as other reviewers mentioned, the pretenders' 'greatest hits' is just an updated version of 'the singles' collection, issued in the 80s. owners of the latter will just find this a waste of money, unless you're willing to spend around £10 on a few extras.
'greatest hits', however, is the perfect album for those wanting to 'get into' this brilliant band. it ranges from the early days with 'brass in pocket', through their most successful period in the 80s, and right up the the latest album with 'human'.
i bought 'greatest hits' having purchased the self-titled debut lp and playing it non-stop for almost a month (and then some). i thought it would never happen, but it did. slowly, i began to grow a little tired of hearing the same 12 tracks over and over.
so, the search was on for another pretenders cd. but which one to get? looking at reviews for the various other albums, all of them seemed to be saying the same thing: "most of the tracks are okay, some are really quite good, but- they'll never be as good as they were on the debut."
'greatest hits' has the perfect balance of old and new, of raunchy rock, up-tempo pop/rock fusions, tender slow songs, and even a power-ballad or two, namely the anthemic 'i'll stand by you'. though it's probably best to forget the dodgy and perhaps even embarrassing collaboration efforts, notably 'breakfast in bed'. this is also a great album for those in my previous situation, those who want more pretenders but don't want entire albums of perhaps not-so-good tracks.
i think it's fair to say that the pretenders' output has steadily gotten worse with every album released and their signature sound had really vanished by the 3rd lp (the first album is a true 5-star rock classic and easily their best ever), but they were/are/always will be a great band and to quote another amazon reviewer: 'if chrissie hynde made an album of nursery ryhmes it would be a classic'. chrissie hynde's songwriting, playing, vocals and attitude are still perfectly intact and as powerful and effective as they were on that very first number on the very first album way back in 1980, the raunchy 'precious'.
now, here's the part where i should say, "here's a cd of the very best of the pretenders"; i'm not going to. that honour goes to the first album. (sorry to rant on, but i just can't stress enough how good it is!)
most of the tracks here are fantastic, though. a good selection of material from one of the most widely-loved and consistently good rock bands ever. chrissie hynde is an icon, a stereotype for so many women in rock music. my only complaint is that the cd should have been like the accompanying video (also excellent, BUY IT NOW!!!!) in that 'forever young' should have been left off and replaced by the far superior 'sense of purpose'.