Viva El Amor!

06/22/1999 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Chris Morris

"They don't make 'em like they used to," Chrissie Hynde drawls on the acid-tongued opening track, "Popstar," of the Pretenders' first studio album in five years. No kidding--Hynde's performance on this, the best work by the Anglo-American group since their 1980 debut, is an effective rebuke to two generations of singers who have tried to fit their petite feet into her seven-league boots.

Backed by charter member Martin Chambers on drums and an adept latter-day crew that includes the fine guitarist Adam Seymour, Hynde shines here, offering her pointed best on the aforementioned "Popstar" and "Baby's Breath," and delivering her most assured ballad performances yet on "One More Time," on which she displays a stunningly broadened vocal range, and "Samurai."

The Pretenders have crafted an collection of sustained melodic excellence and sharply focused lyrics that should both recapture longtime fans and rope in new enthusiasts. Viva indeed.