Customer Reviews

Come See Me: Very Best of

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Come See Me exemplifies the true meaning of a greatest hits package. For the first time as a Pretty Things fan, I am happy to see all their hits on one compilation. WOW! This greatest hits release focuses on the band's initial decade, starting with a heavily R&B-influenced garage sound. Hits such as "Don't Bring Me Down," "Defecting Gray" and "Honey, I Need," define this classic collection. The band who was a major influence on David Bowie shines in this compilation. A must have for any Pretty Things fan!

This band is an important part of rock 'n roll history. Do yourself a favour and go out and buy this (if you don't have PT CD's from sixties already). Then, check out PT masterpiece 'Parachute' - one of the best records ever made (Rolling Stone album of the year 1970).

pretty things to me, was always badder than mick and the stones.
mick is pretty compared to phil may and company.
their music started to sound a bit like the stones , at the beginning; but why not? they were both plagiarizing from bo diddley, chuck berry and all the great black rnb premiers.
however, as soon as you reach "come see me" (the title track , track 11) you have to concede the "wicked-est" bass in rock history has to be from this tune. even the mighty "donald" duck dunn's bass would sound "quacky" (lol) compared to this bad-arse mother of all bass sound.
venture further and pretty things abruptedly sounds pretty on track 15,
making you think someone switched albums... barclay james harvest??? colin blunstone with argent???
but no, this is still pretty thing, and really ...
sounding quite pretty... um, pretty impressive. more than ever before, this is really pretty things living up to their monicker.
can a band so wicked and ugly , span the other extreme of the spectrum to sound pretty. well, ""the sun", "death of a socialite",etc... prove that this group is more than just a bunch of "ugly faces" making "ugly noise". hang on tight,mate ... as track 17 "defecting grey" takes you on a magic carpet ride with a little traffic-ky "paper sun" , then the byrds "8 miles high" and you hear everything from the move, who,etc... and awaaaaayyyyy youuuuu goooooo...
this album keeps getting better as you float along with the sonic-evolution of the pretty things. surprise, surprise, ... and even more surprise; it's really quite nice. excellent anthology of a group that should have been credited for their talent alongside who, stones and move.
as always, those who (excuse the pun) came first, never got the credit. this time, pretty things should be something worth listening... 37 years after. it's amazing, when you come to think of it, the members of the garage bands of today were not even fetuses when the tunes on this album first saw light.

When I first heard of this band many years ago, I was told they were little more than a poor imitation of The Rolling Stones. As I searched out more and more obscure psychedelia and 60's rock, one album was recommended to me over and over, Sf Sorrow (Dig) by The Pretty Things, a rock opera recorded a year before The Who's Tommy. I bought it, and I was blown away! How did such a great album stay below the radar?The Pretty Things had my attention and I wanted to sample more of their music. I came across the disc we are discussing here. 25 tracks spanning '64 to '75. How could I have missed out on this music all these years?

Their early music bears some resemblance to the early Stones, no great suprise as mainstay and founder Phil May was in the original Stone's lineup and guitarist Dick Taylor was in Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys with Jagger and Richards. Both bands cover a lot of the same r&b classics. The first obvious difference is the Pretty Things rock harder and put far more of their own style into the covers. Better vocals and musicianship (outside of the multi-istrumental talent of Brian Jones). Drummer Viv Prince is far closer to Kieth Moon than Charlie Watts, and did I mention this band rocks?

This collection starts with some of that hard rockin' r&b and gets more in the neighborhood of The Kinks, Who and Small Faces as it progresses. The band only got better as they began to write their own material. Rock, psyche and pop and all played with a real talent and creativity. This is essential for any fan of 60's rock. If you haven't heard this band, you've been missing out! The brilliant Parachute is sadly only represented by one song, but if you like this collection, buy it now! It is one of the greatest secrets in rock. Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label signed the band in '74 and the collection ends with a couple of samples from this period. The Pretty Things bore small resemblance to their aerly r&b, but they'd come along way, changed with the times and were still making good music.

This is a steal for the price. Absolutely fantastic music! Great remastered sound and decent liner notes. For more info, check out Richie Unterberger's Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers: Overlooked Innovators and Eccentric Visionaries of '60s Rock. This band is essential for any fan of British 60's rock, but I warn you, once you get into this band, you'll find yourself tracking down all their discs one by one. You won't be disappointed.

This CD is a good compilation of raw and unspoilt British R&B from the Sixties. If you like the early Rolling Stones or Kinks you will like this one. This is no music tailored for charts but pure early R & B,¨
This group is still going on tour with 3 original band members and the are still going strong after 45 years of making music sticking to their music which was way ahead of its time in the Sixties.
The first part of the CD is undoubtedly better than the second one which is more psychelic music.
Get this one and hear what Sixties Pop/R&B was all about

This group was criticized as a cheap Rolling Stones. There first L.P. was a classic for the garage groups and 5 aongs are featured here. "Dream Joey" was great, many critic praises for their later albums, but I guess I don't get most of it. Boring music mostly. But if you are looking for the best of this is it!

There's a reason Pretty Things aren't household names -- their music is sub-par. Most of the early stuff sticks to the basic three-chord blues rock pattern; it's nothing special. Their attempt at a ballad, "Raining In My Heart" is a rip-off of the classic R&B tune "Honest I Do," which the Rolling Stones recorded on their "England's Newest Hit Makers The Rolling Stones" LP. And it isn't until halfway into this CD that I actually heard a song that wasn't based on three chords. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But the Beatles, The Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Yardbirds and other British Invasion bands raised the musical bar too high for us to settle for this.

And for all the trash talk in the liner notes about how the Stones are now "respectable" and that the Pretty Things have always been "filthier and less reedeming than the Stones could ever be," this band has about as much an edge as the average '90s boy band. Their supposedly "raw" early songs are rather tame; their attempts at psychedelia are laughable; other songs, like "Walking Through My Dreams," evoke The Beatles -- a derivative, colorless version of The Beatles, but The Beatles nonetheless. It's like they have no identity of their own, going from an early-Stones/Animals/Them howl directly to a late-Beatles freak-out.

The last couple of songs, however, break away that sound, though no more successfully: "Grass" is a dull trip into soft-rock Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers territory (minus the grit); "Dream/Joey" is a little catchier, but seems to borrow Steven Tyler's voice and Ray Manzarek's keyboards, though I don't think they're consciously trying to imitate either Aerosmith or The Doors. The song, however, at almost seven minutes, goes on and on and on and...

On the last track, they return to their imitative ways with the very Who-ish "Singapore Silk Torpedo." All-in-all, I think a better title for this CD would be "DON'T Come See Me."