S.F. Sorrow

id rather listen to the beatles sorry

Dear 1001 albums editor/s, you don't have to add every hour long rock album from the 60s onto the list, you do know that?

Et par gode momenter og idéer, men ikke helt gennemført og mange underlige produktionsvalg

Boomer bait. Sounds fine but no thanks.

Pretty run-of-the-mill late 60s psychedelic stuff. A little darker than the rest, but not very remarkable to me.

Unfortunately for these guys the who, the Beatles, mc5 and a lot of others where contemporaries of theirs, they were never going to out do them. The white album was released the month before as an example! Solid all the same 3.5*

This probably would have seemed awesome to a UK teenager in 1968. I didn't think it was that unique or interesting, though.

It was cool, it was interesting. It hit the marks for the early classic styles, but AFTER hearing all of them, it's hard for this one to have the same impact. I'll listen again to really get the story.

sounds like weird era beatles and the who combined

Favorite Song: Walking Through My Dreams

Very mediocre.

Ok

It’s OK

I can't properly rate this one. When it started, I was like "Oh, this is a Beatles imitation band" but then it got weirder as the album went on, so that no longer fits. I know it's not something I ever want to listen to again, but while "listening" to it I was fairly engrossed in my work so this mostly just washed over me as slightly annoying background music. Points for doing some weird shit, and maybe I would have appreciated it more if I paid more attention to it. Rounding up to a 3 here, partly because in retrospect I feel bad about giving the recent jazz albums a 2--it's not a genre that I enjoy, but the musicianship was objectively good enough to get those to a 3 even if I didn't enjoy them that much. Sorry, jazz guys. 2.5

This album was fun and interesting enough and I get why it's on the list being one of the first rock operas. It's got enough 60s British weirdness in it to keep me engaged. Fun enough for sure.

Reminiscent of The Who. If you like rock operas this is one for you

A mix of good psychedelia with mediocre proto punk/metal and Sometimes enjoyable soundscapes making this Experimental Rock.

Rock operas usually need several listens, and so does this most likely

This album didn’t leave a huge impression on me. I was really into it after the first few songs, but as the album went on, it became more psychedelic, and I got bored. That said, I do appreciate the wide variety of sounds and genres encompassed in this one album. It’s as if all the different eras of The Beatles got condensed into one project.

It was ok! Not that memorable but i enjoyed it

Points for creativity but a lot of this was tough to listen to. Reminds me of something I might’ve made in high school before learning that less is more.

Would I listen to it again: yes Is it a no-skip album: no Do I like it: yes

It's like if the Beatles made a rock opera. Works some of the time.

Sounds like your basic oldies album. Good but not memorable.

Sure, groundbreaking and whatever. Slightly weird and wonderful in places. But overall, zzzzzz. Which goes for the album art too.

Sounds like the Beatles

It was ok but probably won't listen again

I've heard this several times during the last decade, but never does it remain in my mind.

Never heard of them. Never heard any of these songs. Interesting sounds of the 60s.

Interesting listen.

great rock opera, i’d listen to this again

Heavy influence from the beatles here. Still alright i suppose.

I drifted off and lost interest in the narrative. Without it, as a collection of songs it's ok but nothing special.

With most of the albums in the 1001, giving it just one listen is probably not enough. This album was pretty good, but I didn't feel invested enough to think of it much higher than a 3, though I reckon with several more listens I'd probably warm to it more.

I listened to this with noise canceling headphones while walking and it made me dizzy. I didn’t realize it was a concept album when I listened, so it probably warrants another listen with that in mind. But overall, enjoyed it, even if it feels similar to a lot of other British rock.

Never really cared for rock operas, but it’s not awful

This was interesting. I feel like it needs another listen.

🎧Interesting psych rock album with lots of cool experimental flourishes. Entirely unclear what the story of this rock opera is, but the same can be said for Tommy which it allegedly inspired (though members of The Who deny it).

Interesting from a British prog/psychedelia perspective. Clearly of that strain of Pink Floyd kind of scene. Not brilliant, just interesting.

Meh I wasn’t listening too intently so probably need to give this another listen to understand the story better. Rating: 3.0

Very Beatles sound to it.

Had its moments, but nothing really stood out to me or smacked me and yelled, “listen!”

- Honestly pretty great production quality for the 60s - Very enjoyable listen, good rock and roll - 3.5

I loved this album! I don’t know how I’ve gotten this far in life and not heard of The Pretty Things. An amazing mix of the Beatles, Pink Floyd and modern psychedelic music. Really good stuff

Interesting concept album, definitely a 60’s rock opera. Listened twice. Had a Sergeant Pepper vibe. Appreciate it, and might listen again. 3/5!

Schon der erste Titel erinnert mich an die Beatles (You can't do that), später scheint immer mal wieder Sgt. Pepper's durch... ist ja nicht das Schlechteste. Obwohl richtig altbacken hat es mich gut unterhalten.

