With the Pretenders' self-titled debut album, Chrissie Hynde set new standards for self-assurance among women rockers -- arguably no female artist had come across so tough, so savvy, and so confident since Janis Joplin's heyday. Hynde could project a tender vulnerability too, but as showcased on The Pretenders, it was remarkably free of sentimentalism and marked by the same strength that powered her more aggressive side. Sitting in the middle ground is "Brass in Pocket (I'm Special)," the Pretenders' first hit single, which nearly reached the Top Ten in 1980. The song is about a woman getting ready to approach her object of attraction for the first time, but in this moment of potential vulnerability, Hynde has such total confidence in her appeal -- both in body and personality -- that instead of having to psych herself up, she's already positively celebratory, and the outcome is a foregone conclusion. She takes it for granted that she can make brazen demands simply because she knows she's worth paying attention to: "I'm gonna make you see/There's nobody else here, no one like me/I'm special, so special/I got to have some of your attention/Give it to me!" Sonically, "Brass in Pocket" covers the coming-on softer and mellower than the harder-rocking numbers which dominated the first half of The Pretenders. However, there's a rolling, hip-shaking backbeat whose laid-back swagger meshes very nicely with Hynde's unshakable confidence, and the song never gets aggressive enough to break its charming spell or make her self-assurance seem implausibly idealized. Aside from Hynde's throaty alto, the sonic textures of "Brass in Pocket" rely mostly on clean-toned electric guitars, given a slight chorusing effect for warmth; there's also a falsetto male chorus whose sole purpose is to echo the lyrics "special" and "make you notice." The song sounds fairly simple, but there is a somewhat unorthodox harmonic shift during the section in which Hynde lists all the attributes she can use to capture a man's attention. Put together, it all makes for a coolly understated classic -- an anthem of empowerment that isn't even conscious of any other way to feel. -- Steve Huey (allmusic.com)