• Voto:
The show must go on.
L'imponderabile, ciò che ti piomba addosso mentre sei intento a fare altri piani...quanto gli puoi permettere di governare la tua vita, senza che cambi nel profondo il tuo stesso livello interiore di esistenza? La risposta che si deve essere data Chrissie Hynde, alla faccia delle speculazioni esistenziali, dev'essere stata pressappoco quella di un dito medio agitato all'indirizzo di chi tesse l'ordito dei destini umani. Non si poteva tornare indietro!
Che personaggio Chrissie! Val la pena insistere su questo topos, ampiamente sviscerato, in una recensione sui Pretenders? Credo di si, non solo per l'influenza che la personalità della dea ex machina del gruppo nella cifra stilistica di questo, ma anche perchè la banalità, la consuetudine, in una recensione almeno, possono rappresentare un atout: si basano d'altronde su un corpo di valori acquisiti universalmente nella comunità di pratica del rock'n'roll. Mi permetto quindi di calcare la mano sulla nostra eroina, per la quale una volta tanto non è peregrina l'orrida espressione di "donna con le palle".
"Volli, fortissimamente volli". Questo potrebbe essere il suo manifesto programmatico. Solo una grande ambizione e forza d'animo (senza prescindere da un immenso talento, va da sé) può portare una ragazzina della provincia americana a realizzare il sogno adolescenziale di tanti di noi: diventare una rockstar, prendendo armi e bagagli e trasferendosi in Inghilterra, e ciò dopo anni di gavetta senza scendere in nessun caso a compromessi artistici. Aggiungiamoci poi il fatto che è riuscita a sposarsi il suo idolo d'infanzia, nientemeno che Ray Davies: come se io mi zifonassi Avril Lavigne!
Date le premesse, la straordinaria risposta di Chrissie ai tragici avvenimenti che colpirono la sua creatura, non poteva non essere che quella di confrontarsi immediatamente, quasi a sfidarli, il lutto e il senso di vuoto.
"Back on The Chain Gang" fu scritta e registrata nei quattro giorni successivi alla morte del chitarrista della band, James Honeyman-Scott, con il preciso intento di canalizzare la sofferenza in creazione artistica. La canzone però esprime tutt'altro che voglia di piangersi addosso, nonostante immortali l'immensa malinconia provata; riflette soprattutto l'intento ammirevole e la necessità di non lasciarsi schiacciare dalle contingenze del vissuto umano usando la potenza catartica del doloro per creare un tributo perfetto. Non credo che esistano modi migliori di onorare la memoria di chi non c'è più.
Ma non basta! Nemmeno un anno dopo è il turno di Peter Farndon, ex bassista della band,a cui la leader era particolarmente legata. Neanchè ciò basta a fermare tale macchina da guerra, e i Pretenders continuano a lavorare al nuovo album, che sara pronto quasi tre anni dopo la loro ultima fatica in LP (a proposito, apro una lunga parentesi...chi ha detto che "Pretenders II è qualitativamente schiacciato tra il predecessore e il successore sbaglia. La sua natura di album di transizione non gli impedisce di avere dei capolavori al suo interno, primo tra tutti la terrificante "The Adultress", inesorabile e spietata come il camion di "Duel).
"Learning to crawl" forse non è il migliore album della band, ma è sicuramente il più rifinito. Esso porta a compimento la trasformazione del gruppo in gruppo di massa. Le canzoni, senza necessariamente sacrificare qualcosa all'impatto e alla qualità, diventano dei congegni perfetti per sfondare le classifiche ed essere passati in radio. Si prenda ad esempio "Middle of the Road", con il quale si aprono le danze. Semplicemente la quintessenza del rock: un travolgente jingle jangle sotto steroidi accompagnato da un approccio percussivo (cortesia di un batterista sottovalutatissimo come Martin Chambers) che ha la gentilezza di un bombardamento di artiglieria. Il perfetto contraltare pop è rappresentato da un coretto infettivo. Chrissie è convincente come poche altre volte, suadente, elegante e felina (che sia solo frutto del caso il miagolio con il quale introduce il suo assolo di armonica?).
