Chrissie Hynde has always had a way of making things feel immediate, even when the spark that starts a project comes from a half-playful, throwaway suggestion. But her newly announced Duets Special, due October 17 via Parlophone, feels like the result of lightning striking and her being savvy enough to bottle it.
The Pretenders frontwoman has assembled a line-up that reads like a cross-genre, cross-generation dream bill. We’re talking k.d. lang, Mark Lanegan, Lucinda Williams, Dave Gahan, Cat Power, Rufus Wainwright, Carleen Anderson, Brandon Flowers, Julian Lennon, Debbie Harry, Alan Sparhawk, Shirley Manson and Dan Auerbach. Each name on its own has enough artistic pedigree to anchor an entire project, collectively, they’re a testament to both Hynde’s collaborative spirit and the respect she commands.
The first glimpse comes via her take on Always On My Mind , yes, the Elvis-associated ballad, alongside Rufus Wainwright. It’s tender without being saccharine, delivered with the kind of lived-in honesty that’s less about perfect vocal polish and more about emotional truth.
Hynde says she “never thought about doing a Duets album before,” and credits the origin to a 2023 conversation with Jörn Weisbrodt, Wainwright’s husband. “I think we were recommending novels to each other and for some reason I said hey, maybe Rufus and I should do something, and quickly scribbled out 10 songs off the top of my head,” she recalls. Weisbrodt pitched it to Wainwright, “who was up for it,” and just like that, the seed was planted.
Not every pairing is straightforward. The tracklist includes a song with Mark Lanegan, who passed away in 2022. It’s unclear whether their collaboration was captured before his death or if Hynde added her part to an existing recording, but her connection to him was clear, having performed at his 60th birthday tribute at London’s Roundhouse last December.
For Hynde, Duets Special isn’t about cynically engineering star power, it’s about instinct, chemistry, and saying “yes” when the right ideas land in your lap. If the first single is any indicator, October 17 could deliver one of the year’s most intriguing and heartfelt collections.
