[youtube]toq7cNCC1KE[/youtube] She is the great pretender or leader of The Pretenders, and he is a Welsh rocker who fell in love with this Pretender. So what’s the fuss?  She is the ageless Chrissie Hynde and he is JP Jones, 27 years younger. On their debut album, JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys’ Fidelity, the two tell the heart-wrenching tale of their impossible love. The sexual tension and longing fill every groove, guitar lick, duet and refrain.

Fidelity is a potpourri of dramatic acoustic and rock balladry tinged with country and folk.  The melodic intertwining of Hynde’s trademark alto falsetto and Jones’s raspy vocals play off each other well. Hynde, the female rocker with the tough exterior has emotional vulnerability just under the surface here. The songs are as liberating as heartbreaking with Jones at her side. “Perfect Lover” epitomizes the lyrical sentiment on all 11 tracks, as Hynde bares her soul: I found my perfect lover but he’s only half my age / He was learning how to stand when I was wearing my first wedding band / I found my perfect lover but I have to turn the page / But I want him in my kitchen and standing on my stage. The rocker in this grouping is “If You Let Me” and it comes off with an urgency brimming with want.