utorak, 03.11.2009.
Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow 1968) (Digipak Remaster 2002)
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.]...B. Eder
1968's S.F. Sorrow is arguably the first concept album ever recorded (although depending on what your definition of a concept is, that point can be debated). It traces the story of a man called Sebastian Sorrow from birth to his eventual demise across a largely dark journey, as one could probably determine when a song title called 'Death' turns up halfway through. Musically though, this is also a landmark album featuring some great psychedelic moments on, in particular the intense riff that propels 'Balloon Burning' and the maddening, effects-laden spiral that concludes 'Baron Saturday' bookending the despair on 'Death' where Phil May's vocals stink of dislocation and regret; somehow one gets the feeling that this story doesn't have a happy ending. Along with 'Odessey And Oracle' by The Zombies this is one of those lost great rock albums which has only been appreciated retrospectively; it would quite feasibly be hailed as a masterpiece if it was released today. This reissue 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...Bob Hope
Codec: mp3
Bitrate: 320 kB/s
Size ca.: 158 MB
Genre : Rock
2000mustangs
Tracklist:
01. S.F. Sorrow Is Born 3.08
02. Bracelets Of Fingers 3.39
03. She Says Good Morning 3.19
04. Private Sorrow 3.50
05. Balloon Burning 3.47
06. Death 3.05
07. Baron Saturday 3.58
08. The Journey 2.45
09. I See You 3.56
10. Well Of Destiny 1.45
11. Trust 2.45
12. Old Man Going 3.07
13. Loneliest Person 1.26
14. Defecting Grey (Bonus Track) 4.28
15. Mr. Evasion (Bonus Track) 3.28
16. Talkin' About The Good Times 3.43
17. Walking Through My Dreams (Bonus Track) 3.36
18. Private Sorrow (Bonus Track) 3.52
19. Balloon Burning (Bonus Track) 3.47
20. Defecting Grey (Bonus Track) 5.10
