Last of the Independents
Studio album by
the Pretenders
Released9 May 1994
StudioThe Townhouse Studio, Sarm West (London), The Wool Hall (Bath)
GenreRock, alternative rock
Length49:14
LabelSire, WEA
ProducerStephen Street, Ian Stanley, Chris Thomas
The Pretenders chronology
Packed!
(1990) 		Last of the Independents
(1994) 		The Isle of View
(1995)
Singles from Last of the Independents
  1. "I'll Stand by You"
    Released: April 11, 1994[1]
  2. "Night in My Veins"
    Released: June 1994
  3. "977"
    Released: October 3, 1994[2]

Last of the Independents is the sixth studio album by English-American rock group the Pretenders, released in 1994. For this album, the band is officially credited as being Chrissie Hynde (vocals, guitar), Adam Seymour (guitar), Andy Hobson (bass) and Martin Chambers (drums). However, this line-up only plays together on one track ("All My Dreams"); the rest of the album is performed by Hynde and Seymour in conjunction with a rotating series of musicians on bass and drums. These musicians include Hobson and Chambers, as well as bassists Andy Rourke, Tom Kelly and David Paton, and drummers Jimmy Copley and J.F.T. Hood. A few other session musicians also appear, including Ian Stanley (formerly of Tears for Fears), and one-time Pretenders guitarist Robbie McIntosh, who plays alongside Hynde and Seymour on "I'm a Mother". The album marked the official return of Chambers, who had been fired by Hynde eight years prior.

In addition to a cover of "Forever Young" the band previously recorded for the film With Honors and was also featured in the closing credits to Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, the album featured several songs Hynde co-wrote with the songwriting team of Billy Steinberg and Kelly, who wrote several hits for other musicians. That collaboration resulted in singles "Night In My Veins" and "I'll Stand By You" with the latter becoming a hit.[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[7]
Knoxville News Sentinel[8]
NME6/10[9]
Rolling Stone (June 1994)[10]
(favourable) (Dec 1994)[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]

Track listing

  1. "Hollywood Perfume" (Chrissie Hynde, Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly) – 3:55
  2. "Night in My Veins" (Hynde, Steinberg, Kelly) – 3:15
  3. "Money Talk" (Hynde) – 3:38
  4. "977" (Hynde, Steinberg, Kelly) – 3:54
  5. "Revolution" (Hynde) – 4:32
  6. "All My Dreams" (Hynde) – 3:12
  7. "I'll Stand by You" (Hynde, Steinberg, Kelly) – 3:59
  8. "I'm a Mother" (Hynde, J.F.T. Hood) – 5:18
  9. "Tequila" (Hynde) – 1:13
  10. "Every Mother's Son" (Hynde) – 3:41
  11. "Rebel Rock Me" (Hynde) – 3:08
  12. "Love Colours" (Hynde, Steinberg, Kelly) – 4:32
  13. "Forever Young" (Bob Dylan) – 5:04

Note: The version of "Tequila" presented here is an arrangement of a fragment of the song. Full versions can be heard on the two-CD version of Pretenders and the Pirate Radio box set, as well as the 1995 single release of "2000 Miles" and "Happy Christmas".

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[13]

The Pretenders
Additional musicians
Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Last of the Independents
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 22
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 36
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 50
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 42
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 14
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[19] 16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 26
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 8
US Billboard 200[23] 41

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Last of the Independents
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[24] Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 600,000[26]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 9 April 1994. p. 23.
  2. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 1 October 1994. p. 27.
  3. ^ "Songwriter Billy Steinberg has Palm Springs Roots". 31 March 2017.
  4. ^ AllMusic review
  5. ^ "Classic Plunder". chicagotribune.com.
  6. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: pretenders". www.robertchristgau.com.
  7. ^ "Last of the Independents". Entertainment Weekly. 13 May 1994.
  8. ^ Campbell, Chuck (27 May 1994). "Hynde Endures, Shows Strength On New Album". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  9. ^ McCann, Ian (14 May 1994). "Long Play". NME. p. 39. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Pretenders – Last of the Independents CD Album". www.cduniverse.com.
  11. ^ "Pretenders: Last of the Independents : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007.((cite magazine)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 653. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone the pretenders album guide.
  13. ^ Last of the Independents (Media notes). The Pretenders. WEA. 1994.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pretenders – Last of the Independents". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Pretenders – Last of the Independents" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pretenders – Last of the Independents" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pretenders – Last of the Independents" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – Pretenders – Last of the Independents". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  19. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Pretenders – Last of the Independents". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pretenders – Last of the Independents". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pretenders – Last of the Independents". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  22. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  23. ^ "Pretenders Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  24. ^ "French album certifications – The Pretenders – The Last of the Independants" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  25. ^ "British album certifications – The Pretenders – Last of the Independents". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  26. ^ "Xx Marks the Spot". Billboard. 10 April 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  27. ^ "American album certifications – The Pretenders – Last of the Independents". Recording Industry Association of America.
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