The Pretenders The Isle Of View (DVD)

...May 1995 Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders performed a live ‘unplugged’ concert at the Jacob Street Studios, London. They were accompanied by the Duke Quartet and sang a medley of their old and recent hit material. Chrissie was joined for one song as an encore by a surprise guest. There was a receptive and enthusiastic audience.

Given their chequered and at times tragic history it is perhaps incredible that The Pretenders are still ...
...string of hits both in the UK and America. However the latter two were both dead within three years. Chrissie also had high profile liaisons in her personal life (Ray Davies of The Kinks, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds). The Pretenders these days comprise Chrissie (vocals, guitar); Adam Seymour (vocals, guitar, harmonium); Andy Hobson (bass) and Martin Chambers (drums). They were joined by percussionist Mark “Wiff” Smith.

The Duke Quartet ... more

In May 1995 Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders performed a live ‘unplugged’ concert at the Jacob Street Studios, London. They were accompanied by the Duke Quartet and sang a medley of their old and recent hit material. Chrissie was joined for one song as an encore by a surprise guest. There was a receptive and enthusiastic audience.

Given their chequered and at times tragic history it is perhaps incredible that The Pretenders are still in existence. Formed in the “post Punk” and “New Wave” days back in 1976 by Ohio-born Hynde and guitarists James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, they had a string of hits both in the UK and America. However the latter two were both dead within three years. Chrissie also had high profile liaisons in her personal life (Ray Davies of The Kinks, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds). The Pretenders these days comprise Chrissie (vocals, guitar); Adam Seymour (vocals, guitar, harmonium); Andy Hobson (bass) and Martin Chambers (drums). They were joined by percussionist Mark “Wiff” Smith.

The Duke Quartet is a renowned chamber ensemble comprising Louisa Fuller, Richard Koster (violins); John Metcalfe (viola) and Ivan McCready (cello).

The review here is of the video recording which includes 18 tracks and lasts for 77 minutes. The concert was edited (to 14 tracks; not in the same order) and was released as a CD. Given this was a live show, my preference is for the video version (my review source is an NTSC laserdisc rather than the DVD**). It has much more of the immediacy and intimacy of sight and sound than can be engendered by auditory means alone.

The running order of the video is as follows. I have also indicated those tracks missing from the CD (*)

Sense Of Purpose
Chill Factor
I Hurt You
Back On The Chain Gang
Thumbelina *
Kid
Private Life
Creep *
Criminal
Brass In Pocket
2000 Miles
Hymn To Her
Blue Sun *
Lovers Of Today
The Phone Call
I Go To Sleep
Revolution
Night In My Veins *

The album is a mellow occasion both in sound and visually. The Pretenders and the Quartet are seated throughout the performance in a circle. There is a good mixture of songs including many of their biggest hits and one or two new tracks. The ‘unplugged’ acoustic nature of the performance means that some songs do not carry quite the same punch as the original (‘Brass In Pocket’ is a good example of this) but are nevertheless just as effective.

'Sense of Purpose’ – released originally as a single in 1990 - opens the show and Chrissie is immediately into her vocal stride. The string backing from the quartet is particularly pleasing to this song.

‘Chill Factor’ was an album track (from 1986) and is a typical emotive Hynde lyric. The guitar backing is restrained with the quartet remaining silent.

‘Back On The Chain Gang' sounds as good as ever it did with jangling guitars and Chrissie's emotive vocal. The opening chords generated a ripple of applause from the audience. The addition of strings is a great compliment.

'Thumbelina' is great fun with its persistently increasing pace. It earned a 'Fiddle player rather than Violin player' accolade for Louisa Fuller from Chrissie at the end.

Chrissie acknowledges Radiohead at the beginning of ‘Creep’ but gives it a typical Pretenders treatment. It is a pity this song did not make the final cut onto the CD.

Chrissie sings ‘I Go To Sleep’ as a duet with Damon Alburn (Blur) on the piano.

Being a live performance, things that I noticed which would be missed on the CD are:

The strange performance of ‘Wiff’, variously drumming with his feet, clicking fingers and shaking a tambourine.
Chrissie’s wavering lower jaw creating her characteristic vibrato.
Her solo performance of ‘Kid’ played without the safety and comfort of a guitar.
‘Hymn to Her’ is also a tour do force, sung only to the accompaniment of a small harmonium.
Martin Chambers carrying in a bright red mug of (?) tea at the outset of the concert.
The banter and repartee between the tracks and the occasional asides from the members of the band.

‘The Isle Of View’ is a laid back performance by rock group and classical ensemble of the highest order. It is one of those events where the music is all. Ms Hynde proves that she is a tremendous performer in the flesh. This video is a ‘must see’ for all Pretenders fans. It is an excellent introduction to the singer, the group and her music.

Amazon has a web page dedicated to the CD version of this album which includes five playable extracts. The address is:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002N3D/ref=sr_aps_music_1_2/202-5598109-3742224

The CD was released in October 1995 and reached No.23 in the UK album charts. It also contains the eponymous title track (“The Isle Of View”), curiously missing from the concert film. It scraped into the American charts at No.100. Two singles were released in Britain; “Kid” having modest success (a peak of No.73) – “2000 Miles” not so.

[Chart information has been gleaned from “The Great Rock Discography” – Sixth Edition (2002) by M.C.Strong]

THE ISLE OF VIEW – The Pretenders. (1995)
**DVD Wea Corp. Region 1 – release date September 6th 2003. $12.74 (Amazon.com).
CD: Warner Bros. £11.99 (Amazon.co.uk)

[At this point no extras have been declared for the DVD release. I have a copy on pre-order and will update there are any significant changes. There were no "extras" on the laserdisc.]

UPDATE: 17/09/03: My DVD arrived from Amazon.com today. As expected there are no additions to the programme described above. Sadly there were two tracks omitted from the Laserdisc version - "Thumbelina" and "Blue Sun". The picture (slightly letterboxed) and sound quality are excellent.

[POSTSCRIPT: I was intrigued by the title of this album. Using my trusty search engine I came across an album of the same name by a Jimmie Spheeris from 1971. A footnote gives the following suggestion: "Isle of View. Say those words real fast. They morph into a lovely phrase: I love you. For all our follies and foibles, Jimmie believed to the end that we're still an OK species." There are also suggestions that the origin is Victorian.

I have no idea whether Chrissie Hynde had this in mind for her opus!]

 

...less