Search - Pretty Things :: Get the Picture

Bad Boys Make Good

Laurence Upton | Wilts, UK | 10/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The good cop/bad cop image that the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had in the 1960s may have been a tad contrived. The Beatles weren't the clean cut lads they might have seemed and the Stones certainly played up to the Bad Boys Of Pop reputation they had that oiled the publicity machine so well. They had risen from a pool of bands playing blues and Bo Diddley covers, bands like the Downliners Sect, the Cops 'n' Robbers, the Bo Street Runners and the Pretty Things.



When it came to bad publicity, the Pretty Things had it in spades, and were rarely out of the headlines for their rock 'n' roll crimes. They were badder than the others and their music was rawer, wilder, bluesier and more crudely recorded. Most of them shared a house and lived the rock lifestyle of excess to the full.



Their second album, Get The Picture?, came out only a few months after their self-titled debut, and showed a laudable unwillingness to compromise, though it also showed they had not stood still musically in the intervening months of grueling round-world touring (they seemed to have left the drummer behind in New Zealand) as there was now a light and shade to the group sound and signs of experimentation.



It also featured more of their own material, which included not only ravers like Buzz The Jerk, but also lighter folk-influenced songs like London Town and the excellent Can't Stand The Pain, on which Dick Taylor's guitar stands out. The covers include a great rough and ready rendition of Slim Harpo's Rainin' In My Heart, Ray Charles' version of I Had A Dream and the Cops 'n' Robbers' own But You'll Never Do It Babe. Their hit version of Cry To Me, written by Bert Berns for Betty Harris but best known at the time in Solomon Burke's cover is also featured. The Stones had recorded the song around the same time for Out Of Our Heads, so a direct comparison can be made.



This reissue has been given the re-master treatment, and now includes all the extra tracks added to the contemporary EPs Rainin' In My Heart and The Pretty Things On Film, plus the raw soul power 1966 single Come See Me, adapted from the northern soul version by JJ Jackson.



The Pretty Things On Film featured 4 songs from the soundtrack of LSD, a Chaplinesque short directed by Caterina Arvat and Anthony West, described on the EP sleeve as "sixteen minutes of chase, laughter and many brilliant club scenes", and included their all-stops-out recent classic single Midnight To Six Man ("he might be gone first but is he going anywhere?"), recorded apparently between midnight and six at IBC Studios, and featuring the tinkling piano of Nicky Hopkins and Margo from Goldie and the Gingerbreads on organ. It stalled surprisingly at number 46 in the UK charts but was included on Nuggets II.



If you want one Pretty Things album in your collection, this is probably the one to go for"

Pretty powerful punk

kinkydavray | beech grove, indiana United States | 04/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Following the explosive first set,PRETTY THINGS,it's hard to believe their second is even better--but BELIEVE IT!Going with the unusual trend at the time of writing their own tunes,May and Co. prove themselves to be more than up to the task.Nearly every tune works here from the title tune to the ko signature song,MIDNIGHT TO SIX MAN.Adding their hit British single,the thunderous COME SEE ME,the Pretties display a deft mix of Stones raunch with a Beatlesque sense of melody--get it now!"

Get the Picture!!

Mr.Smith | West Chester, Ohio | 06/19/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Pretty Things second album sees the band transitioning from straight-ahead British blues to mid-1960s psychedelia. A great album full of crunching guitars and Phil May's gritty vocals. This package adds six bonus tracks (including LSD and Midnight to Six Man) and some vintage promo videos. A good purchase for fans of the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds and Animals."