In Stores Now: Philippe Debarge by the Pretty Things

Illustration by Louis Wisa from Howard Garis's Lulu, Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble, 1912

In the mid-60s, UK rock band the Pretty Things had a pretty standard R&B-influenced sound, and they had some decent hits with "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Honey I Need". Not content to be Rolling Stones imitators, the Pretty Things were talented musicians and songwriters in their own right and, by the 1968, they had embraced psychedelia and were developing a sound of their own. They released the much-loved S.F. Sorrow in 1968 and followed it with Parachute in 1970 (it was Rolling Stone's Album of the Year that year). What were they doing in 1969 then? The Pretty Things were pragmatists, as can be seen in the extensive soundtrack work they did for low-budget and porno films as the Electric Banana, and they got an offer in 1969 that they couldn't refuse.

The Pretty Things were approached by Philippe Debarge, a young Frenchman who was a playboy of sorts and pharmaceutical-fortune heir. Debarge wanted to be a rock star and, having almost unlimited resources, sought out great musicians that could help him make this vision a reality. The Pretty Things agreed, and Debarge flew the band's songwriters Phil May and Wally Waller down to his vacation home in St. Tropez to hammer out the details. The Pretty Things had some new material, as well as some Electric Banana tracks, that could be donated to the project. They went to London with Debarge recorded a full album of songs in at Nova Studios. Debarge had a large budget set aside for the project, allowing the Pretty Things to experiment with new sounds as they recorded to 8-track for the first time. Debarge contributed lead vocals to the songs and spent the rest of his time in the studio, watching the Pretty Things do their thing with avid interest. In the end, everyone was happy with the album they put together, and Debarge took it back to France, hoping to use family connections to get a record company to release it. That never happened. By 1976, Debarge was living on a barge (appropriately) in the Seine, depressed over his father's mysterious death. In the 1990s, Debarge also died under mysterious circumstances, never having seen his 1969 recordings with the Pretty Things get a proper release.

This year, the Pretty Things' May and Waller assembled the best available versions of the Debarge tracks and released them as Philippe Debarge through UT Records. Considering that the Pretty Things did this project at their creative peak, it's not a surprise that the album is impressive in its musicianship and songwriting. It starts with "Hello, How Do You Do", a great introductory song with an R&B flavor and the title chanted by Debarge and the Pretty Things, who bolster his vocals with harmonies and group singing throughout the album. This works well only because the Pretty Things were excellent vocalists and harmonizers. The second track "You Might Even Say" is an impressive Love-style acoustic number with Debarge's vocals unobstructed and at the forefront of the mix. And you know what? He sounds okay - the Pretty Things reported that he was not always easy to work with and his vocals were not always strong. As a result, Philippe Debarge has a lot of repetitive gang-style vocals and instrumental passages, and the album sounds a little too slight as a result. But the Pretty Things were obviously doing the best they could to make a good album under the conditions. This re-release even features a new Pretty Things song dedicated to Debarge called "Monsieur Rock" - it's a decent song and a nice tribute to a patron, but it doesn't belong here, tacked onto the end of a very singular recording.

The sound quality is a definite step up from the Debarge bootlegs that have been floating around forever. There are a few spots of murky sound and the closing song "All Gone Now" has some sibilance issues, but the biggest issue is the pops and clicks that remain in the album's middle suite of songs, "Peace/Eagle's Son/Graves of Grey/New Day". It's too bad that there wasn't a better source for these tracks because they are easily the album's high point. "New Day" is particularly impressive, boasting the album's most intricate arrangement. It starts with Debarge singing over an acoustic guitar, but the Pretty Things join in on the vocals and a nice harpsichord enters the mix as well. The album has a long instrumental bit in the middle where the lead guitar and harpsichord play off each other nicely. Debarge sounds very good here (and almost exactly like Phil May) and he'd probably be very proud that this song has finally seen the light of day.

"New Day" by the Pretty Things (with Philippe Debarge)