Parachute [Original recording remastered]

The Pretty Things | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 30, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Snapper UK
• ASIN: B00004TJWF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,383 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2000 reissue of 1970 album, packaged in a digipak w/clear slipcase, includes six bonus tracks, 'Blue Serge Blues', 'October', 'Cold Stone', 'Stone Hearted Mama', 'Summer Time', & 'Circus Mind'. Numbered limited edition gold CD. Snapper.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Overlooked Gem, August 25, 2000

By 

Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parachute (Audio CD)

Taken as a whole, The Pretty Things' 1964-1970 catalogue stands as a picture-perfect example of the progression of UK pop music during that period. Beginning with the Stones-inspired, English brand of R&B on the self-titled debut, moving on to the fuzztoned power-pop glory of "Get The Picture", expanding in a transitional, tentative experimental direction with socially conscious lyrics, sound effects and orchestrations on "Emotions", and coalescing that experimentation on the full-blown psych classic "SF Sorrow", "Parachute" stands as an equally representative slice of the state of the UK pop/rock world at the turn of the decade. It also stands as one of their biggest successes: of their previous works, "The Pretty Things" sounded too derivative, "Get The Picture" had its classics but was uneven overall, and "Emotions" was a collection of good songs marred by its suffocating production--only "SF Sorrow" stands equal to "Parachute" in the group's entire career (the later 70s releases being largely devoid of inspiration). The overall sound, like that of the mainstream at the time, returns to an earthier brand of blues-based hard rock replete with classic riffs and jams, and The Pretties do it better than anyone mainly because they have at the same time not lost their knack for great pop songwriting. The vocal harmonies are their best-ever and the playing is remarkably fluid; the epic jam at the end of "Cries From The Midnight Circus" finds a monster groove that propels the soloists into an inspired, unindulgent frenzy. Additionally, there remain lingering production remnants of psychedelia and touches of art-rock which keep the sound surprising and diverse at just the right moments; the sitars on "In The Square", the gorgeous mellotron breaks in "Grass", the massed percussion underlying "She's A Lover" and the final uplifting note which closes the album are all incorporated tastefully into the mix. Although there were many blues-rock and art-rock groups floating around the UK scene at the time, very few bands were able to juggle the mix of elements heard here, which keeps the group from becoming too bland as a hard rock act or too over-the-top as art-rockers. "Parachute" manages the twin feat of serving as a time capsule for the genres of its era, while avoiding all of their indulgences. The CD reissue also adds the A and B sides from the period, all of which are equal in quality to the album.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How did I miss this?, April 11, 2006

By 

E. Joy "music fanatic" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parachute (Audio CD)

This was released in 1970 when I was really deep into music and how I missed this is a big unanswered question. I had been exposed to The Pretty Things early on during their R&B period and while I enjoyed those records, I guess I lost track. But I bought this CD several months ago and haven't stopped listening since. In fact I've revised my list of the my 100 favorite albums to place this at #17, right behind Captain Beyond's first album. This is a really terrific record that you should not miss.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another concept, March 2, 2006

By 

Laurence Upton (Wilts, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parachute (Audio CD)

Although the Pretties are now belatedly given credit for having conceived and recorded the first rock opera, SF Sorrow, their equally ambitious follow-up of one year later, Parachute, has yet to be reassessed and recognised as the achievement that it is.
When they returned to the Abbey Rd studios after SF Sorrow, with Beatle engineer Norman Smith again in the producer's chair, they were quite a different outfit. Their distinctive lead guitarist Dick Taylor had left the band to become a producer, and Victor Unitt from the Edgar Broughton Band was filling in for him until a permanent replacement was found. Twink, their drummer, had also quit to form the Pink Fairies, and their former drummer Skip Alan had returned after a spell with Sunshine.
Another year of communal living, constant touring, drug taking, partying and song writing (not necessarily in that order) had yielded a burst of creativity resulting in a bunch of songs united by a theme of rural versus urban living, and the contradictions implicit in resolving the differences of each; in other words it was one of the first concept albums. The themes are contrasted by use of harmony and melody set against some occasionally quite heavy rock, using a live sound not unlike White Album-period Beatles, and the whole works well musically as an album.
They allowed themselves to stretch out musically on longer tracks such as Cries From The Midnight Circus and Sickle Clown, which was inspired by the ending to the film Easy Rider. Clearly also influenced by the Beatles album Abbey Road, and using the same legendary studios they were able to achieve the same ethereal harmony sounds, particularly on the closing title track, featuring Jon Povey's multi-tracked vocals.
Although commercially unsuccessful the record did receive some critical acclaim and in 1971 was voted album of the year by Rolling Stone.
The Good Mr Square (incorporating She Was Tall, She Was High) had preceded the album as a single on EMI's new "progressive" label, Harvest, and it also represented the album on the Harvest-label sampler, Picnic, though by the time the next single was due they had been back in the studio recording new material so it remained the only single to be taken from Parachute.
The Good Mr Square's non album B-side and all 5 tracks from their next two singles have been added to this edition. These two singles (October 26 and Stone-Hearted Mama) were recorded after they had found their new guitarist, Peter Tolson from Eire Apparent, and include the excellent Summertime and Circus Mind