Packed!

Packed! is the fifth album by rock group The Pretenders, released in 1990.

Packed!
Studio album by The Pretenders
Released	14 May 1990
Studio	London at Air Studios, Mayfair Studios and Abbey Road Studios Los Angeles at Sunset Sound Factory
Genre	Alternative rock, new wave
Length	38:38
Label	Sire WEA Records
Producer	Mitchell Froom
The Pretenders chronology
The Singles (1987) Packed! (1990) Last of the Independents (1994)
Singles from Packed!
"Never Do That" Released: May 1990 "Sense of Purpose" Released: October 1990

Besides band leader Chrissie Hynde, no other person is pictured anywhere within the album package. At the time the album was recorded, the only other remaining official member from the band's previous album was drummer Blair Cunningham, who plays on all tracks, though he is not credited as part of the band. As all other musicians appearing on the album are session musicians, the album can be argued to be de facto solo album by Hynde, only using the Pretenders name to satisfy contractual obligations.[1] However, the lineup that recorded the album has some consistency with past studio lineups of the band: guitarist Billy Bremner, who had previously played with the band as a session musician on their "Back on the Chain Gang"/"My City Was Gone" single, appears on most of the tracks, as does bassist John McKenzie, who had played some bass on the band's previous album, Get Close.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
Robert Christgau	A−[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]

Track listing

All songs by Chrissie Hynde, except where noted.

1. "Never Do That" – 3:20
2. "Let's Make a Pact" – 3:18
3. "Millionaires" – 3:04
4. "May This Be Love" (Jimi Hendrix) – 2:43
5. "No Guarantee" – 3:47
6. "When Will I See You" (Hynde, Johnny Marr) – 4:53
7. "Sense of Purpose" – 3:03
8. "Downtown (Akron)" – 2:43
9. "How Do I Miss You" – 4:21
10. "Hold a Candle to This" – 3:37
11. "Criminal" – 3:49

Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA Charts)[8]	55

Personnel

• Chrissie Hynde – guitar (1–3, 5–11), vocals (1–11), backing vocals (6, 7)

Additional personnel

• Blair Cunningham – drums (1–11), backing vocals (1, 8)
• John McKenzie – bass guitar (2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11), backing vocals (8)
• Billy Bremner – guitar (1–6, 8, 9, 11), backing vocals (1, 3, 8)
• Tchad Blake – guitar (4,5)
• Mitchell Froom – keyboards (2, 4–6, 9, 11)
• Dominic Miller – guitar (7, 10), bass guitar (7), backing vocals (7)
• David Rhodes – guitar (3, 11)
• Tim Finn – backing vocals (6)
• Mark Hart – backing vocals (6)
• Will MacGregor – bass guitar (1), backing vocals (1)
• Teo Miller – backing vocals (3)
• Tony "Gad" Robinson – bass guitar (9), backing vocals (9)
• Duane Delano Verh – bass guitar (4)
• Adey Wilson – backing vocals (3)

Technical

• Tchad Blake – engineer
• Geoff Foster, Rob Jaczko, Teo Miller – studio assistants
• Jill Furmanovsky – photography

References

1. "Happy 25th: Pretenders, Packed! – Rhino". www.rhino.com.
2. AllMusic Review
3. "Pretenders Packed! (Sire) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) In..." chicagotribune.com.
4. "Packed!". ew.com. 1 June 1990.
5. CROMELIN, RICHARD (20 May 1990). "*** PRETENDERS "Packed!" Sire/Warner Bros. : Albums are rated from one star (poor) to five stars (a classic)" – via LA Times.
6. "Robert Christgau: CG: pretenders". www.robertchristgau.com.
7. "Pretenders: Packed : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". archive.org. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.