Ever since 1978, Chrissie Hynde has been the founder and sole permanent member of the Pretenders, one of the all-time great rock bands. The Pretenders are coming up on the 50-year mark, and they’re still making records; their Relentless LP came out in 2023. Hynde, an always-outspoken presence, also releases occasional solo records; her last was the 2021 Bob Dylan tribute album Standing In The Doorway. Today, Hynde announces a new album of duets, called Duets Special and credited to Chrissie Hyde & Pals. She has some impressive pals.

On Duets Special, Chrissie Hynde teams up with a pretty insane roster of singers, including the Killers’ Brandon Flowers, Cat Power, Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Low’s Alan Sparhawk, Garbage’s Shirley Manson, Lucinda Williams, the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, and the late Mark Lanegan. With her guests, Hynde on songs from Elvis Presley, Morrissey, Low, 10cc, the Righteous Brothers, Billy Paul, and Brenda Holloway. She also does a Beatles cover with Julian Lennon. For the lead single, she gets together with Rufus Wainwright to sing the classic “Always On My Mind.”

Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James wrote “Always On My Mind,” and Gwen McRae released the first version of the song in 1972. Tons of other artists have taken the song on since then. Elvis Presley was the first to turn it into a hit, but these days it’s better known as a hit for two different artists in the ’80s — Willie Nelson in 1982 and the Pet Shop Boys in 1987. (Both of those versions absolutely slap.) Chrissie Hynde and Rufus Wainwright offer a stripped-down take on the song, and their voices bump up against each other in some very cool ways. Here’s what Chrissie Hynde says about both the song and the album:

I never thought about doing a duets album before. I think the idea came about in 2023. I was talking to Jörn, Rufus Wainwright’s husband, on the phone. 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. So Jörn asked Rufus, who was up for it, and that’s how it started — a spontaneous and what I thought would be a fun thing.

Below, check out “Always On My Mind” and the Duets Special tracklist.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Me & Mrs Jones” (feat. k.d. lang)
02 “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (feat. Mark Lanegan)
03 “Sway” (feat. Lucinda Williams)
04 “Dolphins” (feat. Dave Gahan)
05 “First Of The Gang To Die” (feat. Cat Power)
06 “Always On My Mind” (feat. Rufus Wainwright)
07 “Every Little Bit Hurts” (feat. Carleen Anderson)
08 “I’m Not In Love” (feat. Brandon Flowers)
09 “It’s Only Love” (feat. Julian Lennon)
10 “Try To Sleep” (feat. Debbie Harry)
11 “County Line” (feat. Alan Sparhawk)
12 “Love Letters” (feat. Shirley Manson)
13 “(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration” (feat. Dan Auerbach)

Duets Special is out 10/17 on Rhino.