Non che le radici punk siano completamente dimenticate eh! "Watching the Clothes" sembra uscita fuori dal primo album. "My City Was Gone" invece è un funk meccanico che mette in scena l'urbanizzazione selvaggia dell'Ohio, terra natia della musicista. Ma sono le ballate ora a essere al centro dell'attenzione, segno di un cambio di sensibilità della leader: "Thumbelina" è quasi country, "Show me", invece è pop raffinatissimo. La migliore è "2000 miles", anch'essa ispirata dalla morte di James Honeyman-Scott, che rappresenta il lato tenero di Chrissie Hynde. Mai con i successivi pezzi lenti riuscirà a scaldare i cuori come con questa canzone.
Questo è l'ultimo album degno di nota dei Pretenders, ma non ci sono rimpianti. Si può affermare che abbiano detto tutto ciò che avessero da dire, e che la maturità abbia portato al mestiere e alla routine. Rimane la testimonianza di una band al suo apice, che trova un equilibrio irripetibile tra pienezza artistica e urgenza espressiva.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Middle of the Road (04:15)
The middle of the road
Is trying to find me
I'm standing in the middle of life
With my plans behind me
Well, I got a smile
For everyone I meet
As long as you don't try
Dragging my bay or dropping
The bomb on my street
Now, come on baby
Get in the road
Oh, come on now, in the
Middle of the road, yeah
In the middle of the road
You see the darndest things
Like fat guys driving round
In Jeeps through the city
Wearing big diamond rings
And silk suits
Past corrugated tin
Shacks full up with kids
Oh man, I don't mean
A Hampstead nursery
When you own a big chunk
Of the bloody third world
The babies just come
With the scenery
Oh, come on, baby
Get in the road
Oh, come on now, in the
Middle of the road, yeah
One, two, three, four
The middle of the road
Is no private cul-de-sac
I can't get from the
Cab to the curb without
Some little jerk on my back
Don't harass me, can't you tell
I'm going home, I'm tired as hell
I'm not the cat I used to be
I got a kid, I'm 33, baby
Get in the road
Come on now, in the
Middle of the road, yeah
02 Back on the Chain Gang (03:51)
I FOUND A PICTURE OF YOU, OH OH OH OH
WHAT HIJACKED MY WORLD THAT NIGHT
TO A PLACE IN THE PAST
WE'VE BEEN CAST OUT OF? OH OH OH OH
NOW WE'RE BACK IN THE FIGHT
WE'RE BACK ON THE TRAIN
OH, BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG
A CIRCUMSTANCE BEYOND OUR CONTROL, OH OH OH OH
THE PHONE, THE TV AND THE NEWS OF THE WORLD
GOT IN THE HOUSE LIKE A PIGEON FROM HELL, OH OH OH OH
THREW SAND IN OUR EYES AND DESCENDED LIKE FLIES
PUT US BACK ON THE TRAIN
OH, BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG
THE POWERS THAT BE
THAT FORCE US TO LIVE LIKE WE DO
BRING ME TO MY KNEES
WHEN I SEE WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO YOU
BUT I'LL DIE AS I STAND HERE TODAY
KNOWING THAT DEEP IN MY HEART
THEY'LL FALL TO RUIN ONE DAY
FOR MAKING US PART
I FOUND A PICTURE OF YOU, OH OH OH OH
THOSE WERE THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF MY LIFE
LIKE A BREAK IN THE BATTLE WAS YOUR PART, OH OH OH OH
IN THE WRETCHED LIFE OF A LONELY HEART
NOW WE'RE BACK ON THE TRAIN
OH, BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG
03 Time the Avenger (04:55)
Nobody's perfect
Not even a perfect stranger
But oh what a gal
She was such a perfect stranger
And you're the best in your field
In your office with your girls
And desk and leather chair
Thought that time was on your side
But now it's time the avenger
Nobody's permanent
Everything's on loan here
Even your wife and kids
Could be gone next year
And with what you have left
You'll be forever under pressure
To support her
And a lover who looks strangely
Like time the avenger
Time, time, hear the bells chime
Over the harbor and the city
Time, one more vodka and lime
To help paralyze that tiny little tick, tick, tick, tick
Nobody's perfect
Not even a perfect gent
When your property took the a train
I wonder where your manners went
You were standing at the station
In your briefcase
Was your aftershave and underwear
Can you hear the whistle blow?
