0217. The Pretty Things
S.F. Sorrow
I got to say this has one of the most amateurish sleeve images this far, but I guess it at least tries to convey the album concept as it shows the stages of the titular Sebastian F. Sorrow. So, yeah, this is a rock opera. Also, considered to be the very first rock opera.
Pre-dating The Who's Tommy by a whole year is of course a big deal and even though the whosters at times deny being influenced, The Pretty Things of course see some parallels, like the opening track being the birth of the protagonist. One major difference, however, is that S.F. Sorrow's storyline is mainly told in written passages in the liner notes and not, as would be the practice, within the lyrics of the songs. That's by the way why you're not necessarily aware of it being an album with a storyline at first.
With the music changing according to the mood and narrative of each song there's a whole lot of different styles mixed in, like proto-heavy metal and pop, but mainly psychedelia (hey, it was the end of the sixties') and the lyrics are not always clear as day.
As it is the first of its kind it's a definite must-listen, but their record company didn't think it was worth the effort to promote it as it was released in the same week as albums by The Beatles and Stones as well as Kinks' Are The Village Green Preservation Society, which was a bit of a miss. S.F Sorrow deserved better.
