Learning to Crawl

Learning to Crawl
Studio album by
the Pretenders
Released13 January 1984 (1984-01-13)[1]
RecordedMid-1982 to late 1983
StudioAIR Studios (London)
Genre
Length39:21
LabelSire
ProducerChris Thomas
The Pretenders chronology
Pretenders II
(1981) 		Learning to Crawl
(1984) 		Get Close
(1986)
Singles from Learning to Crawl
  1. "Back on the Chain Gang"
    Released: 17 September 1982
  2. "2000 Miles"
    Released: 18 November 1983 (UK)
  3. "Middle of the Road"
    Released: November 1983 (US)
  4. "Show Me"
    Released: March 1984 (US)
  5. "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"
    Released: 25 May 1984[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Austin Chronicle[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Mojo[6]
PopMatters10/10[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[10]
Uncut8/10[11]
The Village VoiceA−[12]

Learning to Crawl is the third studio album by British-American rock band the Pretenders. It was released on 13 January 1984 by Sire Records after a hiatus during which band members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died of drug overdoses. The album's title of "Learning to Crawl" was given in honour of Chrissie Hynde's then-infant daughter, Natalie Rae Hynde. She was learning to crawl at the time that Hynde was trying to determine a title for the album.

Learning to Crawl was a critical and commercial success, reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. In the United States, it peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US.

  1. ^ "BPI".
  2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 14.
  3. ^ Deming, Mark. "Learning to Crawl – Pretenders". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2006.
  4. ^ Hernandez, Raoul (15 June 2007). "Reissues". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (12 August 1990). "The Best of the Pretenders". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  6. ^ McNair, James (May 2006). "The Pretenders' snaggle-toothed pop perfection". Mojo. No. 150.
  7. ^ Besenyodi, Adam (11 July 2007). "Pretenders: Learning to Crawl". PopMatters. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  8. ^ Loder, Kurt (16 February 1984). "Pretenders: Learning To Crawl". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2006.
  9. ^ Considine, J. D.; Skanse, Richard (2004). "The Pretenders". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 653–654. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. ^ Powers, Ann (1995). "Pretenders". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 309–310. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  11. ^ Pinnock, Tom (April 2017). "Golden Hynde". Uncut. No. 239. p. 83.
  12. ^ Christgau, Robert (21 February 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 15 June 2015.