Pitchfork

Just like they did with fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Elvis Costello's catalogue, the folks at Rhino Records have expanded the Pretenders' first two LPs into two-disc sets and will reissue them on October 3. (Hopefully, unlike Elvis Costello's stuff, these will be definitive versions, and we won't be forced to buy the same albums again in a year.)

These double-disc versions of 1980's Pretenders and 1981's Pretenders II-- the only two albums recorded with the original lineup of Chrissie Hynde, Martin Chambers, James Honeyman-Scott, and Pete Farndon-- are filled with demos, live tracks, and otherwise previously unreleased material.

The tracklists for the first discs of both 12-track albums are identical to the original releases. The Pretenders bonus disc mostly consists of previously unreleased demos of album tracks. The Pretenders II bonus disc features live versions culled from the promo-only Pretenders Live at the Santa Monica Civic in addition to outtakes of "I Go to Sleep" and "Pack It Up" and a demo version of "Talk of the Town".

Although the original band was demolished by the deaths of both Honeyman-Scott and Farndon following the release of Pretenders II, Hynde soldiers on with the Pretenders. They're scheduled to open for the Who on their American tour this fall.

Pretenders tracklist:

Disc 1:

01 Precious
02 The Phone Call
03 Up the Neck
04 Tattooed Love Boys
05 Space Invader
06 The Wait
07 Stop Your Sobbing
08 Kid
09 Private Life
10 Brass in Pocket
11 Lovers of Today
12 Mystery Achievement

Disc 2:

01 Cuban Slide
02 Porcelain
03 The Phone Call (demo) *
04 The Wait (demo) *
05 I Can't Control Myself (demo) *
06 Swinging London
07 Brass in Pocket (demo) *
08 Kid (demo) *
09 Stop Your Sobbing (demo) *
10 Tequila (demo) *
11 Nervous But Shy
12 I Need Somebody (live BBC)
13 Mystery Achievement (live BBC)
14 Precious (live) *
15 Tattooed Love Boys (live) *
16 Sabre Dance (live) *

Pretenders II tracklist:

Disc 1:

01 The Adultress
02 Bad Boys Get Spanked
03 Message of Love
04 I Go to Sleep
05 Birds of Paradise
06 Talk of the Town
07 Pack It Up
08 Waste Not Want Not
09 Day After Day
10 Jealous Dogs
11 The English Roses
12 Louie Louie

Disc 2:

01 The Wait (live)
02 The Adultress (live)
03 Message of Love (live)
04 Louie Louie (live)
05 Talk of the Town (live)
06 Birds of Paradise (live)
07 The English Roses (live)
08 Up the Neck (live)
09 Bad Boys Get Spanked (live)
10 Stop Your Sobbing (live)
11 Private Life (live)
12 Kid (live)
13 Day After Day (live)
14 Brass in Pocket (live)
15 Higher and Higher (live)
16 Talk of the Town (demo) *
17 I Go to Sleep (guitar version outtake) *
18 Pack It Up (radio mix outtake) *

* previously unreleased

Tour dates:

11-13 Salt Lake City, UT - Delta Center
11-14 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
11-17 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
11-18 Houston, TX - Toyota Center
11-20 Sunrise, FL - BankAtlantic Center
11-21 Clearwater, Florida - Ruth Eckerd Hall (no Who)
11-22 Duluth, GA - Arena at Gwinnett Center
11-25 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
11-27 Hershey, PA - Giant Center
12-01 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino
12-05 Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
12-07 Omaha, NE - Qwest Center Omaha
12-08 Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
12-11 Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center