Decent acoustic folk. A little on the hippie side but not obnoxiously hippie. I didn’t quite get it at first, but read afterwards that it’s a rock opera, so it made a bit more sense (I wish I’d known that before listening, to be honest). Private Sorrow was my pick of the bunch, I enjoyed the acoustic guitar run-down in its intro. Would listen to more Pretty Things.

Good bass in S.F. Sorrow is born. Very beatles-y A little noisy. A lot beatles coded. It's decent. The bass is good, instrumentation makes sense.

Da 3

Surprisingly good psychedelic sounds.

Another Beatles clone/revision. It seems like 1 out of 25 albums on this are actually "must hear before you die". This is not one of them.

Sgt Pepper inspired psychedelic rock, leaning a bit too heavy into the psychedelia for my taste. I liked the hard rock stuff like Old Man Going the best. Above average but not quite a 4 upon first listen.

Four days after listening, I remember nothing but the top review. Three stars, I guess?

Doesn’t hold a candle to Tommy, and there’s no way Townshend wasn’t thinking about and planning Tommy before he ever heard this…a pale comparison

Based on the short album wiki and rock opera comment I wasn't expecting much, took a couple of songs to warm up to and tailed off to the end, but thought the middle third was quite interesting

I don't hate this after fully expecting to. It's sub Sgt Pepper mostly but I admire the ambition and they shoot off in some interesting directions without getting annoying like whatever that Small Faces album was.

Some claims that this is the 1st rock opera/concept album. Solid Psychedelic Rock coming out of the 60s. Mad sounds, quick changes and fanciful lyrics keep it afloat.

Def I can hear the influence on Tommy, and also the influence of Sgt Peppers here. Not super amazing but overall I think this is a good listen. I understand why this is on the list. nothing really stuck out as a great track, but it does sound like an Abbey Road record recorded by the people who recorded Sgt Peppers (and it was!)

Kinda crazy only British bands existed in the 60s, eh? And this one had a drummer named Twink!

They should have spent less time writing a story and more time writing better music

It's fine. Never heard of them before. 3/5

I see you Trust Loneliest person

Interesting guitar and overall okayish sound.

I liked this enough when I first heard it to add it to my library. Still pretty cool, but I was deep in a 1960s era back then and now not so much. Ratings are subjective, folks.

C+ S.F. Sorrow Is Born 3 Bracelets 3 She Says Good Morning 3 Private Sorrow 3 Balloon Burning 3 Death 3 Baron Saturday 3 The Journey 3 I See You 3 Well Of Destiny 1 Trust 3 Old Man Going 3 Loneliest Person 3 Yay the first concept album

I don't know that I've heard much from Pretty Things, but I kind of enjoyed the album, despite a certain Beatlesesque-ness to their style and songs (at least on the first half or so of this album). ("Bracelets of Fingers" was probably the most egregious example of this, I'd say, but a lot of the better parts of the album is sadly reminiscent of Sgt. Peppers and seems pretty derivative. Other parts are just a bit painful to listen to.) I think my favorite song was "The Loneliest Person", and not just because it was one of the shorter and more cohesive songs on the album. :) If I hadn't read the Wikipedia entry, I'm not sure I would have ever realized that this was a rock opera, nor do I have any real sense for poor Sebastian and his life's journey. I find it also bizarre that most of the contemporary and later critics focused on similarities to Pink Floyd, The Who's "Tommy" and blues styles, so maybe I just missed the boat entirely on any Beatles imitation. It's pretty awesome that the band couldn't really perform this album live (and not just because they took LSD before a 1969 TV "performance" of the album).

Beats were good but nothing clicked with me in particular

Gear: LETSHUOER S12 Pro Mix: Stereo is fun! Musik: prätentiös, nervenzehrend und überlang - super! 😊 Wertung: 🐠🐠🐠(🐠)/5

Unique for being one of the first rock operas, still managed to be over my head.

I liked it but kind of reminded me too much of the Beatles

Mmmhhhh, do not know

If this is one of the first rock operas then I guess I understand its place hear but also they really opened Pandora’s box. Did not try following the story. Overall it was too 60s for me. I did like Loneliest Person.

I can hear lots of different 60s bands in here. Not bad but I probably wouldn’t come back to it

the drummer goes by the name \"Twink.\" he converted to Islam later in life, changing his name to Mohammad Abdullah. though he still records under the name Twink

The more psychy bits of this are so good. The rest isn't that good, but the psych bits make up for it.

This was decently enjoyable. The sound quality wasn't great, but that had more to do with the era it was from than anything. I could probably listen to this again. 3.5/5

Pretty interesting blend of rootsy and psychedelia. After reading the eclectic history of this band, I'm impressed. The music has tonal qualities in variation of notable favorites from the time period and yet this one falls into obscurity. I like it alot. But, its a complicated taste maker album, be forewarned.

bootleg beatles

Mediocre

OK, so this is supposed to be "the first ever rock opera album"? Sorry, but I don't have the attention span to listen closely enough to the entire album to follow the story, if there is one. That aside, it sounds like a late-stage experimental Beatles album (perhaps not surprising since it was recorded at Abbey Road at the same time as the White Album & produced by the Beatles' old engineer), so... not bad?

