Pretty Things

An English rock and roll band from London, who hold the honor of releasing S.F. Sorrow, the first ever Rock Opera- yes, even before Tommy! Aspired to emulate The Rolling Stones, although they never achieved the level of fame and success their idols did. Built around the core formed by lead singer Phil May and guitarist Dick Taylor (formerly of The Rolling Stones).

The Pretty Things began as a hard-edges blues-rock outfit, releasing several singles in the UK. When that scene began to decay, the band recorded a contractually-required album, Emotions, before beginning the S.F. Sorrow sessions in 1967. The album was released in 1968 to little success, although today it is usually regarded as a groundbreaking work of art. The next album, 1970's Parachute, continued in the psychedelic/art rock vein and became Rolling Stone's Album of the Year.

Still failing to attain much popular success, the Pretties recorded a few more albums before disbanding, reuniting several times to release further unsuccessful albums. Today, May and Taylor tour with a new lineup, and have recently re-recorded the Parachute album.

This band provides examples of:

 * Creator Backlash: The band hates Emotions, mainly because of the orchestration added by their record label.
 * Darker and Edgier: Just as The Rolling Stones were edgier than The Beatles, the Pretties were even edgier than the Stones.
 * Downer Ending: S.F. Sorrow.
 * Genre Shift: From heavy blues to psychedelia and art-rock.
 * Rock Opera: S.F. Sorrow was the first one.
 * Something Blues: "Blue Serge Blues"