25 of the Best Tracks from the Dirtiest, Loudest, Most Controversial & Influential Band the World Has Ever Seen!

The essential early British R&B sound from the band that stubbornly refused to lie down to popular demand; The Pretty Things religiously stuck to their guns by making great, exciting, challenging and often violently aggressive records that just weren’t quite acceptable enough to slot into the breathlessly presented but carefully airbrushed new youth-culture media. This includes the instantly recognizable “Rosalyn,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Cry To Me” and many other brilliant evidences of a musicianship at the forefront of an evolving rock music scene through the 60s, 70s and 80s.

The band’s songwriting prowess is best highlighted when, after their brief fling with minor R&B hits alongside such bands as The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Yardbirds and Manfred Mann, they hit the ground running with music that fuelled the “Swinging Sixties” and Mod Culture in the late 60s. The shift to Psychedelic Rock saw The Pretty Things ensconced in Abbey Road studios, alongside The Beatles and Pink Floyd, to record the world’s first rock opera – S.F. Sorrow spearheading the London psychedelic revolution alongside a new completely breed of acts, like The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Jimi Hendrix and the aforementioned Pink Floyd.

So, although this Greatest Hits album has few charted songs, it is a truly meaningful historical document of the greatest band with the fewest hits, but with the best music. This version of The Pretty Things’ Greatest Hits comes pressed as a double LP pressed on to 180g heavyweight audiophile vinyl in gatefold packaging, complete with individual track commentary from band members Dick Taylor and Phil May in the liner notes, plus an introduction from long-time manager Mark St. John. The final track “Mr. Tambourine Man” was originally offered to The Pretty Things, who turned it down before The Byrd’s infamous version was recorded; now the band have finally recorded their own take in 2016 keeping true to their style of the time.

LP1

1. Rosalyn
2. Don’t Bring Me Down
3. Honey, I Need
4. Cry To Me
5. Midnight To Six Man
6. Come See Me
7. Can’t Stand The Pain
8. Sittin’ All Alone
9. Get The Picture?
10. You Don’t Believe Me
11. I Can Never Say
12. L.S.D.
13. Defecting Grey (Full Length Demo From Acetate)
14. Talkin’ About The Good Times

LP2

1. Mr Evasion
2. Walking Through My Dreams
3. SF Sorrow Is Born
4. Trust
5. Old Man Going
6. Loneliest Person
7. Scene One
8. Grass
9. Cold Stone
10. October 26
11. Mr Tambourine Man