3.5

- if i could give this 3.5 i would

I started with negative feelings and left thinking that it was a solidly good album. I recognize the importance and contribution but psych rock opera isn’t my thing

Joyeux melting pot de tout ce qui se faisait à ce moment : on y entend les Kinks, les Beatles, les Beach Boys, sans doute aussi the Who même si je ne connais pas (encore) “Tommy”. Sympathique, conforme au cahier des charges de l’époque. Content d’avoir découvert ça, mais je ne vais pas en retenir grand chose et ça ne va pas bouleverser le podium des meilleurs groupes des 60’s.

psychedelic rock, somewhere between late 60’s era beatles and cream. didn’t dislike it, but they didn’t do anything groundbreaking that hadn’t been done before.

Interesting

Maybe if I listened a few more times I would find it more to my liking.

Its not the worst but it's not the best. I like the sound it has. Was going to give it a 2 but some of the songs grew on me and made me realise that i think its pretty average so 3 it is

can be a bit heavy on the distortion, but the sound isn't bad. the real problem is the album is entirely forgettable, even if the idea of a rock opera is cool and the execution is decent

I think if this happened to be the first rock opera/thematic records I'd ever heard, it would have had more of a lasting impact on me. I can see how this would be influential, but for me personally it was just kinda...meh?

similar to the beatles

This almost got 1 star based on the first couple songs. Still not my thing, but it got better.

All of the songs sound like Paperback Writer. S.F. Sorrow can be filed under "first of its kind but later eclipsed by albums with better songs, production, and performances".

Super cool album! Extremely experimental.

Wanted to like this album but the lyrics and ideas died out at the end. Loved the original concept.

Not my vibe, but okay to listen to.

Best Songs: N/A Listen Again: Probably not

As I listened to this album, it was clear that it was a concept album, and I pondered whether its significance might be because it was the first rock opera concept album. Imagine my surprise when I learned that many rock critics do indeed consider THE PRETTY THINGS' S.F. Sorrow the first of a slew of rock operas that came out in the late sixties and would continue to emerge up until today. It is wild hearing some of the sonic soundscapes tropes we are familiar with, emerge here first. Before Tommy, before The Wall, you can hear how The Pretty Things introduced the notion of dissonance, key change, rhythm, and melodic rephrasing as narrative tools. Having said all that, this is an album that everyone should hear once, but aside from tracks "Private Sorrow", "Old Man Sorrow", and S.F. Sorrow is Born", I'm not sure if I have it in me to hear this album all the way through again anytime soon. A very dark story.

Had never heard this before. High psychedelia that sometimes sounds like the Beatles, but also sounds like other contemporaries from the era. A lot of fun and a bit of a romp.

Decent rock.

California hippie tunes

My favourite part was from Private Sorrow to Death. I like that most songs have unexpected outros.

Enjoyed listening to this, as I had never heard of them before. Although there were a couple of songs I really liked, most were just ok, and some I didn't care for at all. Definite Beatles sounds but definitely nowhere near as good as the Beatles.

It was fine. An interesting mix of Rolling Stones, The Who, and Beatles influences (or maybe just 60s sounds, really). Nothing enthralling, but an okay mix.

I liked this! Cool to hear one of the first rock operas. A couple low points.

Middle of the road hippie fare - it's mildly interesting in terms of being a concept album, but it got a bit grating to me quite a few times.

I restarted this thing three times because I just couldn't remember what I'd listened to. It's fine, I guess. But it's also wholly unremarkable and unmemorable.

Fair

Genre de brit psychédélique. Un peu comme sgt pepper comme il est mentionné mais quand même moins connu. Ça permet d'explorer le genre. 3.85

There’s quite a lot of kooky 60s psyche albums on here. I enjoyed this one though

Interesting to listen to another early concept album. I've generally been a fan of the format in my own musical tastes. For this one, eh, the music was alright.

Quite ok

3.1/5 Best track: Loneliest Person

3/5

Pretty standard 60's folky jangly stuff. Quite enjoyed

Groovy. With over 50 years of distance between this album and today, maybe I'm over simplifying by classifying this as a bare-faced knock off of The Beatles, Sergeant Pepper's album from 1 year earlier. I also hear influences of Cream; a band who were ahead of their time. Pleasant listening, but overall a derivative work.

Ágætis plata. Samanbland af svo mörgum stefnum sem voru í gangi um þær mundir.

historical significance

Kinda neat as a sort of Beatles-Album-That-Never-Was, but nothing I would come back to again and again.

