¡Viva El Amor!

¡Viva el Amor!
Studio album by The Pretenders
Released	May 16, 1999
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	45:05
Label	Warner Bros. WEA Records
Producer	Stephen Hague, Stephen Street
The Pretenders chronology
The Isle of View (1995) ¡Viva el Amor! (1999) Loose Screw (2002)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
BBC	(average)[2]
Los Angeles Times	[3]
Melody Maker	[4]
People	(favorable)[5]
Robert Christgau	A−[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]

¡Viva El Amor! (Spanish for Long Live Love) is the seventh studio album by the rock band The Pretenders, released in 1999. The band's lineup for the album is the same as that credited on 1994's Last of the Independents: Chrissie Hynde (vocals, guitar) Martin Chambers (drums), Andy Hobson (bass) and Adam Seymour (guitar). This time, however, the credited line-up actually plays on most of the album, although Hobson is replaced on bass by session musicians on a few cuts.

Viva, featuring a cover photograph of Hynde taken by friend Linda McCartney, saw moderate success in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its two lead singles were "Popstar" and "Human", the latter a Divinyls cover. The Class Mix of "Human" was used as the theme music to the short-lived American TV series Cupid as well as featuring in the soundtrack to Brenda Blethyn movie Saving Grace. The album charted in the UK, US and Sweden.

Track listing[]

1. "Popstar" (Chrissie Hynde, Adam Seymour) – 3:34
2. "Human" (Shelly Peiken, Mark McEntee) – 3:55
3. "From the Heart Down" (Hynde, Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly) – 3:31
4. "Nails in the Road" (Hynde, Steinberg, Kelly) – 3:25
5. "Who's Who" (Hynde) – 4:11
6. "Dragway 42" (Hynde) – 5:19
7. "Baby's Breath" (Hynde, Steinberg, Kelly) – 3:15
8. "One More Time" (Hynde) – 3:15
9. "Legalise Me" (Hynde) – 3:51
10. "Samurai" (Hynde) – 4:43
11. "Rabo de Nube" (Silvio Rodríguez) – 1:26
12. "Biker" (Hynde) – 4:40

Personnel[]

The Pretenders[]

• Chrissie Hynde – vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
• Adam Seymour – lead guitar, bass
• Andy Hobson – Bass guitar
• Martin Chambers – drums

Additional personnel[]

• Jeff Beck – guitar on "Legalise Me"
• David Johansen – vocals on "Popstar"
• Andy Duncan – percussion, programming
• Stephen Hague – keyboards
• Chuck Norman – percussion
• Jules Shear – backing vocals
• John Metcalfe – string arrangements
• The Duke Quartet:
  • Louisa Fuller – violin
  • Richard Koster – violin
  • Ivan McCready – cello
  • John Metcalfe – viola

Production[]

Recorded and mixed at:

The Townhouse Studio – London

Sarm West Studio – London, RAK Studio – London

Bearsville Sound Studio – Bearsville NY

Innovation Studios – London

Mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis Studio – London

Engineered by Julie Gardner, Richard T. Norris, David Boucher, Doug Wynne

Produced by:

Stephen Hague (Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11)

Stephen Street (Tracks 3, 6, 7, 10, 12)

Track 2 remix and additional production by Tin Tin Out for Empire Management, executive producer Rob Dickins

Mixed by:

Bob Clearmountain (Tracks 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Stephen Hague and Richard T. Norris (Tracks 1 and 5)

Cover photo: Linda McCartney Inner sleeve photos: Mary McCartney Artwork: Michael Nash Associates

Notes[]