THE PRETENDERS RECLAIM A PIECE OF THE ROCK

On the latest Pretenders album, “Get Close,” rock’s tough-and-tender queen bee Chrissie Hynde goes all soft on us, mooning and swooning over true love like a recent bride and new mom.

Fair enough--after all, she fits both those categories. And it’s true that the record’s generally placid tone makes for an interesting change of pace from the Pretenders’ usual aggressive fare. But Hynde hasn’t found a substitute for the missing musical tension, and despite the album’s sincerity and intimacy and its moments of rage, “Get Close” is Hynde’s least compelling work since she arrived with a big bang seven years ago.

At the Pretenders’ concert Saturday at the Sports Arena, Hynde approached the “Get Close” material as a diversion, dipping into it occasionally (and in the case of the stately, psychedelic “Tradition of Love,” expanding and improving it considerably) rather than making it the centerpiece. The real heart of the show was the aggressive sound of the older music.

As a Midwesterner in her mid-30s who moved to London in the middle of the punk upheaval, Hynde combines American soul and heartland hard rock, ‘60s Brit-pop and ‘70s punk.

It’s a distinctive blend, and the best rockers Saturday--”The Adultress,” the Creedence-like “My City Is Gone,” “Bad Boys Get Spanked”--came hurtling headlong in the best Pretenders tradition: explosive, slashing guitar duels where the chords clashed like storm clouds.

Hynde’s stature as a bandleader and all-purpose rock star has tended to overshadow what might be her greatest strength: her singing.

The harsh arena sound didn’t help, but even when she had to push her voice, it came through the mix with all its richness and brightness--along with the slightly worn edge of experience that gives it its special character. Her gripping vocal and extemporaneous dialogue on the soul-blues ballad “Chill Factor” was another case of the “Get Close” material gaining unexpected new life.

Hynde’s new sidemen delivered musically, but she’s flanked by two bland performers--guitarist Robbie McIntosh and bassist Malcolm Foster. She could really use someone with a strong presence to work off, to rub against for a little friction. She tried a bit with McIntosh, but didn’t get much back.

That left Hynde to rely on her cool authority, which was enough. Like the music, her manner accommodates mainstream conventions without compromising intelligence, and she even made the “hello Los Angeles” routine seem sincere and dignified. She was sharp and alert as she prowled the stage--she never slipped into automatic.

Hynde was defiant and funny (she kept addressing the “girls” in the audience, as in, “Are you ready, girls?” and she made a big ceremony of kissing the stage where second-billed Iggy Pop had stood). And it was oddly touching when she dedicated the new “Light of the Moon” to Liberace.

If nothing happened to lift the show into the ranks of the truly cosmic, it was still memorable as an encouraging re-establishment of the Pretenders’ rock ‘n’ roll soul.

It was also memorable for the aforementioned Iggy Pop’s opening set, which began on a depressing note--here was a virtual rock ‘n’ roll legend playing to more empty seats than people as the crowd trickled in. But as his intensity picked up and the fans encouraged him more and more, he turned it into a minor triumph, capped with a few choruses right down in the audience.

Iggy headlines Fender’s tonight, then rejoins the Pretenders Tuesday at Orange Pavilion in San Bernardino.