The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow | Vinyl Monday

what’s your favorite pretty things song? comment below!

S.F. Sorrow outshines most other British albums of 1968. The sounds they got with Norman are incredible given the technology. Every song is a gem. Blows Tommy away IMHO.

Thank you for this awesome review of one of my favorites, a cult classic that lives up to the hype. You had some valid critiques of where they fell a bit short with the budding "rock opera" format that they were reaching for, but it's still a visionary, potent piece of work. Interesting suggestion about adding one of the other tracks. Maybe "Defecting Grey" on side two as part of Sorrow's later NYC trip?

Bought this album 20 years ago at the German record store in Chicago.

🌹Thanks for this…..I was thrilled the moment it came out back then….Loved it from day one. I can remember the exact moment back then when I heard it for the first time. Balloon burning really blowed me away!!! Til today! But most of the others didn´t like it. Saw the band live several times and everytime I was impressed. I still have the original 1968 album and an original drawing from Phil with his autograph.

yooo, I know you do rock record reviews and the one I would recommend looking at (tho its a little bit pop influenced) is Lonerism by Tame Impala, it does psycheldic rock which idk if you heard of before. In my opinion its a classic. cool review btw

I saw them play it at The Royal Festival Hall. I didn't know that was one of the only times they did it. I feel blessed!

I’ve been waiting for this one, awesome!

Well done Abigail. You put so much research into your videos and provide so much info and context. I like "Balloon Burning" – the bells or chimes after he sees the balloon burning, remind me of feeling specks of ashes on one's face. Very eerie. Other favourites are SF Sorrow Is Born, She Says Good Morning, Baron Saturday, Trust, Loneliest Person.

Funny, from the moment I heard Wally Waller, I couldn't stop thinking about the "Willi Waller 2006" 😉

Sixties Art Major — The Pretty Things never seemed to get a break. My circle liked everything we ever heard by them because of their accomplished RIFF-ology and prolific creativity. You might wish to check out their anonymous "Electric Banana" albums too.
I was personally glad that Swan Song Records recorded them in the 1970's, but they never caught on like I thought they should.

I love this album! One of my upcoming roommates for freshman year at Berklee put me on!

Great album and a good one to cover on your show. I feel that the cover is not at all on par with the music. I have a double "two-fer" version of the album that comes with the Parachute LP as well (also very good), and I like the cover on that better…

Balloon Burning is probably my fave off S.F.Sorrow.

Speaking of pretty things. 🙂
Love your channel and your insights!

Top three favorite record of all time. Thank you so much for covering this incredibly underrated gem of an album!

Baron Samedi = Baron Saturday !!!! YES !!!! THANK YOU ABIGAIL (fave song= "LSD")

Wally Waller's still rocking. Check out his "Kitchen Rock" where he revisits his Pretty Things' classics

It's my favourite album by the pretty Things awesome album

These guys should've been as big as The Beatles, Stones, Who, and Kinks. Such a shame. 🙁

Such an underrated album. Last year I made my own concept album/rock opera called “I Was A Teenage Ventriloquist Dummy” that also has a pretty bleak story arc and SF Sorrow was by far the biggest influence.

Another album from the same year, based on a similar concept of telling a man's life, is "Reality" by the group Second Hand, a group of highly talented London Teenagers. Their mentor was Vic Keary, studio technician and studio co-owner. And also here, the band put their hands on the equipment (most notably the mellotron) of another band recording during daytime: The Manfred Mann band. The album is also often discussed as sitting between psych and prog. And it is dark, the story of a young man coming of age from a pampered childhood, joining the protest generation and ending in drug addiction. The final revelation is "Reality", a psychedelic monument bathed in war soundscape. The highlight is "The World will end Yesterday", almost a production-wizzardy-pastiche of "how psychedelic can you get". Main songwriter Kenny Elliott said he was aware that the whole summer of love thing would lead to disillusionment. Incredible young lads, the producer suffering a heart attack during production. The release on Polydor led nowhere.