, the Pretenders are the sum of their total parts, displaying rapport and interaction that never came together more convincingly, naturally, or emotionally as it does on their debut. Honeyman-Scott's ringing arpeggio tones seamlessly combine with Hynde's no-muss sass, sensuality, and soulfulness. Similarly, the rhythm section contributes considerable thump and classically styled explosiveness. Together, the four sound like no other band.

 

Such distinctiveness helps explain why Pretenders remains as contemporary now as it did 30-odd years ago. Schooled in the era's raw, unfiltered English punk yet equally versed in rockabilly, new-wave pop, and British Invasion rock, the band orchestrates songs that overflow with keen hooks, sexual swagger, and ear-catching melodies. Courtesy of the aggressive guitars and leather-tough cool, Pretenders moves fast, Hynde's assertive deliveries and take-notice lyrics jolting the senses with a lethal mix of sophistication, toughness, tenderness, rebelliousness, and romance.

 

With Honeyman-Scott playing the Richards to her Jagger, Hynde operates on pure instinct. She throws down the gauntlet on the corrugated pulse of "Precious," proves she can hang with even the roughest boys on the energetic bounce of "Tattooed Love Boys," and, on the smash hit "Brass In Pocket," spouts self-aggrandizing claims that she would back up for decades to come. Yet Hynde and the Pretenders' appeal goes much deeper than brazenness. Akin to her guitarist's unconventional phasing and treated effects, the singer never abides by rules or stereotypes as she balances the gutsiness and attitude with sensitivity ("Lovers of Today"), compassion (the jangling "Stop Your Stopping"), and vulnerability ("Kid").

 

Pretenders is not only one of the most impressive album debuts in history, it's one of the most essential records, independent of genre or timing, ever made. Hear this energetic music in the finest-possible fidelity it's ever enjoyed.

 

Bass, Vocals – Pete Farndon
Drums, Vocals – Martin Chambers
Guitar, Vocals – Chrissie Hynde
Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards – James Honeyman-Scott

Pretenders Pretenders Track Listing:

 

Precious

The Phone Call

Up the Neck

Tattooed Love Boys

Space Invader

The Wait

Stop Your Sobbing

Kid

Private Life

Brass In Pocket

Lovers of Today

Mystery Achievement

 

 

Mobile Fidelity believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artifacts. 

It is worth noting that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab stands out as one of few record labels that independently invests in research and development of audio technology. With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware. Mobile Fidelity is pleased to work with a variety of engineering legends and companies including Tim de Paravicini, Ed Meitner, Pass Labs, Theta Digital and Sony Electronics. 

Our joint efforts to seek out the ultimate audio experience, has resulted in significant advances for the technology of music reproduction. 

GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD and Ultradisc II™ 24kt Gold CDs 

For over twenty years, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has continually searched for the ultimate audio experience. During this search MFSL engineers and associates created The GAIN™ System, a proprietary mastering technology which brought warmth and ambience to the compact disc format. A few years ago - with higher resolution formats on the horizon - the vision of GAIN 2™ began. As it stands today, GAIN 2™ is one of the greatest technical advancements in analogue and digital technology in the last ten years. It consists of a series of critical modifications and new components to Mobile Fidelity's proprietary mastering chain. 

We feel that GAIN 2™ has come extremely close to meeting this goal. The key accomplishments of GAIN 2™ System are 1) the ability to extract all the musical information as possible through the Ultra High bandwidth analogue tape playback system with proprietary custom tape playback heads, reproducer electronics and 2) transparently capturing and storing that information with the Direct Stream Digital recording system.