Review: With their fourth overall album released in late 1968, The Pretty Things produced what was arguably the first true rock opera called SF Sorrow. The album was based on a short story by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Phil May, which tells the tragic story of the fictional Sebastian F. Sorrow, who grows increasingly mad and disillusioned as the story (and album) moves forward. Band members and some critics have claimed SF Sorrow was a major influence on The Who’s Tommy (released the following year) although Pete Townshend has claimed it had no influence on his writing. In any case, the eclectic styles of rock by The Pretty Things seemed to have a big influence on several later artists. Named after a Bo Diddley song from 1955, The Pretty Things evolved from a group called Little Boy Blue, which featured Keith Richards and Mick Jagger and guitarist Dick Taylor. All three joined Brian Jones’ and Ian Stewart’s band, called “Rollin’ Stones”, but Taylor quit after a few months to study at art school. Here he joined up with May and manager Bryan Morrison to form the original incarnation of The Pretty Things. Through 1964 and 1965, the group had a handful hit singles in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and some European countries, but they never broke though in the United States. By the end of 1967, there had been much personnel turnover and the newest incarnation of The Pretty Things entered Abbey Road studios to start their most ambitious album. Recorded over a full year and produced by Norman Smith, the album sessions featured two tracks which were omitted and instead released as a single in February 1968, “Talking About the Good Times” and “Walking Through My Dreams”. The following month, drummer Skip Alan suddenly quit the band and was replaced by Twink from the recently defunct band, Tomorrow. Songs on the album have a nice blend of rock, folk, blues, and psychedelic elements with innovative arrangements. However, the production and mastering techniques contain a lack of focus make it sound a bit dated and inaccessible for all but the most seasoned listener.
Tracklist: 01 S.F. Sorrow Is Born 02 Bracelets Of Fingers 03 She Says Good Morning 04 Private Sorrow 05 Balloon Burning 06 Death 07 Baron Saturday 08 The Journey 09 I See You 10 Well Of Desitiny 11 Trust 12 Old Man Going 13 Loneliest Person
Summary: Country: UK Genre: Rock, psychedelic rock
Media Report: Source : CD Format : FLAC Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : ~ 622-907 Kbps Channel(s) : 2 channels Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz Bit depth : 16 bits