Atlantic City Weekly

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When a veteran band releases a new album that captures the energy or spirit of its youth, it has become almost cliché to suggest that the band has "rediscovered its roots." But when Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders set out to write music for Break Up the Concrete, her group's first album in six years, that's just what she had in mind.

Touring in support of the album, the Pretenders play Borgata's Music Box this Saturday, Jan. 31.

In Hynde's case the roots were both musical and geographical. The Akron, Ohio-born singer had lived mostly in England since the early 1970s, but in 2007 she opened a vegan restaurant in her hometown and found herself spending more time stateside so that she could be near her parents.

While early Pretenders albums had been slightly influenced by British punk and new wave, most of the band's body of work was in more of a traditional pop-rock vein, including hits like "Brass in Pocket," "Talk of the Town," "Back on the Chain Gang," "Middle of the Road," "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "I'll Stand By You."

But Hynde wanted to explore a decidedly American sound on Break Up the Concrete.

"I had something of an epiphany when I took part in a tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis," she said in an interview with MusicRadar.com. "Just to be on the same stage as Jerry Lee was a miracle. I guess it came off rather well, because the next day the guy who runs my record company called me up and asked me if I ever thought of making a country album, and of course my answer was 'no.'"

While far from a "country album," Break Up does showcase a variety of musical styles deeply rooted in Americana. To achieve that sound, Hynde shook up the band's studio line-up, adding Eric Heywood on pedal steel, and Jim Keltner on drums. In an interview with Atlantic City Weekly, original and touring Pretenders drummer Martin Chambers said he was fine with the arrangement.

"[Former guitarist] Adam [Seymour], Chrissie, [bassist] Nick Wilkinson and I had made a record, but Chrissie wasn't happy with it," Chambers said. "She [fired] Adam. Luckily, through a bass player friend of mine I knew James Walbourne and introduced James to Chrissie. They hit it off real good. It's lit a fire underneath us again and I think it's probably the best lineup since the original band."

The original band formed in Hereford, England in 1978 and included Chambers, Hynde, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon. After only two albums, both Honeyman-Scott and Farndon were dead. Both deaths were drug related.

"At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2005, Chrissie described us as a tribute band," Chambers said. "I understand what she meant. We're paying tribute to Jim and Pete all the time."

Fans who come to Saturday's show at the Borgata can expect to hear new tracks like "Boots of Chinese Plastic" and "Love's A Mystery," most of the band's hits, and a few fan favorites. Martin says they'll sound just like fans remember them.

"Sometimes there's a bit of a different arrangement going on, but the heart and guts of the thing are the same," he says. "I will approach 'Tattooed Love Boys' or 'Bad Boys Get Spanked' exactly the same. I don't play them any different than the way I played them back then."

At 57, Martin admits he's "feeling [his] age." But even though it takes a physical toll on him, Martin says he won't compromise his aggressive drumming style.

"I could sit there and tap away and make nice sounds like I do on the record," he says, "but I want to be physical as well. That's why I have my cymbals higher, so I'm leaning over and throwing myself around. It's hard work, but it's the way I want to play."

As singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Hynde has been the only constant in the Pretenders. While fans regard Chambers' presence and powerful, visual drumming as vital elements of the group, these days Chambers considers himself "a hired hand."