It's late 60s psychedelic rock that sound exactly like late 60s psychedelic rock. Their experimental parts are a little more out there than most of their contemporaries. It's alright, but nothing sticks with me. Favorite song: SF Sorrow Is Born.

Pretty good rock opera. Glad to have found this.

Imagine Sgt Peppers mixed with Revolver except played but an average band instead of the Beatles. It’s decent because it sounds almost identical to the Beatles but that’s it 6.2/10

Cool concept, I here a lot of the Beatles in this.

I'd never heard of this band but this was some solid psychedelic rock. It reminded me a lot of The Beatles at certain points. I was really enjoying it until it started to sound all very same-same in the second half.

Just ok

Surprisingly great. Another that was completely new to me that I rather enjoyed. 3.5/5

Good 60s rock

Psychedelic concept album. Not bad, worth a more careful listen sometime to absorb more of the story. Sounds like early Pink Floyd at times.

I mean, it's OK although sometimes comes across as sub Beatles. Apparently this is their magnum opus but sounded a bit dated an unmemorable. After the album finished, Spotify fired up its general 60's follow up tracks and tbh I was enjoying them more. No doubt it was a 4 back in its day, now...

Alright Beatles ish vibes. Didn't kick my balls.

Some cool sounds and ideas. Fascinating to hear what else was being recorded at Abbey Road at the same time as the White Album and A Saucerful of Secrets. But the songs just don’t grab me.

I really enjoyed this. Only gave it one listen. And I’d never heard it before. It’s much more acoustic than The Pretty Things that I grew up with (Rosalyn, Don’t Bring Me Down). But there’s something very classy , very Moody Blues about it. The Journey sounds so like a Beatles song of that time.

Thank you, 1001 albums, for making me listening to another record that I had meant to get around to for ages, but never listened too. And it's 1967/8 at Abbey Rd Studios. Norman Smith (producer/engineer) really had a sound going at the time, and this is strongly reminiscent of contemporaneous albums by the Beatles and Pink Floyd, also with strong involvement from Smith at Abbey Rd. Experimental for the time, but still tuneful and often surprisingly heavy (Old Man Going). A lost treasure (although there are quite a few records on this list of this ilk). Favourite track: Baron Saturday.

Enjoyed this one I think it is a grower It could be something I come back to I will give it a 3/5 but with time it could sit higher. First track is good. I did lose slight interest in the album as it went on, but that's more of a reflection of me than the album High 3/5

This album has some interesting ideas but not enough to really keep me interested through the length of it.

Very 1960s. Hippy-dippy psychadelia etc. It's very much of its time - so in context, it would have been a fine example of the genre. I just don't like it.

Grand

Odd. Very odd. Story / lyrics interesting (which does not always mean good), music varies with the story. Concept albums have come a long way! 3 🌟

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, not having heard of the band let alone the album. It was ok and not even all that dated for a 1960s record. Even the artwork made the album difficult to place.

I could appreciate the psychedelic 60s sounds of this album, and the creativity behind it, but it's not one that I'll be listening to again.

60s drug plinkety wafts

Pretty nice psych-rock record from the era of the Beatles. Not sure I’ll be revisiting it soon, but I’m not mad at either. Tough to be in the same space and time as the Beats. 3 stars!

3++

I wasn't expecting much, but this was really excellent. It may not be the most adventurous work of its time, but one thing I will say for this album is that it's a very accessible entry into psychedelic and proto-prog that never gets too weird or heavy handed. It's also just a well made album that's not particularly bogged down by the concept, which can be an issue with concept albums/rock operas. Fave Songs: Trust, Baron Saturday, I See You, The Journey, Balloon Burning, Old Man Going, Death, Well of Destiny

Sounded Beatles like, but not as good

First listen Saved 6/13 Top track: S.F. Sorrow Is Born

What if you listened to a Beatles album not by the Beatles?

Nicely enjoyable

Way ahead of their time, and should have been as popular as The Who.

Very 60's, very British and part of the pop-rock quirky concept trend at the time. Quite musically accomplished and clearly spoken, it's not really my thing but I can appreciate it's place in music history.

Some interest here, but it didn't succeed in carrying much of a narrative for me and no songs thay really grabbed me.

Decent but forgettable

Like pulverising 47 ducks

12th June 2023 Listened half on Monday and half on Tuesday. Worked from home and played Hogwarts legacy in the evening. Like the strange forgotten stoner brother of the Beatles and the Stones. 2.5 if I could.

The shitty beatles

If this is a concept album, it’s pretty loose. Or at least it seems that way to me. That’s not a detraction, by the way. It’s just the style of the album...there are moments where the psychedelic overtone of the music pulls the art out of its narrative and just does its own thing. It’s like a writer using fancy speech tags instead of just using “said”. A stylistic choice.

v Beatles-y

Wild stufff

Steven F Minecraft

Genuine 1968 San Francisco sound with plenty of flower power, peace, love, groovy-ness all over it. Never heard it before but it didn't suck entirely.

