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Packed!
Studio album by Pretenders
Released	14 May 1990
Studio	AIR Studios (London) Mayfair Studios (London) Abbey Road Studios (London) Sunset Sound Factory (Los Angeles)
Genre	Alternative rock, new wave
Length	38:38
Label	Sire WEA Records
Producer	Mitchell Froom
Pretenders chronology
The Singles (1987) Packed! (1990) Last of the Independents (1994)
Singles from Packed!
"Never Do That" Released: May 1990 "Sense of Purpose" Released: October 1990

Packed! is the fifth studio album by rock group Pretenders, released in 1990.

Besides band leader Chrissie Hynde, no other person is pictured anywhere within the album package. At the time the album was recorded, the only other remaining official member from the band's previous album was drummer Blair Cunningham, who plays on all tracks, though he is not credited as part of the band. As all other musicians appearing on the album are session musicians, some observers have characterized the album as a Hynde solo recording using the Pretenders name to satisfy contractual obligations. However, the lineup that recorded the album has some consistency with past studio lineups of the band: guitarist Billy Bremner, who had previously played with the band as a session musician on their "Back on the Chain Gang"/"My City Was Gone" single, appears on most of the tracks, as does bassist John McKenzie, who had played some bass on the band's previous studio album, Get Close (1986).

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Tribune
Robert Christgau	A−
Entertainment Weekly	B−
Los Angeles Times
Rolling Stone

Track listing

All songs by Chrissie Hynde, except where noted.

1. "Never Do That" – 3:20
2. "Let's Make a Pact" – 3:18
3. "Millionaires" – 3:04
4. "May This Be Love" (Jimi Hendrix) – 2:43
5. "No Guarantee" – 3:47
6. "When Will I See You" (Hynde, Johnny Marr) – 4:53
7. "Sense of Purpose" – 3:03
8. "Downtown (Akron)" – 2:43
9. "How Do I Miss You" – 4:21
10. "Hold a Candle to This" – 3:37
11. "Criminal" – 3:49

Personnel

• Chrissie Hynde – guitar (1–3, 5–11), vocals (1–11), backing vocals (6, 7)
• Blair Cunningham – drums (1–11), backing vocals (1, 8)

Additional personnel

• Billy Bremner – guitar (1–6, 8, 9, 11), backing vocals (1, 3, 8)
• John McKenzie – bass guitar (2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11), backing vocals (8)
• Tchad Blake – guitar (4,5)
• Mitchell Froom – keyboards (2, 4–6, 9, 11)
• Dominic Miller – guitar (7, 10), bass guitar and backing vocals (7)
• David Rhodes – guitar (3, 11)
• Tim Finn – backing vocals (6)
• Mark Hart – backing vocals (6)
• Will MacGregor – bass guitar and backing vocals (1)
• Teo Miller – backing vocals (3)
• Tony "Gad" Robinson – bass guitar and backing vocals (9)
• Duane Delano Verh – bass guitar (4)
• Adey Wilson – backing vocals (3)

Technical

• Tchad Blake – engineer
• Geoff Foster, Rob Jaczko, Teo Miller – studio assistants
• Jill Furmanovsky – photography

Charts

References

1. "Happy 25th: Pretenders, Packed! – Rhino". rhino.com.
2. AllMusic Review
3. "Pretenders Packed! (Sire) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) In..." chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
4. "Packed!". Entertainment Weekly. 1 June 1990. Archived from the original on 31 March 2007.
5. CROMELIN, RICHARD (20 May 1990). "*** PRETENDERS "Packed!" Sire/Warner Bros. : Albums are rated from one star (poor) to five stars (a classic)". Los Angeles Times.
6. "Robert Christgau: CG: pretenders". robertchristgau.com.
7. "Pretenders: Packed : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". archive.org. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007.
8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 224.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Pretenders – Packed!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
10. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Pretenders – Packed!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
11. "Charts.nz – The Pretenders – Packed!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
12. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Pretenders – Packed!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
13. "Swedishcharts.com – The Pretenders – Packed!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
14. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
15. "The Pretenders Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

• The Pretenders albums
• 1990 albums
• Albums produced by Mitchell Froom
• Sire Records albums