Brilliant Book!!!

Wonderful slice of life from the late sixties( hippy era) early seventies( punk era) Chrissies style of writing is strong, poetic and melodic...and captures the realities of over excess, creativity and how perhaps the one depends on the other..or drives the other. Difficult to know for sure...this is a very real memoir! She says basically..."This is how it was"

2 people found this helpful

Superb and very honest autobiography

A snotty, arrogant turn on" read a early review of a typical Chrissie Hynde live performance fronting the Pretenders. Never a woman to compromise, Chrissie has always been known for her feminist world view not to mention her radical vegetarianism. But that persona, as this superb rock biography shows, is tempered by a touching vulnerability and a genuine wit. Despite a downbeat ending to this book - with the drug- linked deaths of both Pretenders bassist Pete Farndon and guitarist James Honeyman Scott - this book is fascinating stuff. Born in 1951 on Akron, Ohio, Chrissie takes us through a somewhat chaotic life prior to founding the Pretenders in the late 70s. An Iggy Pop obsessive, she was at Kent State University during the fatal riots of 1970. She lived in Canada, Mexico and Paris before falling in love with London. She has ingested a factory full of drugs and booze. She worked at Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's shop in London in the mid 70s and later was at the heart of the punk scene, fronting fledgling early incarnations of both the Clash and the Damned. She nearly got hitched to Sid Vicious (but only to be allowed to stay in Britain) and former partner Ray Davies, but didn't marry either. This is a book full of history, tragedy, belly laughs and the author's acerbic but, in the end, likeable personality. While this book is raunchy and acutely honest, it is no kiss and tell celebrity shag-fest, and it's all the better for that. Read it even if you didn't like The Pretenders. It's hugely entertaining and very, very cool.

Rosanna Arquette spits out Chrissie's ripe prose with real venom, even if she does struggle occasionally with some of the English place names. Her reading is far from perfect, but it's very human, even laughing out loud during a funny bit at one point. If your idea of fun is hearing the star of Desperately Seeking Susan saying the word "bollocks", this is very much for you.

2 people found this helpful

Oh dear!

The pronunciation of English words is terrible and the attempt at accents awful. Sorry I love both these women so feel bad about giving a negative comment. Surely the book once read is actually listened to by someone with some knowledge.

Excellent reading of a fascinating life story.

Really engaging if you are in any way interested in music in the 70s and early 80s. Great reading too.

Ohio star

Chrissie's writing style is great, she's a natural poet, telling her story clearly & evocatively in the fewest possible words. She actually pans her own writing ability when retelling her days as an NME reporter. Modesty. If you like the Pretenders or are a fan of Chrissie Hynde then this audiobook is for you. No question. Can't understand the criticsms made by some other reviewers.

Rosanna Arquette does a great job of narration. Sure, she mispronounces a couple of words, but as Chrissie might say "Come on! This is the story of an American living in England. What do you expect!" Two Chrissies emerge each with their own voice. There's the sassy, involved, raucous woman, hungry for experience. Then theres the tender, wistful girl, in love with music and her musical heros, driven with ambition. So much more one could say, not least Chrissie's funny observations on English manners.

Set up for a sequel?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes if you're interested in the subject matter.

Do you think Reckless needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, it stops in about 1982.

Any additional comments?

I was really looking forward to this but I came away a bit disappointed. I love Hynde and her music and I was looking for insight into the life behind the performance. It's good as far as it goes, concentrates a bit too much on her life before the Pretenders and stops in about 1982 after the deaths of Jimmy and Pete. It therefore misses out about two thirds of her career and scarcely touches on her marriages.

Could have been so much better.

Artful and gripping

Truly awesome and fateful story - a dreamer and mystic - I wish there was a part 2

xx ya Chrissy hope to catch you along on the journey

Unvarnished ,Deep,eternally The Pretenders

This was what I was waiting for to hear her truth .staring at the pretenders whilst listening to their albums on vinyl.Enraptured by the voice of longing and passion ,adventurous and tender in my room when I got their first single.i knew I hers was the voice and power of a soul who was independent to the last . That group that independence and raw sensuality comes through every word .This is not a glamourous book ,it has passion and heartbreak of a woman and her band ,it's her journey.It's a life that was chosen and one drawn to and one that is understood by those who know that they were meant for greater things and cut their path and what they discovered along the way .I saw them in London in their prime ,the music driving like an unstoppable train,what they made was magic.I was conscious then that I would probably never see anything like it again.How right i was and how amazing is it to hear from the one person who can colour in the sketch and make this beautiful and tragic story come to life .Her life ,their life uncompromising ,it is what it is .Being a woman in a mans world and showing every one how its done .Chrissy Hynde is astounding as rich as her work ,her voice ,her lyrics.,her activisim .Be true to yourself find your tribe ,be loyal and never give up. That is what I got from her music and now this book delivers home that message . She paid her dues loved and lost and paid tribute to those that she and we will never forget.The message of love,of pain and belief.

For a Veggie She is Quite Partial to Beef

The Bio is essentially in two parts: Chrissie's life from childhood up to the point she migrated to the U.K and then on to the Pretenders story. The book does cover an awful lot and Chrissie has certainly lived a notable life. I just feel that the booked would have benefited from a professional co-author to help her structure the story and temper the over flowery language (essentially the job of a bio is to describe the events that occurred). In the first part - her childhood through to departing U.S seems to be a fairly vague recollection - still very evocative of the time and the events, which are remarkable but the story doesn't reveal too much about her life and I don't feel Chrissie wanted to be very open as to why she was the person she was. I.e. really intelligent but unable to apply herself. The second part covered birth of the pretenders and the period covering the first two albums, is more exact but a bit underdone. A bit of a whistle stop. I assume that in general her memory of the past is somewhat clouded by the drugs.

Despite all this criticism it's still a very engaging story and worth the listen and by the way I think she is fantastic and her music.

In terms of the narration - I understand the choice of Rosanna Arquette, but was the director asleep? Too many mispronounced English words, words missed from sentences, and inexplicably at one pointed Rosanna starts laughing mid sentence. Not good enough for a professional actress. Oh and the beef - she obviously has loved men. Good for her!

1 person found this helpful

Fascinating story, shame about the narration

The Pretenders were a band of my formative youth, at an age when i had no conception of the non-music side of rock and roll. I later heard stories of what was happening behind the scenes and when i saw this book i couldn't wait to hear the truth. It was eye-opening, frank and revealing, also shocking, terribly sad but educational. The only thing which spoiled it a bit for me was the narration, which lacked rhythm and feel for the text, often the pace and tone were out of sync with the flow of the story and placed inappropriate punctuation in the sentences. That said, this deficiency should not ruing enjoyment of the book, i still highly recommend