Search - Pretty Things :: Balboa Island

Pretty Things - 'Balboa Island' (Zoho Music)

Mike Reed | USA | 03/01/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Many of you know about the connection between the Stones and the Pretty Things. Guitarist Dick Taylor left Mick Jagger and crew just prior to the Stone's first record release. The rest as they say, is history. I thought 'Balboa Island' was way better than their 1999 comeback 'Rage...Before Beauty' disc. I listened to this CD plenty of times before reviewing it. About every track here has something to offer the old school fans. Some cuts that actually sound as though they might've been recorded in the late '60's are "The Beat Goes On", "Pretty Beat" and the hippie-like "All Light Up". Other good songs include the bluesy "Living In My Skin", the eight-minute "(Blues For) Robert Johnson)", "Buried Alive" which features nice harmony vocals and good guitar riffs, their decent cover of Bob Dylan's "Ballad Of Hollis Brown" and "Feel Like Going Home" which sort of reminded me of the Stones or maybe Ten Years After. A definite should-have title by this long running under-appreciated British psychedelic / blues band."

Reviews are all over the place

Jim Z | 02/14/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I too have followed the Pretty Things since their first release. The one thing consistent about this band was their inconsistency in musical paths. That's what made them , and still makes them , so darned interesting. The first couple albums sounded nothing like the middle few . S.F. Sorrow was unlike anything at the time , Pretty Things or no Pretty Things. And their sparse but great late career discs sound refreshingly new. I enjoyed this album alot. It finds it's way into the changer monthly , and that is more than I can say for a bunch of discs taking up shelf space. If you're a true Pretty Things fan , you too will enjoy this simply for the fact that it DOESN'T sound like a Pretty Things disc. But then again , what does ?"

Payoff for being a Long Time Pretty Things Fan!

Dano | New Jersey USA | 02/12/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After reading some of the reviews around here I like an idiot stalled getting it. Then I read the feature about it in The New Ugly Things magazine and how they knew they had a Classic in the making. I then had to get it immediately. Were one of my top 5 greatest bands of all time getting senile or something. The New York Dolls had alrady proved themselves with a fantastic comeback album(who woulda thought??)But after reading the article of the making of this they seemed just as cool and knowledgable as these genious's always were. When I heard the first few notes of The Beat Goes On I could tell I just got my money's worth. WOW,what a knockout punch that and "Livin in my Skin" certainly are. Now I'm launched into Pretty Things Land and who cares anymore. Yes,do not believe every review you read. It could be any psycho intent on spoiling your day. But do believe mine!"