Parachute by The Pretty Things.

$

35

Tracks:
Scene One
Good Mr. Square, The
She Was Tall, She Was High
In the Square
Letter, The
Rain
Miss Fay Regrets
Cries From the Midnight Circus
Grass
Sickle Clowns
She's a Lover
What's the Use?
Parachute

Performer Notes: Also available in a 3-pack with THE PRETTY THINGS and CROSS TALK.
Following the disappointing sales of their ambitious 1968 concept album S.F. SORROW, the Pretty Things lost two of their members--drummer Twink (who went on to join the Pink Fairies) and, more significantly, founder/guitarist Dick Taylor. Remarkably, though, the remaining members, now light years away from their blues-rock beginnings, pressed on in relatively undaunted fashion with PARACHUTE, another bold Beatle-esque outing. Vocalist Phil May and multi-instrumentalist Wally Allen emerged as the British band's driving force, writing eclectic tunes such as the revved-up "Miss Fay Regrets," the melancholy "Grass," and the psychedelic sing-along "She Was Tall, She Was High." Although critically lauded, the record failed to bring the Pretty Things to a wider audience, essentially sealing the ensemble's fate as a perpetually underappreciated act. While the band would record a few more albums during the 1970s in various incarnations, PARACHUTE is, in many ways, its swan song and deserves to be held in high regard along with S.F. SORROW.

Professional Reviews: Q (9/99, p.134) - 3 stars (out of 5) - "...they constructed an intricate collection that compared their urban environs with hippy idealism....It's quaint and listenable, and angry when it has to be. Weird, in a palatable way..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.114) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "With sophisticated three-part harmonies, and a more grounded, electro-acoustic sound with heavy hints of hard rock, it is quintessentially post-hippy."

Record Collector (magazine) (p.84) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's a marked cohesion to it, a gratifying oneness which reveals the band to have still been occupying the same zone of inspiration which made SF SORROW such a hearty repast."

Uncut (magazine) (p.101) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[PARACHUTE] saw them wading even deeper into psychedelic waters....The busy musical ideas keep things fresh and surprising."

Format: Vinyl (1 Disc)

Country: USA

Studio/Live: Studio

Release Date: 5 August, 2014

Label: Madfish