Completely competent psych-rock. Apparently one of the earliest rock operas but I would have never known unless I read up on it. Not bad but it was mostly background music.

Fine 60s psych album.

Never heard of this band before but sounds very familiar like early pink Floyd . I enjoyed it .

This seems like something that I might like more on a re-listen.

It was cool and had some good material in a genre that I like.

Rock psicodélico sesentero. Ni fu ni fa.

This was pretty interesting and quite varied. It definitely had the late 60's psychedelic influence, but harmonies and styles reminded me of the beatles (sgt. peppers) at times, as well as early decca-era bowie and 60's pink floyd. bracelets of fingers, trust, loneliest person were highlights for me... but it also goes pretty weird in some spots.

After a promising start, any gritty psychedelia sloughs off completely by the end. Concept-wise, easily better than most contemporaries.

This was weird and I liked it. I especially liked Bracelet of Fingers and Trust. Some of the songs are just too weird though.

Mmm. Meh. Sounds like 1968 I guess. Wouldn’t listen again, but wouldn’t be bugged if it were on in the background

Interesting album! Baron Saturday is so weird, and I’m not sure why, but I liked it. I don’t know that I’d seek this album to listen to again, so 3 stars.

They sound like The Beatles and idk how to feel about that? Is it cool? Is it weird? Who was influenced by who?

Probably needs another listen, it was alright though

Too Beatles-y

Enjoyable

As a big classic rock guy, I'm surprised that I wasn't already familiar with this album. I've heard of the band Pretty Things, mostly because I was really into Procol Harum and when going through the stacks at the record store Pretty Things would always be right in front of them. But never really listened to them before. This album sounds a bit dated, but interesting nonetheless. I thought it was funny that The Who claims not to have been influenced by this album when producing their own "rock opera", because the whole time I was listening I was thinking how much it reminded me of The Who. 3 stars.

It was kind of crazy. Psychedelic the Beatles then early metal all in one song I'm what has to be an experimental concept album. I honestly don't know what to make of it but I kinda liked it?

The more I hear of 60s psychedelic rock the less the unique the beatles seem. Maybe these are all imitators...but maybe they're all just sorta the same.

Eh

Boy, some people really tried to be like the Beatles in the 60s, didn't they.

Great stuff! Enjoyable 60s psych rock. Wonder why I don't really know the Pretty Things - seems so in line with lots of 60s rock I grew up listening to. 17 songs felt like a lot to take in - I'm finding it hard to pick out particular ones that resonated with me - but overall was some great background to variosu things I did this week

Not bad at all, quite enjoyed it. Never heard of the band but it fit with a lot of other stuff I like

It was an alright album. I was not familiar with the band or any of the songs.

This was my first introduction to The Pretty Things, I thought it was pretty good. The instrumentation was my favourite aspect of this album, I can be a sucker for psychedelic music. There’s nothing offensively bad about the vocals, I just find this style of delivery a bit annoying, same issue I have with The Beatles so I can’t fully get into this one. Really great music here nonetheless, 3.5 stars.

Aardig, maar vond het niks aparts

So this band borrowed from the Beatles, influenced the Who, basically created the idea of a concept album, and no one knows who they are? Music was fine, production was surprising given it is from the 60s. The lyrics though...I have never heard such utter nonsense.

The wiki blurb said that many people though that the who was inspired by this band but I saw more of that kinks album about wartime Britain. That said, this album did give me the same indifferent feeling as the who.

It might not be fair but this gives me "discount Beatles" vibes.

En ole rokkioopperoiden suuri fani enkä ihan tässäkään jaksanut kokonaan tarinaa seurata tai ymmärtää alusta loppuun. Onhan tää aika tällasta poukkoilua ja aika ennalta arvaamatonta. Tai ainakin koittaa olla niin ennalta arvaamatonta kun nyt kuuskyt luvun psykerokki voi olla. On tässä sitä Tommy-henkeä havaittavissa, mutta ei tää kyllä niin hyvä oo kun The Whon eepos, joka varmaan tulee kuunneltavaksemme ennemmin tai myöhemmin. Omituisesti panoroitu levy. Mua vähän häiritsee se että monessa biisissä melkeen koko backline on vasemmalla ja oikella laulu, soolot ja klapit — jotenki härön kuulosta. Pari ihan tiukkaa stygeä löytyy. Annan tälle ehkä toisen mahiksen myöhemmin. 3/5

Vähän tuntuu että tää psykedeelinen rock-ooppera on Briteissä jo oma genrensä. Ihan hauskaa musiikillisesti, tosin ei mitään ihmeellistä, enkä ehkä niin paljoa syttynyt teksteille. Jotkut biisit kyllä jees! Sanoisin et 3/5, voi ajan myötä ehkä noustakin.