Sounds like time the avenger
Time, time, hear the bells chime
Over the harbor and the city
Time to kill another bottle of wine
To help paralyze that tiny little tick, tick, tick, tick
04 Watching the Clothes (02:53)
OH, SATURDAY NIGHT
MMM, EVERYONE'S HAVING FUN
I'M DOWN AT THE LAUNDROMAT
TRYING TO GET MY WASHING DONE
LIKE I DONE BEFORE
TIME AND TIME AGAIN
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
ANOTHER WEEK SEES ITS END
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
OH, I'VE BEEN WORKING HARD
MMM, TRYING TO MAKE SOME MONEY
"WOULD YOU LIKE SOUR CREAM
ON YOUR POTATO, HONEY?"
I BEEN KISSING ASS
TRYING TO KEEP IT CLEAN
SERVING THE MIDDLE CLASS
YEAH, IT'S A CLEAN ROUTINE
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
THERE GO THE WHITES
MMM, GETTING WHITER
THERE GO THE COLORS
GETTING BRIGHTER
THERE GO THE DELICATES
THROUGH THE FINAL RINSE
THERE GOES MY SATURDAY NIGHT
I GO WITHOUT A FIGHT
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
WATCHING THE CLOTHES GO 'ROUND
05 Show Me (04:08)
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
'CAUSE I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT
THEY SAY YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT
WELCOME TO THE HUMAN RACE
WITH ITS WARS, DISEASE AND BRUTALITY
YOU WITH YOUR INNOCENCE AND GRACE
RESTORE SOME PRIDE AND DIGNITY
TO A WORLD IN DECLINE
WELCOME TO A SPECIAL PLACE
IN A HEART OF STONE THAT'S COLD AND GREY
YOU WITH YOUR ANGEL FACE
KEEP THE DESPAIR AT BAY
SEND IT AWAY, AND
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
'CAUSE I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT
I DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT IT
I DON'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT IT
OH, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE
WELCOME HERE FROM OUTER SPACE
THE MILKY WAY STILL IN YOUR EYES
YOU FOUND YOURSELF A HOPELESS CASE
ONE SEEKING PERFECTION ON EARTH
THAT'S SOME KIND OF REBIRTH, SO
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
SHOW ME THE MEANING OF THE WORD
'CAUSE I'VE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT IT
DON'T MAKE ME LIVE WITHOUT IT
DON'T MAKE ME LIVE WITHOUT IT
OH, LOVE, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE, I WANT LOVE
06 Thumbelina (03:17)
Hush little baby, don't you cry
When we get to tucson you'll see why
We left the snowstorms and the thunder and rain
For the desert sun, we're gonna be born again
What's important in this world
A little boy, a little girl
Hush little darling, go to sleep
Look out the window and count the sheep
That dot the hillsides and the fields of wheat
Across america as we cross america
What's important here today
The broken line on the highway
All the love in the world for you, girl
Thumbelina in a great big scary world
All the love in the world for you, girl
Take my hand and we'll make it through this world
Hush little baby, my poor little thing
You've been shuffled about like a pawned wedding ring
It must seem strange, love was here then gone
And the Oklahoma sunrise becomes the Amarillo dawn
What's important in this life
Ask the man who's lost his wife
08 Thin Line Between Love and Hate (03:44)
IT'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE
IT'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE
IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING
AND YOU'RE JUST GETTING IN
YOU KNOCK ON THE DOOR
AND A VOICE SWEET AND LOW SAYS
"WHO IS IT?"
