Nights At The Roundtable - The Pretty Things - 1965
(If they only had Mick - they would have out Rolling Stoned The Rolling Stones)
Of all the so-called "British Invasion" bands of the 1964-1965 period, the one that stands out as being criminally ignored by U.S. audiences would have to be The Pretty Things. They were without question one of the most raw, loud and rowdy bands of the period, which may have been the reason they weren't picked up by any labels in the States until the late 60s. Reading press reports from New Musical Express and Melody Maker, their concerts and club dates were near-riots and their personal exploits became stuff of rock n' roll legend. It was said The Rolling Stones, whom various members of The Pretty Things were associated with early on, paled by comparison. They were, above all, a huge influence on a number of blues-based bands of the period - not only The Rolling Stones, but The Yardbirds and several others.
This track, Can't Stand The Pain, epitomized who they were during those early days when I picked up one of their first eps on import "The Pretty Things On Film".
If you're not familiar with them - now's the time to get acquainted with a legend.
S.F Sorrow!
And the criminally neglected Silk Torpedo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trE5GT3FpTw
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfD-E9hKCWM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEMZv2r3Yp0&NR=1
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI1tdvH2L4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpDRl2uD3_c
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
That cut was great.
I was not aware of this band.
I'm going to check out more of their music for sure -- Thanks.
It's amazing how well the Pretties' best stuff holds up all these decades later, from their early punky R&B to their great psychedelic stuff to their landmark rock opera SF Sorrow, which predated (and apparently influenced) The Who's Tommy. The band's connection with the Stones goes back pretty far; Pretties guitarist Dick Taylor was the Stones' bassist (pre-Bill Wyman). As of a few years ago, the Pretties were still out there, still kicking ass onstage with most of their 1967 lineup intact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-YBMV_Tqg&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I hate to say it, because such things shouldn't really matter, but their name SUCKED! Maybe, just maybe, that had something to do with it!
http://pundita.blogspot.com/2009/11/hell-to-p...
Nostalgia never harmed anyone I suppose.
thanks
http://www.teletext.co.uk/regionalnews/centsc...
"Trust no one, Mr. Mulder." - Well-Manicured Man
Their debut LP was released in the US on Fontana in 1965. Their first US 45, 'Roslyn', was played for a few weeks in the Boston - Providence market but didn't "catch on". "Don't Bring Me Down" received even less airplay once the programmers paid attention to the lyrics, part of which went: "... and then I laid her on the ground/ my head was spinning 'round/ don't bring me down."
You see, back then, the mere suggestion of sexual relations was enough to have airplay suddenly terminated and The Pretty Things (great name, exitstageleft!) were definitely terminated by US radio stations.
'Rosalyn' was a great record! Lots of screaming and lots of drums - the perfect recipe for a single in the 60's! Their debut LP was pretty good, too - but, let's face it - they were "also-rans" next to the Stones, The Kinks and The Beatles. Dave Davies once said that Viv Prince had been invited to try out for The Kinks but never showed up for the audition because he was drunk. Years and years later I found out that the exquisite drumming on 'Rosalyn' wasn't performed by him at all - it was the ubiquitous Bobby Graham, instead. (Bobby played drums on just about everybody's records - he has a website that includes a list of the hundreds of records he gigged on)
SF Sorrow was released in the late Fall of 1969 on Rare Earth in the US. Great, great record - and completely overlooked. Thank you Gordonskene!
By the way, another Fontana single that suddenly "disappeared" from the radio in the US was 1966's 'Bend It' by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich (did I get that name right?).
You can find the Euro version, with totally different and totally harmless lyrics, on YouTube but the American single was positively nasty. And excellent. I bought mine before it got banned.
you know your stuff!
rhino records: nuggets 2:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuggets_II:_Orig...
and, mojo presents acid drops, space dust, and flying saucers:
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Mojo-Presents-...
two great comps which also capture the two truly great songs of another underappreciated artist unrelated to the pretty things, billy nichols
girl from new york (feat: steve marriot--small faces, humble pie)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UneE7kAHx98
london social degree
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd_43mm9RaU&fe...
Just bought the whole damn catalog.
Thanks posting, Fanfrickentastic.
The Electric Banana
same band, different name
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7NTJdqJCuI&fe...
..who opened for the Rolling Stones on one of their tours.
They had a pretty big hit with Gaslight, a song that was more pop than their usual.
Most of the rest of their material was somewhere between the Stones and the Kinks. This one is typical: She Ain't No Use to Me
"In theory theory and practice are alike. In practice they are very different."
I think Parachute was Rolling Stones record of the year in 1970 or '71. A really great record. Yes Silk Torpedo was a great record too. And SF Sorrow. But Parachute is still my favorite Pretty Things album.
...the good press these guys got. When I was in high school in the Midwest (that's how old I am), I bought a 45 of what I think is their biggest UK hit, Don't Bring Me Down. Like this one, the production quality was not the best, and the sound was thin, scattered, and over-echoed, though Don't Bring Me Down was much better. Whatever they were doing to their audiences, it wasn't coming through on the records I heard. There was just no comparison between that sound and what I heard on the first two Stones records I came across - Not Fade Away, and It's All Over Now. The first time the second one came on the car radio, I almost drove off the road, had to park, and sat there transfixed until it was over. Very powerful sound. My father also was transfixed (not to mention disgusted and horrified) not long after that when he ended up staying next to the Stones for several days at the Water Tower Inn in Chicago during their first (unsuccessful) American tour. Between the records and that, I was sold for life.
are the most overrated Rock n Roll band in existence. They been basically mailing it in for the last 35 years. In their heyday, I bought many of their albums, and without exception they featured poor sound engineering, tinny and uneven. The physical albums almost always skipped after 4 or 5 plays. IMHO again, two of the most underappreciated British bands were the Hollies (great harmonies) in the 60's and The Boomtown Rats(Big Band Punk?) in the 80's. I'd love to get my hands on another copy of "V Deep" and around the neck of the bastard who stole mine.
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