El suposat pare dels discos conceptuals, que influenciaria poc després el naixement de 'Tommy'. Passa per ser un disc a descobrir, d'una banda injustament tractada. NI una cosa ni l'altra. Té els seus moments, però 'Tommy' i la majoria dels tants que vindrien després van millorar en molt la proposta de The Pretty Things, i el reconeixement a cada un en aquest cas és l'adequat

I liked it and I didn’t. Idk 3.5

Rock psicodélico sesentero. Ni fu ni fa.

Good. Wanted to like it more than I did.

Physchadelic - alright

Never heard of this band before. Surprised since they aren't terrible, but definitely aren't amazing. I agree with a lot of the other comments about the comparisons to the Beatles. I'd say this is an interesting historical curiosity that deserves a listen since it is considered the first rock opera, but beyond that better musicians did the concept better.

Mix of Sgt. Peppers and Revolver but also Wes Anderson-approved

like an off-brand beatles..

3.5

Thought I was listening to The Beatles or The Who in some parts. Quite enjoyed the rock opera story of it. Listening to the album on my earphones I wish the mono and stereo mix wasn't so jarring, that might have been an artistic choice but didn't work for me.

I think this album deserves kudos as the first example of a rock opera. I think it's a shame that there isn't at least one track that is an all out banger to ensure it had a wider audience.

meh

Psych with a but of proto heavy metal thrown in.

Would have loved to listen to this on vinyl while a stoned teenager

i didnt really get the concept part of it but individual songs were good

Ok. Better than expected 60s pop rock. Like the rock opera angle. 3.49

3.5

Not bad sixties psychedelia - didn't mind it

Restarted it at around 9 pm. Gonna listen to it after a couple sips. Heard it for a bit. Wasn't all that.

I probably should have noted that the last four tracks I listened to were bonus tracks, and that it wasn't just my attention wandering that made me lose track of the story here. However, after listening to it twice, there were still lots of surprises when I read the storyline on Wikipedia. ("Oh, I thought HE died in the war and I was trying to figure out why we still had half the album to go!") Mind you, this was a far less ludicrous story for a rock opera than The Who's Tommy, but I think Tommy had much more engaging music. Sorry, The Pretty Things. Not that it wasn't interesting. I had a real dialogue with myself about it, too. "I like what they're doing here, and how the songs each have a different feel." But then time crawled slowly and my mind wandered and two more songs slipped by without making a mark in my consciousness. "Oh, but I really want to like this! They got such a crummy deal in 1968 and I want to make up for it! This oozes a real creative effort!" I fully support this album being on this list. It is good, but it's more about its rightful part in music history than because it's great.

When the album started, I thought it had some real promise. It wasn't bad, and it definitely had a 60s sound that was kind cool at times...but it didn't really keep my attention.

Not bad

Seems pretty adventurous for when it came out

Glad I listened but I couldn’t seem to get into this one as much as other rock operas such as Tommy, Arthur or Berlin. Not one I’d come back to.

This sounds as if The Beatles and the Stones decided to make a new band and do drugs together. Very 60s, very British, but yet, strikingly unique. A little too much for my liking, the rapid changes and the “noises” are a bit hard to listen to. But they are clearly ahead of their time.

Decent late 60s rock but besides the fact that this was probably one of the first concept albums, it's nothing remarkable

L'ego des types qui font un album d'une heure dans les années 60

bien pendant 10 minutes

Meh.

Never heard of them before but the parallels between them and the Beatles are pretty clear. So far the Beatles are the better band, but I am enjoying this album so far. Overall decent music.

I feel like I went from bluegrass to psychedelic space rock to alternative.

At times this album crackles with surprisingly modern alternative-rock energy. Other times, it trips over itself entertaining the pretentious, drug-fueld excesses of so many '60s epics. Much of it is just typical British Invasion, though the Pretty Things' deep blues influence often conjures surprising notes of Black Sabbath. A true rock opera, bearing all the cliches that entails, it is a little too long to hold my rapt attention, but it is infrequently brilliant.

Ok

Ok, early examply of rock opera, some nice psychedelic sounds, but overall a bit meh. Faves: Baron Saturday, Walking Through My Dreams

Great album, never heard it before but I’ll revisit it.

Groovy.

Hippie. Didn't know the band before.

Yllättävän hyvä uusi tuttavuus

3-, various sounds and vibes, I don't feel tired even though album was pretty long, I enjoyed it and I will probably listen to it again

Ok

I had an awareness of this band for two reasons. First, I heard the claim that the album gave Pete the rock opera idea that resulted in Tommy. That claim was rubbish. Pete had composed A Quick One, While He's Away, a mini rock opera that was released two years earlier and moreover  on Rael (the last song on The Who Sell Out released in 1967) one of the musical themes from Tommy appears around the 3 1/2 minute mark. Both these facts show that Pete was all over the idea of rock operas and specifically Tommy long before SF Sorrow came along. The second reason I was aware of The Pretty Boys was that Bowie covered a couple of their songs on his Pin Ups LP, which was an album that comprised covers of the songs that influenced him in the early days - I'm one of the few who had that one. SF Sorrow is OK. It's quite a change from their previous albums and I prefer their earlier stuff which, btw,  is the stuff Bowie covered. I doubt there will be another album by these brothers on the 1001 so I won't rate it below 3 given the influence the band's earlier music had on HIM. 

