Pretenders - Kick 'Em Where It Hurts! (2025)

Chrissie Hynde's Pretenders have always rocked hard despite her ability to compose easily accessible melodies with introspective lyrics that listeners normally would find on albums released by more placid singer-songwriters.

This fact is abundantly clear on the band's recently released, limited edition, live, double LP, Kick 'Em Where It Hurts that has already sold out after its June 13, 2025 release. Fortunately, you can still stream it or download it at many well-known online outlets like Amazon and iTunes.

Hynde told Ultimate Classic Rock that she prefers playing at smaller venues - where all of these songs were recorded in 2024 - because theaters are more hospitable places to play. The band can see the audience - and in turn - the fans can see the quartet working hard on stage for them even though she knows there is more money to be made playing larger arenas.

The rock star can still kick butt at age 73, and that's exactly what she and her band did on these seventeen songs that lean heavily on her last two albums, Relentless and Hate for Sale. This means the records don't serve as a "greatest hits live" release. You'll also hear mid-career tunes like "Biker," "Boots of Chinese Plastic," and "Don't Cut Your Hair."

The band also played a few crowd-pleasing gems from their classic early albums, such as "Private Life," "Talk of the Town," "Time the Avenger," "Thumbelina," "Middle of the Road," and "Back on the Chain Gang." Missing is my favorite Pretenders song, "My City was Gone."

Membership in Pretenders has always been very fluid. This almost seventy-two minute set features Hynde on vocals and guitar with James Walbourne on lead guitar. Dave Page is the bassist and Walbourne's brother, Rob, played drums.

Kick 'Em Where It Hurts has another LP cover that pays tribute to Elvis Presley's 1956, debut record for RCA just like The Clash did way back in 1979.

If you like Hynde and her band you'll definitely want to own this album. It's for baby boomers who still want to rock and younger people who appreciate what the classic rockers still have to offer.

Comments

  1. Casey12:12 PM, July 11, 2025

    This sounds fantastic! I should really check out some of The Pretenders' later stuff...and this would spin would be right up my alley. And the "pink/green" tribute to the original EP cover never gets old.

    ReplyDelete

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