Get Close

Background

Get Close was recorded during a particularly transitional period of the band's career, featuring a variety of sessions and multiple personnel. The first of its recording sessions, produced by Steve Lillywhite, featured the Learning to Crawl lineup put together by Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers (following the deaths of fellow founding Pretenders James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon) which featured guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bass guitarist Malcolm Foster (plus the band's touring keyboard player Rupert Black). This resulted in a cover version of Jimi Hendrix's "Room Full of Mirrors". Shortly after the session Hynde decided that Chambers' playing had deteriorated. "Martin was playing crap. Martin just fucking lost it. And to think about it, why shouldn’t he have lost it? He’d just lost his two best friends. I was insane. I was traumatised. But you don’t know it at the time. I was trying to keep my shit together. To be honest Martin was playing crap and I knew musically I was losing my inspiration. But I’d tried too hard and come too far to let it all go, so Martin went instead."

Having fired Chambers from the band, Hynde was left as the only remaining original member. With Foster's departure shortly afterwards, this left the band without a rhythm section. With Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain taking over production duties, about half of the album was recorded by Hynde and McIntosh with high-profile session players. Bass guitar was provided by Bruce Thomas (of The Attractions), Chucho Merchán and John McKenzie, and drums by Simon Phillips, Steve Jordan and Mel Gaynor of Simple Minds, with assorted keyboards and synthesizers provided by Tommy Mandel, Patrick Seymour, Funkadelic's Bernie Worrell, Bruce Brody (ex-Patti Smith Band) and Paul Wickens. Carlos Alomar made further contributions on percussion and synthesizer programming.

The later album sessions featured contributions from two further musicians - former James Brown bass guitarist T.M. Stevens and ex-Haircut One Hundred drummer Blair Cunningham. Towards the end of the sessions, Stevens and Cunningham were recruited into the band full-time. On release, Get Close was credited to a formal Pretenders lineup of Hynde, McIntosh, Stevens and Cunningham, despite the latter two members only having played on half of the album. All four musicians appeared on the album cover art, as had been the case with previous Pretenders albums. Unlike previous albums, however, this time Hynde was the only member pictured on the front cover, emphasizing her dominance of the band (as would be the case with all subsequent Pretenders album art).

In comparison to the New Wave stylings of the first three Pretenders albums, Get Close had a strong funk element (partially due to the substantial session contributions from American funk, soul and rhythm and blues players). The album also featured Pretenders' first power ballad: "Hymn to Her", a paean to femaleness written by Hynde's former schoolfriend Meg Keene. The band also recorded a Carlos Alomar song, "Light of the Moon".

Tour and aftermath

As the Pretenders embarked on their 1986 tour in support of the album, Bernie Worrell was added to the live band on keyboards. Despite the strength of the musicians in the new lineup, it only took a few gigs for Hynde to realise that what had seemed to work for Pretenders in the studio was not right for live work, and that she was now fronting a slick funk band poorly suited to her ideas. ("It wasn’t an English pop band anymore. It wasn’t the Pretenders.") Halfway through the tour, on the advice of manager Dave Hill, Hynde sacked Stevens and Worrell in an attempt to salvage the situation (although Cunningham was retained). Malcolm Foster and Rupert Black were rapidly re-hired to complete the band's live commitment. At the end of the tour, Robbie McIntosh also left the band.

Much later, McIntosh and Cunningham would be re-united in 1991 as members of Paul McCartney's backing band (appearing together on McCartney's 1991 album Unplugged, 1993 album Off the Ground and the subsequent live release Paul Is Live). According to Paul McCartney's book, it was Linda McCartney (who was friend of Hynde) who recommended McIntosh to him.

Track listing

All songs written by Chrissie Hynde, except where noted.

1. "My Baby" – 4:07
2. "When I Change My Life" – 3:38
3. "Light of the Moon" (Carlos Alomar, Genevieve Gazon, Wayne Raglind) – 3:57
4. "Dance!" – 6:46
5. "Tradition of Love" – 5:27
6. "Don't Get Me Wrong" – 3:46
7. "I Remember You" – 2:38
8. "How Much Did You Get for Your Soul?" – 3:48
9. "Chill Factor" – 3:27
10. "Hymn to Her" (Meg Keene) – 4:58
11. "Room Full of Mirrors" (Jimi Hendrix) (Produced by Steve Lillywhite) – 4:44

Bonus tracks (2007 Rhino release)

1. "Hold a Candle to This" (Alternate version) – 3:44
2. "World Within Worlds" – 3:47
3. "Tradition Of Love" (Remix) – 6:13
4. "Dance" (Take 1) – 5:06
5. "Don't Get Me Wrong" (Live) – 3:49
6. "Thumbelina" (Live) – 5:01

Personnel