Fruits de Mer Records has been putting a well deserved spotlight on the The Pretty Things this year. We had the excellent Sorrow’s Children: The Songs Of S.F. Sorrow LP, a re-recording of The Pretty Things 1968 classic S.F. Sorrow, with each track contributed by a different contemporary band. Next they released a two song single with a live track from 2010 and flip sided by a demo track from 1965.
And now Fruits de Mer will release yet another Pretty Things single, this one featuring all live tracks. The first 3 songs are all from S.F. Sorrow, performed live in 2010 at the 100 Club in London. We’ve got S.F. Sorrow Is Born, She Says Good Morning, and Baron Saturday, showing the band – still headed up by Phil May and Dick Taylor – in fine form nearly 50 years after their first album. Note the cover art that’s adapted from the original S.F. Sorrow album. AND… Fruits de Mer make the package all the more fun by including as the fourth song a 1969 cover of The Byrds’ Renaissance Fair which The Pretty Things included in their set during a 1969 concert in Amsterdam.
I’ll also share a humorous story from the promo sheet for the single which includes some words about the 2010 show at the 100 Club by Pretty Things manager Mark St. John. He talks about Paul McCartney making a lunchtime appearance at the club and angering the band by taking his sweet ‘ol time about leaving, and the The Pretty Things subsequently crunched for time to get setup for the show.
The single will be available mid-August and is limited to 1200 copies, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!
For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz