It's New to Me: S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things (1968)

Cover illustration by Harry Payne from The ABC of Horses, 1880

In retrospect, there was no way that I wasn't going to be a little disappointed with S.F. Sorrow. Released in 1968 by UK rockers the Pretty Things, S.F. Sorrow is cited as the first real "rock opera" and a probable influence on the Who's Tommy, which was released the following year. It's also probably the most psychedelic of the original rock operas, although I've never heard The Story of Simon Simopath by Nirvana (not that Nirvana!), which predates S.F. Sorrow by a full year. On top of all this, S.F. Sorrow was also a colossal failure for the Pretty Things, giving it that "unrecognized masterpiece" feel that I find irresistible. There was no way that it could live up to the hype.

Notwithstanding my reservations, I have to admit that S.F. Sorrow actually lives up to the hype in some regards. For one thing, the album sounds terrific - producer Norman Smith gets an amazingly organic and complex psychedelic sound out of the Pretty Things in spite of some heavy-handed psychedelic arrangements that turned out much better than they should have. My issue with S.F. Sorrow is the songs, ultimately - I find about half of them to be unengaging, as good as they sound. "Death", one of the songs that people gush about, doesn't really appeal to me at all, for instance. The sense of "drama" doesn't really work for me, which might mean that I'm not a fan of "rock operas" as much as non-operatic concept albums. Too many of the songs lurch along with a fakey-sounding gravitas and no recognizable hooks.

There are six or seven songs on S.F. Sorrow, though, that I think are excellent. This leads me to believe that I'll like the album as a whole if I just give it time. The opener, "S.F. Sorrow Is Born" is a great thesis statement of the album's intentions with its fanfare and complex structure, making a promise that the Pretty Things only partially deliver on. Of the songs split into distinct sections, "Baron Saturday" is the most successful, remaining cohesive and compelling even during its lengthy interludes. And "I See You" is a fitting climax to the album, featuring some of the album's trippiest sounds. My favorite song on the record, though, is probably "Trust", a slice of light psychedelia that relies heavily on layered vocals and a simpler pop structure than most of the album's cuts. Phil May's vocal carries some of the real emotion that I don't hear in the album's more bombastic moments, and the layered harmonies have an excellent sound (courtesy of producer Norman Smith.)

I just read on Wikipedia that S.F. Sorrow was released the same week as The White Album, Beggars Banquet, and Village Green Preservation Society - can that really be true? If so, is it any wonder that it was overlooked at the time? I'm still figuring out how I feel about the album as a whole, but my current thinking is that, even though the Pretty Things' songwriting doesn't reach the same heights as those other three albums, for its sound and ambition, it definitely deserves to be grouped with those classic releases.

"Trust" by the Pretty Things