Pretenders - Loose In L.A.

Amazon.com

Recorded live as a direct-to-DVD release, Loose in L.A. finds Chrissie Hynde and company buoyed by the excitement of an intelligent and largely female audience--which is good, since Hynde is fending off something (allergies?) that led, she says, to a shot of cortisone before the show. There are no signs of ill effect as the band digs into a deep, funky groove--alternating with flights of pop delirium--on "Message of Love," followed by the jagged-edged "The Homecoming," rabid prophesying of "Fools Must Die," and sexy rockabilly of "Rebel Rock Me." Hynde's brash brilliance captivates on everything, from her still-startling vocal for "Tattooed Love Boys" to her swaying, witty testifying on the reggae-flavored "Complex Person." Martin Chambers (drums), Adam Seymour (lead guitar), the lugubrious Andy Hobson (bass), and Zeben Jameson (keyboards, percussion) keep arty, acrobatic pop-rock hooks aloft while drawing out bluesy undercurrents. Indispensable stuff for Pretenders fans. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Great live DVD.......2007-09-09

In addition to the incredible singing and playing by the Pretenders on a large selection of great songs, this DVD is also notable for the quality of the filming. No split screen or other annoying cinematic techniques that are often used on music videos mar this DVD. While the camera cuts frequently from angle to angle and player to player, it still seems like you're seeing the band from the best seat(s) in the house. And the cameras always capture the best little cute moves that Chrissie makes (speaking of which- the little dance routine she does near the end is worth the price of the whole DVD). The sound recording is superb also. The band is SO tight and able to follow the fairly complex timing of Chrissie's songs, yet everything sounds totally spontaneous and new. A major high point for me was Rebel Rock Me where the Pretenders channel to perfection early Elvis, and every manic hiccupping rockabilly that followed him in this rich form of elemental American rock and roll. Adam Seymour's biting, driving, but simple guitar fills and solo and the relentless rhythm of the rest of the band help make this song everything that rock and roll is all about.

Chrissie and her Brit pals rock L.A. top quality........2007-02-10

Well, if you like the Pretenders, and live is what you want, then buy this DVD in a hot flash. Tons of tracks, and it brings joy to the household.

Pretender-Loose in L.A........2005-08-09

Crissis hyde is a rock godess! This was a great show and I am glad it was caught on DVD.

Flat . . ........2004-08-30

I love Chrissie . . . and looked for a copy of Lose In LA until I found the copy I am reviewing. The songs are great and I have learned to like the new with the old . . . so no problems there.

You can just tell that she does not feel well. One of those things that nothing can be done about I suppose. With game face in tow . . . she does her best to pull it off . . . and to one whom loves the music, such as I, almost covers it. But it is hard to feel good, when you just don't. I give them, aka The Pretenders an A+ for the effort. The band did not let her down.

If and when we get another DVD from them where she has the twnkle back in her eye, and not forced to fill a date . . . I will buy two of those coppies. This is still a must have for all Pretenders fans and not a bad introduction to the world of Chrissie Hynde . . . but those who know and love her, I think can see they are a bit flat.

I watch this DVD more often than any movie.......2004-04-15

As an old Pretenders fan, there is a big jump in my mind from the songs that I know to anything which still seems new to me. Rock can be evaluated like philosophy, running amuck from the damn good fun of Lynyrd Skynyrd to the offbeat wit of the Kinks, and Chrissie Hynde on this DVD congratulates the live audience for being able to see the whole show, to know what really happened, before the editing cuts that could keep DVD viewers from seeing those instances when the song fell apart instead of coming together. Blooper videos have been so popular that Chrissie could even kid about putting a DVD on the market that would show nothing but their mistakes. In philosophy, Nietzsche suggested that other forms of thinking could be as highly suspect in section 121 of THE GAY SCIENCE:

"Life no argument.-- We have arranged for ourselves a world in which we can live--by positing bodies, lines, planes, causes and effects, motion and rest, form and content: without these articles of faith nobody could now endure life. But that does not prove them. Life is no argument. The conditions of life might include error."

Watching this DVD brings us face to face with bodies, musical lines, emotional causes and effects, lyrical form and content, but the "Life is no argument" ideas gets its greatest confirmation in the song "Fools Must Die." Spending a lifetime reading the news or watching current events is all that is needed to see how the Pretenders could easily jump to the conclusion that "The world rejoices when fools die. They die." But that is only one of many songs on this DVD.

If you have an urge to hit the skip button at the beginning of this DVD, I would suggest that you only skip the first three songs, and listen to all of "My Baby." Only at the end of "My Baby" does "In this day and age suddenly to just turn the page like walking on stage" really happen for me. Then be sure to hear "Time the Avenger," "The Homecoming," "Fools Must Die," and for sure "My City Was Gone." I don't have a sound system hooked up to blast the sound out loud enough for me to hear everything that is going on, but the lead guitar part, which is the only distinct musical line coming through on most of the songs when Chrissie is not singing and the soundtrack is played softer than a dull roar, is the kind of music that I consider brilliant. I would prefer to listen to "My City Was Gone" at a volume high enough to make my proprioceptive center bounce with each note in the base line, which needs to be loud to come through as more than a dull rumble. Then each attacking note in the lead guitar part bursts into the musical scene with enough impact to produce a natural startle effect.

Lacking the isolation required to produce so much noise at all hours, I too have time to sit, contemplate, and write. "Biker" is musical enough to be a great song in such times. It attempts to capture the excitement that other people have out on the open road, but it manages to do it sweetly. "Complex Person" reaches for a musical style that rocks well enough to be enjoyed by people who can't get up and dance, but our society may be tops in producing people who could actually get up and dance to it, if they had the chance. With a running time of approximately 140 minutes, this DVD still has a dozen songs to offer after that one, and so many of them are good that I won't make myself seem picky, picky, by choosing any of them for special consideration. I own this DVD because I want to be able to see how they play songs like this, and they do it very well.

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