The obvious comparisons here are Tommy and Sgt Peppers. I see that this album predates Tommy but was released just a year after Sgt Peppers, but nevertheless it’s a pretty impressive and an ambitious proto-rock opera. I’ve never heard this album before so it was a nice surprise. It doesn’t have the complexity of the Beatles but I think it could be a grower.

I love a good concept album, especially a rock opera. Too bad I found this one boring and disjointed. I enjoyed the opening track so I thought the album had promise. But the transition between tracks didn't seem to provide a good rhythm. I sort of expected a building rise and fall or maybe a couple of sequences but it felt like the mood was constantly changing. Why not get rid of track 2 and go straight from track 1 to 3 (both upbeat)? Why have a somewhat upbeat track 4 (Private Sorrow) that cuts bleak at the end and then go back to a frantic track 5 (Balloon Burning), only to plummet again for track 6 (Death)? I know they're trying to follow a story but tracks 4-6 are all bleak so why not harmonize across them better? I actually liked Balloon Burning, it just felt misplaced. Track 7 (Baron Saturday) wasn't bad but again it took an abrupt turn from the mood of track 6. I wouldn't care so much if this wasn't a concept album but it is. No flow. I sort of stopped paying attention after track 8 but track 12 (Old Man Going) was pretty good. Still, it was a bit weirdly sandwiched between the tempos of track 11 (Trust) and 13 (Loneliest Person). I more enjoyed learning about the album and the story they tried to portray than the listening itself. Poor execution saved by ambitious intentions.

Interesting late 60s sound. You can hear the same context/period as eg. The Beatles's Sgt Pepper's...

Hats off to the first notable rock opera, which Tommy and The Wall both nod to whether they admit it or not. Bit of a downer but that's opera, doc.

Good harmonies

I wasn’t in the mood for this album so don’t feel it got the best side of me. Can certainly hear it’s influence in other music.

Coole 60s sound en met de juiste twist. Jammer alleen dat ik een principiële hekel heb aan albums langer duren dan 45 minuten.

Best leuk, vooral Beatles en beetje Stones. Maar niet zo sterk als beide bands

Ik had hier nog nooit van gehoord, maar dit vond ik erg leuk! Heel erg die 60's Beatles vibe, met nog een wat scherper randje. Ga ik nog eens vaker luisteren.

Led Zep light

Some of it I liked and some of it I found grating.

Beetje een beatles geluid, maar wat experimenteler

Not bad

folksy psychedelic rock jam sessions

Bendito álbum, lo subestime demasiado antes de escucharlo

3.5 | Ni idea de su existencia hasta ahora. De entrada por lo que veo su lugar en la lista no estaría en disputa; es la base para que cosas como Tommy, The Wall o Bat Out of Hell. Por otro lado a título personal me debato bastante entre sentir si el disco es brillante o demasiado repetitivo. Tiene un sonido atmosférico, con rock pop en capas y tintes psicodélicos que permea todo el disco, instrumentación buena y una estructura interesante; pero esos sonidos interesantes tiene a repetirlos demasiado al grado que pasan más allá de poder defenderlos como el "sonido" del disco o incluso un leitmotiv. Agradable de escuchar, a ratos engancha y a otros ratos medio marea. Quizá lo más interesante fue escuchar ciertas formas y estilos que realmente parecián pedacitos de canciones de Tommy. Me agrada haber conocido el disco, interesante pedazo de historia y vale la pena la escucha.

Interesante. Cultura general

Cross between Beatles and animal collective. Would listen again, but I'm not sure on what occasion!

An interesting LP that starts out as Beatles-lite only to morph into more experimental and involved psych work on the back half.

7/10

Reading the entry for this, the book gives this album a lot of credit for being the first (or at least an early example of a) concept album. It may have been a huge inspiration on Tommy, but as far as standing on its own as an album... it's okay. It's fine.

Interesting piece of musical history - don't know if it's much more than that.

11/14 Gray-toned psychedelic rock. Standout Tracks: S.F. Sorrow Is Born, Bracelets Of Fingers, Balloon Burning, Death, Loneliest Person

Thank you, 1001 albums, for making me listening to another record that I had meant to get around to for ages, but never listened too. And it's 1967/8 at Abbey Rd Studios. Norman Smith (producer/engineer) really had a sound going at the time, and this is strongly reminiscent of contemporaneous albums by the Beatles and Pink Floyd, also with strong involvement from Smith at Abbey Rd. Experimental for the time, but still tuneful and often surprisingly heavy (old Man Going). A lost treasure. Favourite track: Baron Saturday.

