Snapper (label)
02 February 2015 (released)
24 December 2014
Quite an outrageous proposition: a limited edition (2000 copies only) celebrating the Pretty Things over 11 studio albums on CD, 2 rarities CDs, 2 DVDs and a replica acetate together with a 100 page hardcover book. If it was almost any other band from the early 60’s you might say “So what?” but The Pretty Things were/are arguably as influential as The Rolling Stones or the Who.
They were the first band to release a ‘concept’ rock opera in ‘SF Sorrow’, one of the first London bands to embrace psychedelia, the hardest living and most constant band of the time – oh, and they were also hated by the church, banned from more halls than The Rolling Stones (or the Sex Pistols) and also banned from the Southern Hemisphere (for a while) after the drummer – Viv Prince – set fire to a bag of crayfish on an internal flight.
Joey Ramone rated them so highly he even credited them with inventing garage rock and Bowie used two of their songs on his ‘Pin Ups’ album.
They started life as a raw R&B band with a huge Bo Diddley beat to their music but over the years developed into a dynamite live band and kept up with changes in music so that they were always in touch with what the ‘kids’ were into, somehow keeping their own identity through moves into psychedelic, rock and even punk.
Of the 11 studio albums here at least six are essential for any decent music collection:
‘The Pretty Things’ (1965) is raw, aggressive R&B with a tough edge and a sense of real fun.
‘Emotions’ (1967) sees them experimenting with acid and pop/psychedelic
‘SF Sorrow’ (1968) was the first rock opera, predating ‘Tommy’ and recorded at Abbey Road
‘Parachute’ (1970) saw them in rock territory and proving they could play as well as any
‘Silk Torpedo’ (1974) has them getting their mojo back and rediscovering pop
‘Balboa Island’ (2007) came out of nowhere but is probably their most complete album since ‘…Sorrow’ and saw them back onstage in London at the 100 Club – their spiritual home.
Any of the other albums have great moments as well and some of the bonus tracks in the collection are brilliant.
As a package it is pretty exhaustive and does a seminal band justice – I couldn’t even quibble over the price because you get an entire career laid out before you.
http://www.theprettythings.net/
