Why was I not told that the Pretenders completely rule???

My coworker and I bore the rest of the office to tears on a daily basis when we start talking about music. We talk about it constantly because our tastes follow a nice Venn Diagram, with lots of similar likes. And occasionally we force something upon the other much to both's delight. I got him Feist, because really, how can you not love ya some Feist?

Then he came to work with the Pretenders’ boxed set Pirate Radio and I became a little dubious. See, within Charlie’s side of our Venn Diagram, there are some great bands and songwriters who recorded in the early 80s, and nomatter how great the songwriting, I'm often unable to get past the recording styles of the time. Even the most basic of recordings can scream 80s too loud for me.

But he insisted that the Pretenders were "really, really, REALLY good." He told me this every day for a week. So I bit, and now I ask... WHY WAS I NOT TOLD THAT THE PRETENDERS WERE REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD???

Oh wait, I was. But I tell you, from track 1 on this album, I was sold...

Precious (Demo)

I sent this track on to mi hermano in Germany, and he agreed that the song is just as it promises — "precious." Very mid-70s punk, and just so darn catchy.

But then I hear this Kinks cover:

Stop Your Sobbing

And I'm completely COMPLETELY sold. The Kinks/Beach Boys jangle of it, the beautiful production. I say again WHY WAS I NOT TOLD THAT THE PRETENDERS WERE REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD???

Oh wait... my Co-worker seems to be indicating that he himself told me that the pretenders were REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD. Why didn't I listen sooner?