Extended Play

Certain Songs #1636: Pretenders – “Porcelain”

September 18, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Extended Play EP
Year: 1981

. . .

And then there’s “Porcelain,” maybe the weirdest track that the original incarnation of the Pretenders ever recorded. It’s basically a three-part song, each section distinct from the others, that somehow all fits together.

At first it comes roaring out of the gate, with James Honeyman-Scott stealing and inverting the riff from the Rolling Stones “The Last Time” over a whalloping Martin Chambers drumbeat that occasionally stops to gather breath, then takes off again. This goes on for such a long time that you kinda assume that “Porcelain” is an instrumental like “Space Invader” until it suddenly shifts directions, Chambers downshifting into an almost-reggae rhythm, all kick drum and rim hits, while Pete Farndon plays a hypnotically circular bass riff.

Certain Songs #1635: Pretenders – “Message of Love”

September 17, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Extended Play EP
Year: 1981

. . .

I guess that Sire Records decided to lead off Extended Play with “Message of Love” because it was the most recent single in the U.K., or maybe because it was both the most recent single and a bit more of an uptempo song than “Talk of the Town.” In any event, way back in 1981, “Message of Love” was the first thing I’d heard by Pretenders after the debut, and it pretty much slayed me.

And why not? “Message of Love” is a big glam-rock stomper, featuring a massive tom-laden drum beat from Martin Chambers, and an arrangement that was cooked up in the studio rather than brought to the band by Hynde. And, of course, the lyrics are great.

Certain Songs #1634: Pretenders – “Cuban Slide”

September 16, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Extended Play EP
Year: 1980

. . .

Because the mood is light-hearted, the beat Bo Diddley and the lyrics relatively low-stakes, “Cuban Slide” often gets dismissed as a lightweight song, suitable for a b-side or a stopgap EP, but that’s about it.

But those are all the reasons I love it, of course. “Cuban Slide” isn’t a major Pretenders song by any stretch of the imagination, but on the other hand it’s the sound of a great band loosening up and having fun with a specific musical style. Also, I’ve fucking love the Bo Diddley beat, especially when it’s driven by a tremolo-laden rhythm guitar, which is what Chrissie Hynde kicks off the song with over a tom-filled Martin Chambers rhythm.

Certain Songs #1633: Pretenders – “Talk of the Town”

September 15, 2019 by Jim Connelly

Album: Extended Play EP
Year: 1980

. . .

In 1980 and 1981, Pretenders released two world-beating singles in the U.K.: “Talk of the Town” b/w “Cuban Slide” and “Message of Love” b/w “Porcelain.” All four songs — plus a smokin’ live version of “Precious” — were released on an EP called Extended Play in the spring of 1981.

And it killed me. Dead. To the point where I’m pretty sure that Pretenders were my favorite band in the world that spring and early summer. Or least up until the point where Pretenders II came out. But we’ll talk about that soon enough. First, lets talk about the songs on an EP that I treasure as much as Chronic Town or The Cost of Living EP, leading off with this incredible single, a pure pop confection as good as anything Hynde ever wrote.