Mick Hartley

Politics and Culture

The Sweet Pretty Things

May 30, 2009

I mentioned the Pretty Things a couple of weeks back, and here's a fine article about them – "the great lost British band" – in the Standard, complete with Phil May reminiscences from the Sixties. They are, apparently, about to be handed Mojo magazine's coveted Hero award. Well no, I'd never heard of it either.

Never commercially successful, they were always admired by critics and fellow musicians:

Outsiders or not, these revered pop Zeligs moved in the most rarefied of Sixties company. Bob Dylan, on a visit to London, insisted that bard and band spent a day together. “We've never met since,” May sighs, but Dylan did namecheck the group on his song Tombstone Blues.

Hmm.

The sweet pretty things are in bed now of course
The city fathers they're trying to endorse
The reincarnation of Paul Revere's horse
But the town has no need to be nervous.,,,

I'm not sure that counts as a namecheck any more than "Like a Rolling Stone" was a namecheck to the Stones, but still….

Here's the original Rosalyn track from 1964, with the band as they are now:

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5 responses to “The Sweet Pretty Things”

dearieme

May 30, 2009

Terribly raucous.

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Sheddie

May 31, 2009

This song was epochéal. The eidetic reduction shows this to be the
best example of the Bo Diddley theme by someone other than the
great man himself.

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Mick H

May 31, 2009

Well said!

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TDK

June 1, 2009

You might find this of some interest:
http://halsprogressiverockblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/pretty-things-philippe-de-barge-acetate.html
Apparently in a low patch they were approach by Philippe de Barge a rich Frenchman who commissioned an LP from them upon which he would sing. I don’t think it was ever officially released. I guess you can download from blog (although I haven’t tried). All unreleased albums (cf Smile) quickly earn a reputation as absolutely brilliant despite the fact that no one has heard them.
They also had a career producing film soundtracks. This was released as The Electric Banana (3 CDs) and it’s pretty reasonable.
The best thing they did was SF Sorrow.

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Robert of Portugal

June 11, 2011

Ah…
“All unreleased albums (cf Smile) quickly earn a reputation as absolutely brilliant despite the fact that no one has heard them…The best thing they did was SF Sorrow…”
Yes but… The Pretty Things are the exception that proves the rule, or whatever. Their unreleased or almost unreleased stuff from 1967 to ’69 is indescribably great. Philippe de Barge, plus the many songs they recorded as “The Electric Banana”. Speaking for myself, this arcana was the first Pretty Things music I knew, and it’s up there with SF Sorrow.

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