S.F. Sorrow The Pretty Things Artist

Who could ever have thought, going back to {|the Pretty Things|}' first recording session in 1965 -- which started out so disastrously that their original producer quit in frustration -- that it would come to this? {|The Pretty Things|}' early histor... Read more

Who could ever have thought, going back to {|the Pretty Things|}' first recording session in 1965 -- which started out so disastrously that their original producer quit in frustration -- that it would come to this? {|The Pretty Things|}' early history in the studio featured the band with its amps seemingly turned up to 11, but for much of {|S.F. Sorrow|} the band is turned down to seven or four, or even two, or not amplified at all (except for {|Wally Allen|}'s bass -- natch), and they're doing all kinds of folkish things here that are still bluesy enough so you never forget who they are, amid weird little digressions on percussion and chorus; harmony vocals that are spooky, trippy, strange, and delightful; sitars included in the array of stringed instruments; and an organ trying hard to sound like a Mellotron. Sometimes one gets an echo of {|Pink Floyd|}'s {|Piper at the Gates of Dawn|} or {|A Saucerful of Secrets|}, and it all straddles the worlds of {|British blues|} and {|British psychedelia|} better than almost any record you can name. The album, for those unfamiliar, tells the story of {|S.F. Sorrow|}, a sort of British Everyman -- think of a working-class, luckless equivalent to {|the Kinks|}' {|Arthur|}, from cradle to grave. The tale and the songs are a bit downbeat and no amount of scrutiny can disguise the fact that the {|rock|} {|opera|} {|S.F. Sorrow|} is ultimately a bit of a confusing effort -- these boys were musicians, not authors or dramatists. Although it may have helped inspire {|Tommy|}, it is, simply, not nearly as good. That said, it was first and has quite a few nifty ideas and production touches. And it does show a pathway between {|blues|} and {|psychedelia|} that {|the Rolling Stones|}, somewhere between {|Satanic Majesties|}, {|We Love You,|} {|Child of the Moon,|} and {|Beggars Banquet|}, missed entirely. [This CD reissue on {|Snapper|} adds four valuable songs from their 1967-1968 singles ({|Defecting Grey,|} {|Mr. Evasion,|} {|Talkin' About the Good Times,|} and {|Walking Through My Dreams|}). This version of {|Defecting Grey|} is the original, long, uncut five-minute rendition, and not of trivial importance; it's superior to the shorter one used on the official single.] ~ Bruce Eder & Richie Unterberger Less