SHE OPENS UP THE DOOR AND LETS YOU IN
NEVER ONCE ASKS WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN
SHE SAYS "ARE YOU HUNGRY?
DID YOU EAT YET?
LET ME HANG UP YOUR COAT
PASS ME YOUR HAT"
ALL THE TIME SHE'S SMILING
NEVER ONCE RAISES HER VOICE
IT'S FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING
YOU DON'T GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT
IT'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE
(REPEAT)
THE SWEETEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD
COULD BE THE MEANEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD
IF YOU MAKE HER THAT WAY
YOU KEEP HURTING HER
SHE'LL KEEP BEING QUIET
SHE MIGHT BE HOLDING SOMETHING INSIDE
THAT'LL REALLY, REALLY HURT YOU ONE DAY
I SEE YOUR IN THE HOSPITAL
BANDAGED FROM FOOT TO HEAD
IN A STATE OF SHOCK
JUST THAT MUCH FROM BEING DEAD
YOU COULDN'T BELIEVE THE GIRL
WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, HA
YOU DIDN'T THINK THE GIRL HAD THE NERVE
BUT HERE YOU ARE
I GUESS ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS
IT'S A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE
(REPEAT)
09 I Hurt You (04:39)
I BEEN CRYING LIKE A WOMAN
BECAUSE I'M MAD, MAD, MAD LIKE A MAN
IF YOU'D BEEN IN THE S.S. IN '43
YOU'D'VE BEEN KICKED OUT FOR CRUELTY
I HURT YOU
'CAUSE YOU HURT ME
SO I HURT YOU
'CAUSE YOU HURT ME
I BEEN WONDERING ABOUT YOUR DEPENDENCY
YOUR IDEA OF DEFIANCE IS A MODERN DAY MYSTERY
ARMS AND CHEST ARE COLD
WHEN YOUR BACK IS ON FIRE
AND THE ONLY TIME YOU COME CLEAN
IS WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO YOUR BUYER
I HURT YOU
'CAUSE YOU HURT ME
SO I HURT YOU
'CAUSE YOU HURT ME
FORGET OUR PHILOSOPHIES
THAT WE ADMIRED WHEN WE WERE YOUNG
AND OUR POPULAR POINTS OF VIEW
THEY CAN'T MEAN MUCH OR NOTHING
OR SOMETHING OR ANYTHING
'CAUSE WE CAN'T SAY "I LOVE YOU"
I HURT YOU
'CAUSE YOU HURT ME
SO I HURT YOU
'CAUSE YOU HURT ME
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARLING AND THANK YOU FOR THE SCHOOLING
YOUR CORRECTION MISTRESS WARNED ME AND SHE WASN'T FOOLING
NEVER TRUST A USER WITH YOUR TELEVISION OVERNIGHT
WHEN THE SHOW HE WANTS TO VIDEO IS "DALLAS" ON A TUESDAY NIGHT
DON'T TRY TO PAINT YOUR MASTERPIECE UNDER ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
10 2000 Miles (03:37)
HE'S GONE 2000 MILES
IT'S VERY FAR
THE SNOW IS FALLING DOWN
GETS COLDER DAY BY DAY
I MISS YOU
THE CHILDREN WILL SING
HE'LL BE BACK AT CHRISTMASTIME
IN THESE FROZEN AND SILENT NIGHTS
SOMETIMES IN A DREAM YOU APPEAR
OUTSIDE UNDER THE PURPLE SKY
DIAMONDS IN THE SNOW SPARKLE
OUR HEARTS WERE SINGING
IT FELT LIKE CHRISTMASTIME
2000 MILES
IS VERY FAR THROUGH THE SNOW
I'LL THINK OF YOU
WHEREVER YOU GO
HE'S GONE 2000 MILES
IT'S VERY FAR
THE SNOW IS FALLING DOWN
GETS COLDER DAY BY DAY
I MISS YOU
I CAN HEAR PEOPLE SINGING
IT MUST BE CHRISTMASTIME
I HEAR PEOPLE SINGING
IT MUST BE CHRISTMASTIME
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