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The Best Pretty Things Music You Never Heard

Howard Friedman | Orlando, FL USA | 08/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's no Honey I Need; Don't Bring Me Down; Midnight To Six; Rosalyn; stuff here. This is mostly looser--but good--production of S.F. Sorrow/Emotions era Pretty Things. It is a shame they didn't manage to tour the U.S. touting a hit record or single during this era. I understand they recorded this stuff for low budget films for some extra bread. We're all fortunate that we can this additional glimpse of prime Pretties. If you like the Pretty Things circa S.F. Sorrow, this is a must. Here are the songs:



Alexander. "Eastern shores they seem so full of promise . . ." This is a mid to fast blues rock number with a psychedelic chorus-- You loving me love the firegod. Wally Waller backup vocals. (Waller's vocals, especially Sickle Clowns (Parachute) remind me of John Lennon's Yer Blues vocal.) Alexander has the overdriven modern crunchy and distorted guitar sound. Call and answer between guitar and vocal. Vocal harmonies on the chorus. I get the impression that someone mixing the song is turning up and down the levels on the guitar. Louder (call), then softer during each vocal stanza (answer). Two lead guitar solo parts nice ascending guitar harmony parts at the end. The lyrics give me a Cream Tales of Brave Ulysses vibe. One of the top songs on the disc.



It'll Never Be Me. "Sad eyes turn away from the looking glass . . . No, It'll never be me lookin' at you that way." Classic Wally Waller harmony vocals on the chorus. Twin guitar solos sounding somewhere between Jane's Addiction and the Beatles She Said, She Said. The song structure is roughly blues oriented, reminding me of the Stones' Stray Cat Blues. However it has a chorus unlike the Stones' tune. This is in my top 3 choices for best tune on the disc.



Grey Skies. This song has a pace and verse structure I can best compare to a ska version of Ben E. King's Stand By Me, except the guitar plays arpeggios. The chorus section has a 66-67 boutique sounding ascending line over a minor chord; reminiscent of but less contemporary and a bit sloppier than Jimmy Page on Achilles Last Stand (Presence).



I Love You. I am somewhat reminded of a slow Kinks kind of groove--like an All Day and All the Night semi-crunchy bar chord progression, but a bit slower and less aggressive. The middle has the Indian raga feel, except wah-wah guitar instead of sitar.



What's Good for the Goose. British pubby sounding. What does "pubby" mean?--Well I don't exactly know--somewhere between Cream singing, "My baby has gone down the plughole" or Herman's Hermit's singing "I'm Henry the Eighth" I'm envisioning a drunken pub sing-a-long. I don't think the film for which this was written won any major awards.



If I Needed Somebody. This has nothing to do with the Bee Gees or Beatles similarly titled songs. With the acoustic or perhaps direct inputted, uneffected electric guitar, (clean sound), and horn arrangements, this would fit nicely on Emotions.



Street Girl. They were handed this song. Phil May declined and Wally Waller sings it. I am reminded a little bit of the Animals cover of See See Rider. No discernable keyboards on this number. Blues rocker with over driven guitar and solos throughout. "Street Girl stuck beneath the lamp light --blues fill. Street girl waitin' till the time is right."



Blow Your Mind. A fast blues rocker romp with a head riff emphasizing the 7th. Mosquito sounding guitar or what Clapton refers to on the Cream Farewell Concert interview as "womantone". I simply call it electric guitar through an overdriven amplifier with no treble. Interesting rock song, if a bit sloppy, with a tempo change with repetitive organ riff in the middle. Wally Waller trademark, "Lennonesque" raspy midrange backround vocals. Future Pink Fairies suspect on skins.



Eagle's Son. Perhaps the best track on the disc. Overdriven guitar--Dick Taylor. This and Alexander easily fit with the band's S.F. Sorrow sound. Private Sorrow however, wasn't an Eagle's Son nor did he invade the distant beaches with Alexander. This is a song with a driving beat, roughly comparable to "Old Man Going" (from S.F. Sorrow), but more of a protest song. Fuzz tone with a psychedelic falsetto chorus. One of the better Dick Taylor guitar solos from this era. There was a video of the group miming to this from a German movie on You Tube at one time.



I See You. Diff't version of the S.F. Sorrow track. This is a looser--but interesting alternate-- production of the S.F. Sorrow song.



Love, Dance & Sing. This song reminds me of the Doors for its simple blues structure and the vocal style. No discernable keyboards.



Danger Signs has that Emotions horn sound. Emotions meets Motown. The beat is a bit like Marvin Gaye's "Pride and Joy". Chorus a little reminiscent of Heat Wave. Interesting pop tone.



Walking Down The Street. Very Emotions era sounding tune. Bari sax and unaffected d/i sounding electric guitar intro. Horn arrangements over basic Pretties track.



A Thousand Ages From the Sun. This reminds me of one of those country rock influenced tunes that Badfinger did. Basic unaffected direct input guitar, (clean sound) bass, drums and vocals.



Rave Up. Wally Waller bass; John Povey organ; John Alder drums; Dick Taylor guitar. Phil May probably somewhere around this. This reminds me of the Yardbirds "Stroll On". It's not the Train Kept-A-Rollin at all. It just generates the same kind of level of guitar feedback and excitement.



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