Duets Special
Chrissie Hynde & Pals- Me & Mrs Jones (feat. k.d. lang)
- Can’t Help Falling In Love (feat. Mark Lanegan)
- Sway (feat. Lucinda Williams)
- Dolphins (feat. Dave Gahan)
- First Of The Gang To Die (feat. Cat Power)
- Always On My Mind (feat. Rufus Wainwright)
- Every Little Bit Hurts (feat. Carleen Anderson)
- I’m Not In Love (feat. Brandon Flowers)
- It’s Only Love (feat. Julian Lennon)
- Try To Sleep (feat. Debbie Harry)
- County Line (feat. Alan Sparhawk)
- Love Letters (feat. Shirley Manson)
- (You’re My) Soul And Inspiration (feat. Dan Auerbach)
Music icon Chrissie Hynde has announced the launch of The Duets Special Podcast with Chrissie Hynde. The unique six-part podcast series sees Chrissie joined by esteemed journalist Gareth A. Davies, as they break down the stories, songs, and collaborations that make up the new album, Chrissie Hynde & Pals - Duets Special, out now via Parlophone. Subsequent episodes will be released every Monday through to 24th November.
Chrissie Hynde on the conception of Duets Special, Rufus Wainwright and Jörn Weisbrodt:
I was talking to Jörn, who's Rufus Wainwright's husband. We were on the phone, probably talking about books we were reading. At some point I said to him, ‘Hey, maybe Rufus and I should do an album together’. And he went, ‘Oh, that's a good idea’. I got off the phone, and I quickly wrote out a list of 10 songs, and sent it straight back to him. He got back to me, and he goes, ‘Yeah, Rufus, would like to do Always On My Mind’. I thought about it for a while, and I thought, Wow, I know a lot of singers. Does anyone really want to hear a whole album of me and Rufus? I started thinking of other singers. He had only mentioned that one song anyway, and I thought it seemed like a good idea.
I'd [previously] worked with Rufus. We did a Christmas show together. My guitar player, James Walbourne, he's married to Cammy Thompson, Richard and Linda Thompson's daughter, and they have a history with the Wainwright family. And somehow I got in on this Christmas show. So I've done something with Martha and Rufus in the past, and then I became friendly with Jörn.
On singing with The Killers at Brixton Academy:
I went to do this show two nights at the Brixton Academy, and it was packed. I can't remember what he did, one of my songs, a couple of their songs. I realised that it was a new audience [for me] when I went to return something at John Lewis, and the girl behind the counter had no idea who I was. She took the shirt or whatever I had, and she looked up and she went, ‘Oh my god, I saw you at Brixton Academy with The Killers’. Thank you, Brandon, for increasing my audience.
On singing I’m Not In Love and Brandon Flowers:
This is a song that was dear to my heart, because a really good friend of mine is Kevin Godley, who was in 10cc. He reminded me the other day that too bad he didn't write it, but it's a 10cc song, and I love Kevin and I love Brandon.
That was a really tricky one, because there's so much in the production on that song that was kind of the hallmark. It had all that stuff going on in it, and to try to strip it back and just get to the bare bones… but we got there in the end, and Brandon delivered. So thank you Brandon, not an easy song to follow up on the original.
On meeting Benji Lysaght, who assembled the band for Duets Special:
I met him when Brandon Flowers and The Killers were in town. [Brandon] wrote to me and said, ‘Would you do some songs with us?’ And I went, ‘Yeah’. I met Benji in catering, I didn't know anyone. It was at the Brixton Academy. This guy walks up and says, ‘Can I ask you something about James Honeyman-Scott’? And I knew when he said that, exactly what kind of guitar player he was, and I immediately knew we were going to be really good friends.
On Julian Lennon and choosing him to sing on Duets:
I'd seen Julian play. I think it was a club called The Mud Club. It must have been 35 years ago in New York, and I don't remember anything about it, I was just very impressed with how good I thought he was. He had a beautiful voice, he was playing guitar. And then I've met him a couple times in certain circumstances which I can't remember very well, like at the Sunset Marquis, but I always really liked this guy, and knew he could deliver.
The new record consists of 13 extraordinary Chrissie Hynde duets featuring a host of world-class collaborators including k.d. lang, the late Mark Lanegan, Dave Gahan, Cat Power, Brandon Flowers, Debbie Harry, Shirley Manson, Alan Sparhawk and more. The theme connecting all of the songs is simply, great melodies; each celebrated through stripped down, intimate arrangements and minimal, refined instrumentation.
Duets Special has received widespread critical acclaim, with MOJO awarding 4 stars, describing "an album that's rarely short of lovely", Uncut praising “an all star cast”, and Classic Rock heralding Chrissie as “one of the great rock voices of her era in her element”. Classic Pop confirmed, “Hynde herself reminds you why she's one of our greatest vocalists", The Mail on Sunday recommended “you'll be tapping add to playlist in no time", The Arts Desk award five stars, describing “heartbreak and soaring beauty”, and The Sunday Times Culture named Duets Special their Album of the Week.
Chrissie Hynde recorded a special set for Radio 2’s Piano Room, performed live at Maida Vale with the BBC Concert Orchestra featuring a powerful duet of Always On My Mind with Rufus Wainwright, The Pretenders' classic, I'll Stand By You and Frank Sinatra's own composition, I'm A Fool To Want You. The album has also been named BBC Radio 2’s Album of the Week.
Duets Special isn't just Chrissie Hynde's fourth studio album under her own name. The new record presents an exciting and unexpected left turn amidst one of the most creative chapters of Chrissie Hynde’s career. Duets Special closely follows The Pretenders’ latest studio album Relentless - described as “at their melodic best” by The Guardian. The world tour that followed also created a new live record, Kick 'em Where It Hurts. When Chrissie performed at the Mark Lanegan 60 Celebration Concert at the Roundhouse last year, The Times suggested Chrissie's voice “should have Unesco world heritage status by now.”
Outside of the studio, painting has become an inseparable part of Hynde's creative life. In the last seven years, her artwork has been exhibited to acclaim in London, New York and Massachusetts. It has also graced the sleeve of her 2019 album of cover versions Valve Bone Woe, as motifs on garments in Vivienne Westwood’s Spring-Summer 2021 collection, and most recently through a new exhibition of paintings titled Hynde Sight. The latest installment, Hynde Sight II was recently shown at Harvey & Woodd, Edinburgh.