Odd. Very odd. Story / lyrics interesting (which does not mean good), music varies with the story. Concept albums have come a long way!

This album was average, nothing really stood out to me and I didn't like some of the songs at all.

okish 60s wurble.

they honestly sounded a lot like the Beatles to me. i was excited for a ROCK opera but it really wasn’t and it didn’t tell a story. it was fine, just nothing incredible.

3.8 - Definitely defied my expectations - I was feeling a little burnt out on music from 1968. At 17 tracks, this album is long but doesn't drag. Most songs feel composed but there's enough slack to give a sense of spontaneity. This one's stronger as a unified piece than as a vehicle to deliver hits, which probably explains why it came to be wholly unfamiliar. Worth a second listen down the road.

Rimelig god psychedelic. Rock-opera. Vildt lyddesign!

godkendt psychrockalbum

Psykedelisk 60’er rock, stemningsfyldt, svingende

As a whole, I found the album to be a pleasant listen but looking back, I can’t really recall any individual song.

this album sounds like a deepfake trained on all the rock music from 1968. it sounds the part but is just meandering and halfhearted. get paid I guess

Not a bad album. Felt like it had a lot of different elements from the 60s in this between the psychedelic/guitar riffs/trippy lyrics. Feel like this was a pretty underrated album. 7.4/10

decent rock album, the fact it tells a story is noticeable even when you don't pay attention and overal its an alright gimmick

Not my cup of tea.

Noice as

Thought I was listening to lost Beatles songs! Great musical journey.

Importanti

Rock setentista sem empolgar.

Solid, trippy psychedelic sounds from the 60s. I will listen again. I liked it 3.5 stars

Pretty cool concept album. I definitely hear The Beatles and The Who in here. Apparently one of the first concept rock operas. "Tommy" emerged from this? "Baron Saturday" "Mr Evasion" "Private Sorrow" "S.F. Sorrow is Born" are standouts.

Is it reductive to compare every British rock group to the Beatles? Probably. But that is the chief sound I'm getting from the first two songs. Some take a significantly stronger slant towards psychedelic rock, not complaining. Good record to set a specific "vibe" - think it works well to listen in the background versus needing rapt attention from the audience.

60's Psychedelia. These guys wish they were the Beatles, but they really aren't. Not actually awful, but I'm surprised this has made a top 1000 list.

Meh not bad but not good

Los coros de Trust me hicieron acordar a algunas cosas de los Beatles. Estuvo bien 3/5

One song in, had to look to Wikipedia to learn more about this. It feels like it should be on a special list of, say, 100 weird albums that were hugely influential or otherwise served as turning points in music". Honestly, much of what I'm hearing feels like it was done elsewhere and I don't know whether the other stuff references this or the other way around. There's a quality of pastiche that is interesting. It feels like it's probably not a widely know album for good reasons, but it's still an interesting one to learn about. But, yeah, the more I listen.. it's good. Not one I'd necessarily turn to, but not one I'd turn off either.

I'm not big on psychedelic music. It was ok.

Defecting Grey is fucking hilarious. I See You is great. Trust is my favorite. Second half much better than the first. Outro of Talkin About the Good Times is nasty perfect. Excessive use of stereo hurts it, but those were the times.

This was a new band and new music for me. "S.F. Sorrow Is Born" was my favorite track, which I'd listen to again. I heard hints of the Beatles, the Kinks and Pink Floyd in a few of songs. "Old Man Going" reminded me of some of the psychodelic music I'm familiar with from the 60s. The album was okay.

Rock opera. Great lyrics. Interesting to read how this album influenced future, more popular rock operas.

deffo not my type of music. I'm three songs down and I know. However I can tell its good music. like although its not my type of music I can acknowledge its good music. so props to it!!!

Not bad but is there anything remarkable?

Album estilo rock clásico/psicodélico de los '60. Interesante y agradable de escuchar, pero no es algo que haya enganchado en exceso.

Good vibe but also kinda feels like a knock off beetles

.

It was alright but I wouldn’t seek them out. ***

60s.fine.

Ihan ok brittirokkia. Wikipedian mukaan tämä oli pioneeri rock-oopperoiden alalla. Ei tullut kuitenkaan tarinaa kuunneltua sillä korvalla. Peruskolmonen riittänee tälle.

There are a few tracks I liked esp at the beginning, but this somehow felt like it just dragged on even though it wasn’t that long , and as is standard for rock operas, the mixing is just awful. 6/10

Reminded me of The Beatles at times, pretty easy to listen to, though nothing that exciting or special. Some of the audio mixing at the beginning was distractingly bad, but it got better over time.

Beatles-esque concept album. not my fav.

Sounds good but that's not my cup of tea.

De stereo mix is heel afleidend. Verder wel mooi rustige rock.

A good back up in case the Beatles don’t show

I too have listened to the Beatles

Rock

Meh