I read her auto biography, where she stated that Farndon was very definitely not a "muso." The context made it seem that she was somewhat dismissive of Farndon as a bass player. She also fired Martin Chambers for periods of time, as she did not feel his drumming was up to snuff, at least in comparison with some other drummers that were available. She did seem to appreciate the musicianship of Honeyman-Scott, but did not appear to think that the other two were all that great. I think that both of those guys, Farndon and Chambers, were grossly underrated- as perhaps was Honeyman-Scott. Without Honeyman-Scott, I don't think there would have been a Johnny Marr. The influence is pretty obvious. In other words, I think the whole band was great as a band, and while Tony Butler may have been a superior bass player in certain contexts- I don't think he sounded as good with that band as Farndon did. I don't think Ms. Hynde appreciated that. Hey, I could be way wrong.
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Pete Farndon (Pretenders) appreciation thread...
- Thread starter ERIC31
- Start date
I read her auto biography, where she stated that Farndon was very definitely not a "muso." The context made it seem that she was somewhat dismissive of Farndon as a bass player. She also fired Martin Chambers for periods of time, as she did not feel his drumming was up to snuff, at least in comparison with some other drummers that were available. She did seem to appreciate the musicianship of Honeyman-Scott, but did not appear to think that the other two were all that great. I think that both of those guys, Farndon and Chambers, were grossly underrated- as perhaps was Honeyman-Scott. Without Honeyman-Scott, I don't think there would have been a Johnny Marr. The influence is pretty obvious. In other words, I think the whole band was great as a band, and while Tony Butler may have been a superior bass player in certain contexts- I don't think he sounded as good with that band as Farndon did. I don't think Ms. Hynde appreciated that. Hey, I could be way wrong.
Thanks for the reply. I agree that the chemistry of Hynde, Honeyman-Scott, Chambers & Farndon was superlative. Would the Beatles have been better off with a drummer other than Ringo? He's often derided for not being a technically-gifted musician... When I finish reading JellyRoll Morton's biography I'll have to pick up a copy of Hynde's.
Makes me a little sad to hear that about Hynde, though. Also, Funny you mention Johnny Marr, 'cause there's another band that comes readily to mind as having under-appreciated players — subjectively, The Smiths were better than any thing those members did subsequently, IMO. Lots of other bands & members in similar tailspins (talespins?
) are coming to mind now...Yep, rambling. A sure sign I didn't get much sleep last night...
It's funny how egos get in the way of great chemistry, and then years go by and the people grow a little and realise the chemistry is what gave them the success and they get back together. Sadly in some cases, the egos or damage done in the break-up of the band make it impossible to re-unite and capture that energy once again. Sadder still is when those that do manage to reunite only to find their city has gone...
By way of a contribution to the thread and a gift to others that love a band I grew up with, here's my transcription of "Talk Of The Town". It's not intended to be 100% verbatim to the single, more how I actually play it with my current band. Enjoy...
Thanks for the reply. I agree that the chemistry of Hynde, Honeyman-Scott, Chambers & Farndon was superlative. Would the Beatles have been better off with a drummer other than Ringo? He's often derided for not being a technically-gifted musician... When I finish reading JellyRoll Morton's biography I'll have to pick up a copy of Hynde's.
Makes me a little sad to hear that about Hynde, though. Also, Funny you mention Johnny Marr, 'cause there's another band that comes readily to mind as having under-appreciated players — subjectively, The Smiths were better than any thing those members did subsequently, IMO. Lots of other bands & members in similar tailspins (talespins?
Yep, rambling. A sure sign I didn't get much sleep last night...
It's funny how egos get in the way of great chemistry, and then years go by and the people grow a little and realise the chemistry is what gave them the success and they get back together. Sadly in some cases, the egos or damage done in the break-up of the band make it impossible to re-unite and capture that energy once again. Sadder still is when those that do manage to reunite only to find their city has gone...
