Cheap Pretenders - Loose In L.A. (DVD) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Pretenders - Loose In L.A.

"Life no argument.-- We have arranged for ourselves a world in which we can live--by positing bodies, lines, planes, causes and effects, motion and rest, form and content: without these articles of faith nobody could now endure life. But that does not prove them. Life is no argument. The conditions of life might include error."

Watching this DVD brings us face to face with bodies, musical lines, emotional causes and effects, lyrical form and content, but the "Life is no argument" ideas gets its greatest confirmation in the song "Fools Must Die." Spending a lifetime reading the news or watching current events is all that is needed to see how the Pretenders could easily jump to the conclusion that "The world rejoices when fools die. They die." But that is only one of many songs on this DVD.

If you have an urge to hit the skip button at the beginning of this DVD, I would suggest that you only skip the first three songs, and listen to all of "My Baby." Only at the end of "My Baby" does "In this day and age suddenly to just turn the page like walking on stage" really happen for me. Then be sure to hear "Time the Avenger," "The Homecoming," "Fools Must Die," and for sure "My City Was Gone." I don't have a sound system hooked up to blast the sound out loud enough for me to hear everything that is going on, but the lead guitar part, which is the only distinct musical line coming through on most of the songs when Chrissie is not singing and the soundtrack is played softer than a dull roar, is the kind of music that I consider brilliant. I would prefer to listen to "My City Was Gone" at a volume high enough to make my proprioceptive center bounce with each note in the base line, which needs to be loud to come through as more than a dull rumble. Then each attacking note in the lead guitar part bursts into the musical scene with enough impact to produce a natural startle effect.

Lacking the isolation required to produce so much noise at all hours, I too have time to sit, contemplate, and write. "Biker" is musical enough to be a great song in such times. It attempts to capture the excitement that other people have out on the open road, but it manages to do it sweetly. "Complex Person" reaches for a musical style that rocks well enough to be enjoyed by people who can't get up and dance, but our society may be tops in producing people who could actually get up and dance to it, if they had the chance. With a running time of approximately 140 minutes, this DVD still has a dozen songs to offer after that one, and so many of them are good that I won't make myself seem picky, picky, by choosing any of them for special consideration. I own this DVD because I want to be able to see how they play songs like this, and they do it very well.

Like Pat Benatar.. she just gets better with time
I absolutely LOVE this concert.. !..
I play it quite often; at least 3-4 times a week.
Between the two (Loose in L.A. and Isle of View) very hard to say
which is better as they are so very different.
Equally, I like them both the same.. but this concert... is just
as Emeril Lagasse would say.. Kickin it up a Notch!..
Best 2 female performers in the past couple of decades
is Chrissie Hynde and Pat Benatar.. no female musical
artist since has even
come close since these two. Glad I was born in this fine
era.. of music.
Long live Pat and Chrissie!..

A Good Video, but Not Great
When I was younger, I saw the Pretenders as this great anomility. It was this great band that was vital and still made a lot of sense in the sea (of at that time) non-sense. They were raw, and, in a wierd way pure.

20 years on, they are still kind of the same. The new DVD "Loose in L.A." shows just that. A sense of chaos with a sense of purpose.

With all dichatomies though, one suffers because of the other. This is true, too, of "Loose in L.A.". The first movement (like the second) suffers from band-leader Chrissie Hynde's sense of relevance. In the first two, Chrissie really seems to want to show us the releveance of her new band. Songs like "Lie To Me", "Time","You Know Who Your Friends Are", "The Homecoming", and "Fools Must Die" just do not hold up in this first set.

In fact, hearing so much from "Loose Screw" is hard for a Pretneders fan. However, in these first two movements, Chrissey is smart enough to give us "Talk Of The Town", and "Up the Neck".

She does, however, lose her sense when she forces us through the next four songs which are all from her new record. Really, at this point, it makes the buyer feel a sense of "buyer's remorse".

The casural fan, though, will get re-engaged by "Back On The Chain Gang", "Don't Get Me Wrong", and "Kid". And, with those songs, we are, at least re-invigorated enough to plow through the rest.

Those that have not given up yet are greatly rewarded, though! The versions of "Back On The Chain Gang", "Tattoed Love Boys", "Precious", and the "Mystery Achievement" make us remember why we loved this band in this first place.

I'm hoping that Chrissie has not stopped to see what it is that we loved about this raw, fun band and return to that.

Until then, it's great to see Martin and Chrissie up on stage.

By the way -- was "Packed!" such a bad album? I'd love to hear "Never Do That", "Let's Make a Pact", and "Sense of Purpose" live!