Pretty+things

For whatever reason, Pretty Things failed to make significant inroads in the U.S. when the window of opportunity was open widest. Perhaps the Rolling Stones, the Who, and the Animals more than fulfilled the quota for invading bad boys. Maybe their sophomoric (and less than artistic) obsession with drugs played a role, though that's doubtful, given the preponderance of mind-altering substance cheerleading by '60s bands. Like the Stones, Pretty Things incorporated garage, R&B, and psychedelia into their aggressive style of rock & roll…

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…

It is a hefty box in every sense: 13 CDs, supplemented with two DVDs, accompanied by a gorgeous hardcover book and a variety of tchotchkes, including a poster that traces the twisted family trees and time lines of the band and, just as helpfully, replicas of legal documents that explain why the group didn't retain rights to its recordings for years…

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…

"The EP Collection… Plus" offers a great overview of the Pretty Things, who played alongside the Rolling Stones in the small clubs of mid-60s London. The Pretty Things offer a brand of hard R&B that was similar to the Stones of that period, but harder and rawer…

Rage Before Beauty is by far the best of the latter-day Pretty Things albums. If you're already a fan, you'll hear all the things you love about the band. But fans and newcomers to the Pretties will be pleasantly surprised how much power these guys still display…

Live archive release from the British rockers. Recorded in 1992. They roar through a collection of classic material including 'Louie Louie', 'I Want Candy' and '96 Tears'. Lending a hand are some of their musical friends including members of the Inmates and Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum.

The legendary cult heroes' final electric performance, recorded at the O2 Indigo London in December 2018. Celebrating 55 years of the greatest band most people have never heard of, The Final Bow captures The Pretty Things at their rocking and unique best across 3 sets of classic tracks featuring guest appearances from David Gilmour and Van Morrison…

Before the Pretty Things began dabbling with psychedelia in the late '60s, they were primarily a R&B-influenced rock band. The double-disc, 34-track The Rhythm & Blues Years collection compiles the work from that early era in the band's history…

If there's a band that deserves a good compilation, it's the Pretty Things. Thankfully, Snapper has the rights to the band's entire catalog, and has done an excellent job of remastering individual albums. This best-of is derived from that remastered material and does the Pretty Things proud with an extensive and exhaustive trawl through the group's archives…