Watching a pretty decent film about the Eagles, and in the part where they talk about Felder leaving and the band breaking up, one of the interviewees mentioned how its sad that great bands break up, but it's amazing they get together and make great music in the first place. I thought that was pretty wise. I like Hynde a lot, she's from my home town and I used to see her brother's band- called the Numbers Band- play all the time. He's a great sax player. She was a great band leader, had terrific vision and her song writing was very innovative. I also like her voice a lot.
I just thought she was "off" dismissing Farndon as not a great musician. Maybe he wasn't great technically, but his parts had a minimalist catchiness that I really liked. I like Kim Deal's playing with Pixies, and she's sort of like that too. No one would mistake her for Stanley Clarke, but she's no less terrific in a different way.
Egos are a huge problem in bands- no doubt- but without the huge egos I wonder whether some bands would ever have been heard in the first place. The original lineup Pretenders gave us two fantastic albums. They were really the first melodic "punk" band. They made a very significant contribution to music.
Agreed, Mark.
Well put, Chad.
Now what about this idea that The Pretenders were a punk band... I just thought they were a great band that defied categorization ... on the fringes of New Wave/Pop-of-the-day/Rock/Punk — but never a part of any of those genres. When someone says the word "punk", the bands that spring to mind are Sex Pistols, Exploited, DOA, Black Flag, Damned, NoMeansNo, Ramones, Pointed Sticks, Clash, Minutemen, Dayglo Abortions, Dead Kennedys, Buzzcocks, SNFU...
I can see the punk connection now, but back in the day I didn't.
And...
I daresay there is some rockabilly lurking under those giant hooks, too...
Well put, Chad.
Now what about this idea that The Pretenders were a punk band... I just thought they were a great band that defied categorization ... on the fringes of New Wave/Pop-of-the-day/Rock/Punk — but never a part of any of those genres. When someone says the word "punk", the bands that spring to mind are Sex Pistols, Exploited, DOA, Black Flag, Damned, NoMeansNo, Ramones, Pointed Sticks, Clash, Minutemen, Dayglo Abortions, Dead Kennedys, Buzzcocks, SNFU...
I can see the punk connection now, but back in the day I didn't.
And...
I daresay there is some rockabilly lurking under those giant hooks, too...
Well, like a lot of things, I think it really depends on the context. There really was no such thing as alternative rock in 1979. The Pretenders were not "punk" compared to the Sex Pistols, and maybe not even compared to The Clash (the only band that matters!), but compared to other "popular rock" bands of the day like Styx, Journey, Foreigner, Boston, Peter Frampton and the Eagles, the Pretenders were quite punk. A song like Precious is pretty punk to me, as is Tattooed Love Boys. Later of course, the Pretenders sounded much less punk as time went on, and in my mind anyway, they were somewhat less interesting musically as a result.
In Hyndes' autobiography, she states that her purpose in forming the Pretenders was to play punk music that you could dance to. I think you are absolutely correct about the rockabilly influence, and significantly Pete Farndon played in an Australian folk and country music band called The Bushwackers prior to the Pretenders. Farndon and Hyndes were romantically involved, and Farndon was Hyndes' connection to Chambers and Honeyman-Scott, who also came from Hereford, Farndon's home town. I think the Ramones are the source of everything we call "punk" music at this point, but compared to the Sex Pistols, they don't really sound all that "punk" anymore, to me anyway.
All this is just a remarkably long winded way of saying that in my opinion, the Pretenders first two albums were great, and that everyone in that particular line-up of the band contributed significantly to the excellence of those albums. I feel pretty much the same way about Heart. Heart's first four albums with the original members were great collections of music. When the Wilson sisters fired most of the original members (including the entire rhythm section) and brought new members into the mix, I did not think the band was nearly as good musically. The sisters themselves didn't seem to think the other band members were that important, but I think they were wrong.
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Great band. Great era of real music. Only one I never cared for was The Clash. Only London Calling is the only song of theirs I like.
