The Isle of View [Live]

Tracks:

Sense Of Purpose
Chill Factor
Private Life
Back On The Chain Gang
Kid
I Hurt You
Criminal
Brass In Pocket
2000 Miles
Hymn To Her
Lovers Of Today
The Phone Call
I Go To Sleep
Revolution
Bonus Track 1

Amazon.com

There are a lot of diehard Pretenders boosters out there who'll warm to this unplugged hits set much faster than Last of the Independents. Hynde's singing has never been finer, and it was a brilliant stroke to incorporate a string quartet into the acoustic soundscape. Everything here is first-rate (notably the little-known "I Hurt You" and "Criminal"), but it's the ultra-fresh versions of "Brass in Pocket," "Private Life," and "2000 Miles" that will bring a lump to the throat of thirtysomething fans. --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews:

CHRISSIE HYNDE 5 STAR PERFORMANCE.......2006-10-12

Love Chrissie's Sound, Style, Poetry you will absolutely love the work she has done here !
Must Have.
Turn it up and Hit the Replay All Button.

ENJOY

PEACE

Bring on the revolution.......2006-04-02

Chrissie Hynde's bad attitude was always more refreshing than most - she has no patience for celebrity, no desire to sugarcoat her "message," barely even a desire to give anyone asking her a question the time of day. One of the great shocks of The Isle of View, then, is Hynde's vulnerability in full play. It's an acoustic set, but it's an coustic set of a particular bent - the guitar parts of old get morphed into string arrangements, and on occasion, the songs themselves morph in tone. The result is remarkable - it's not just a shift in tone during a song like "Back On The Chain Gang," it's a somber, moving refocusing of that song's true nature of loss and nostalgia. The best moments of the album are like that - versions of "Kid," "Sense of Purpose," or "2000 Miles" that take the songs in directions you didn't realize they'd gone all along, which proves just what a deft poet Chrissie Hynde can be. It needs to be said that not all the moments are perfect - the laconic version of "I Go To Sleep" is just laconic, and the rejiggering of their obscure debut album song "Lovers Of Today" might only prove that the song should have been forgotten in the first place. Still, by the time Hynde arrives at her last extraordinary "Freedom!" in "Revolution," the strings blazing with galvanic charm, it gets difficult to imagine a much better live attempt than this one - a winning, sly, cleverly concocted minimalist set.

Warm Intimate and Rewarding.......2005-12-01

I am a lukewarm Pretenders fan, enjoyed the first three albums, felt they lost a bit along the way after that, but still always willing to give Chrissie and friends the benefit of the doubt.

Here they turn in a surprisingly strong live, acoustic set, covering old, new, and forgotten songs from their catalogue, with tasteful backing from a string quartet. Some tunes work better than others: "Private Life" and "I Hurt You" work especially well, as Chrissie's mournful voice mixes perfectly with the delicate acoustic guitar and string backup. "Back on the Chain Gang," on the other hand, is a bit awkward and forced.

But with picture-perfect versions of "2000 Miles," "Chill Factor," and a strong opener, "Sense of Purpose," this is overall a very strong addition to the Pretenders canon, worth picking up for its unique and somewhat experimental handling of these classic songs.

A surprisingly good acoustic set.......2004-08-03

This little gem snuck into The Pretenders' discography after Chrissie took a latter day incarnation of The Pretenders on an A&E concert TV special. (That show is available as "The Isle Of View" DVD.) The surprise is just how effective and intimate Chrissie sounds in the "Unplugged" setting. She split the set between obvious songs and crowd pleasers ("Brass In Pocket," "Back On The Chain Gang") a surprise or two (I always thought "Sense Of Purpose," the best song on "Packed," was unjustly ignored -- and here it's the show opener), and some delightful reworks. In particular, the string laden version of "Kid" here takes on a greater sense of maturity some twenty years down the line. While I'd have a hard time recommending "The Isle Of View" as the most potent of Pretenders albums, it remains a personal fave of mine for more relaxing moments. If you're just getting into 80's or The Pretenders' music, start with their debut, "Learning to Crawl" or the updated (and import only, come on Warners) greatest hits. But if you're already a fan and this one slipped under your radar, "The Isle Of View" is a serious contender for your listening dollars.

Unplugged with strings.......2004-07-17

This is nice but not spectacular. It is the pretenders of 1996 playing acoustic instruments and being backed with a string quartet. The CD is 58 minutes long. The "bonus" track is 15 seconds of silence and 30 seconds of spacy violin music.

The sound quality is good. There isn't a lot of talk between songs and the audience noise is kept to a minimum. You do have to wait through a minute of cheering at the beginning of the CD before any music starts. The Pretenders at that time is basically the same personnel that is playing today. Say the title 3 times very fast.

Note that this is also available as a DVD.

This is very nice music, but kind of disappointing. First off, this is basically the hits. There are no new songs. There are a couple that don't get played much, so that is nice. And second, for the most part, nothing is added to the songs to make them that much different than the originals. It is just the original songs with the electrical guitars missing. A song like Chain Gang just becomes boring.

But, there are some great moments. Hynde's vocals are forced to carry the album, and they do so for the most part.

Some songs do get played in new and interesting ways. The older songs like Brass in My Pocket and Private Life have a new life on this album. (The best version of Private Life I have heard was done by Grace Jones).

This is not a bad album, and in fact is quite nice. And there are some very good parts to it. But, if you have all of the other Pretender albums, a lot of this CD is unnecessary. While the CD is not that special, the DVD might be. I haven't seen it, but I am thinking about buying it.

Average customer rating:

Nothing Today Comes Close

Isle of view, too.

Worth if at any price!

Isle of View

Download the music!

Isle Of View
Jimmie Spheeris
Manufacturer: Rain Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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