Mod Anthems Part Five: The Pretty Things "Midnight To Six Man"

 

THE PRETTY THINGS-Midnight To Six Man/Can't Stand The Pain U.S. Fontana F-1540 1966

My introduction to The Pretty Things came via a cassette mix with "Can't Stand The Pain" in about 1985 or so but it wasn't until the following year that my then girlfriend made name a cassette of tracks by them from the recently released Bam Caruso records Pretty Things compilation LP "Closed Restaurant", which became my gateway to the band and also the prefect document to my favorite period of their material.

Towards the end of 1965 The Pretties started to come into their own and started to shed the Chuck Berry/Bo Diddley covers and start recording even more of their own material (as evidenced by their second album "Get The Picture" ). I jokingly refer to it as their "mod years" because of the harder edge some of their material took on. I don't think that is better exemplified by today's topic.

"Midnight To Six Man" was launched in the U.K. in December 1965 as Fontana TF 647, it was not issued in America until February of the following year. Both releases featured the moody "Can't Stand The Pain" as the flip. 

"Midnight To Six Man" is an epic mod anthem. Yeah yeah yeah I know, everyone slings that "m" word around a lot. But you know me, I don't. But hear me out. Actually listen to the song first...

https://youtu.be/OPbMcUsiwjM?si=26CB9pMiculkeg0F

"I never see the people I know in the bright light of day....I sleep through the day, I wake around 4.., till tonight comes around, see you downtown, take in some sounds, maybe we'll score..."

If those lyrics aren't tailor made for mods (or any nocturnal subculture for that matter) then I need to give up blogging. This one was a personal message to me at 20 when I first heard it. I was living those lyrics every Friday night after work getting dressed to the nines and heading into the city and out all night with my mod as hell girlfriend getting worse for wear and soaking up sounds until the wee hours with our crowd, getting home and going to bed with the sun coming up, sleeping all day and then getting up and doing it all again on Saturday night! The other "mod" aspect of the song for me is the powerful guitar, especially the rhythm that rings out right after the first time we hear the chorus and Dick Taylor's distinctive repeating guitar lick. The number is fattened up by some piano by Nicky Hopkins that brings to mind his similar ivory tinkling on The Who's "My Generation" LP and Goldie and The Gingerbread's keyboardist Margo Corccito adds some subtle organ to the whole shebang! Ugly Things Mike Stax confirms that it's "new boy" Skip Allan (who recently replaced the errant Viv Prince) on drums and NOT Bobby Graham as is often supposed. 

The flip, "Can't Stand The Pain", is a moody piece and as mentioned earlier was the first track I ever heard by the band. There's a desolate feeling of despair to it, maybe it's the muted guitar strings or the bluesy vibrato lick that sounds like the lonely whistle of a distant train. To me it's the eventual next day comedown from the amphetamine bravado that's the A-side

Both sides are available on a variety of Pretty Things compilations, the most recent being the 2017 "Greatest Hits" collection put together by Mike Stax, which is also available on streaming. 

Hear "Can't Stand The Pain":

https://youtu.be/IR5eJDkhDVk?si=Xm2s65fwEsvN8-6i

"Midnight To Six Man" live on 1966's "A Whole Scene Going":

https://youtu.be/qjpKXs_8fV0?si=vmOkh0Mv6dPgwk_n

For previous Mod Anthems check out David Bowie's "The London Boys", The Who's "My Generation" 

and Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds "Buzz With The Fuzz". 

Classic 60's Albums: The Pretty Things-"Get The Picture"

 

 

THE PRETTY THINGS-"Get The Picture" U.K. LP Fontana TL.5280 1965

The Pretty Things launched their second U.K. LP "Get The Picture" in December 1965. By then the band were firmly settling in to recording more of their own material instead of churning out beloved U.S. blues/r&b covers. The band were also in a state of flux in regards to their troublesome drummer Viv Prince, who by its release date, was summarily ejected. The sessions saw him play on some tracks, with the rest of the drumming on the album done by session man extraordinaire Bobby Graham and Fairies drummer Twink (who would later become a full time member in 1967). The band's sound was also in a state of metamorphosis with them moving slightly out of the raw British r&b harp wailin'/maracas shakin' sound and including more jangly, melodic numbers whilst also absorbing a lot of the harder edged "mod" sound (fuzz, feedback, Nicky Hopkin's ivory tinkling etc).

SIDE ONE

1. "You Don't Believe Me" (Page, Graham, May, Merrell)

2. "Buzz The Jerk" (May, Taylor)

3. "Get The Picture" (May, Taylor)

4. "Can't Stand The Pain" (May, Taylor, Graham)

5. "Rainin' In My Heart" (West, Moore)

6. "We'll Play House" (Aldo, Gandy, May, Taylor)

Side One opens with the jangly neo folk rock of "You Don't Believe Me", co-authored with Jimmy Page it sees the band doing something they'd never really done before: a beat ballad! Which works! Band original (all but one track one Side One are band originals) "Buzz The Jerk" is next with it's intro borrowed from Alvin Cash and The Crawler's "Twine Time" with Dick Taylor's blistering fuzz licks laying perfectly with John Stax murky bass line, easily the most "danceable" thing the band after crafted! "Get The Picture" also benefits from Dick's fuzz guitar riffs on top of a mid tempo track and perfectly illustrates the new direction the Pretties were headed in. "Can't Stand The Pain" (also utilized as the flip of their current single "Midnight To Six Man") is magical. Delivered in hushed tones with bluesy licks and a desolate feel it's accented with faint piano tinkling and a discordant vibrato. Slim Harpo's "Rainin' In My Heart" is next, slowing things down a bit and harking back to their blues interpreter phase that they were just shifting away from. "We'll Play House" with it's feedback intro and constant cow bell is an interesting mix of styles but all too often sounds like filler to me despite the cool mod power chords.

SIDE TWO

1. "You'll Never Do It Baby" (B. Smith, T. Fox)

2. "I Had A Dream" 

3. "I Want Your Love" (J. Dee, J. Tarr)

4. "London Town" (Taylor)

5. "Cry To Me" (Russell)

6. "Gonna Find A Substitute" 

Side Two kicks off with a track penned by fellow r&b devotees The Cops N' Robbers, adds a dash of the bluesy Pretties that's part Chuck Berry and part Prettie's '66, especially with the soulful pauses. "I Had A Dream" is uncredited on the original album and is a bluesy barroom ballad with call and response backing vocals beneath smoky guitar licks and ivory tinkling that call to mind Them. "I Want You Love" plumbs the call and response backing vocals again with some nifty chord changes and stops and occasional bursts of uptempo raving with blistering licks. British folk standard "London Town" (originally penned by Mick Taylor, NOT the Stones guy) fords into uncharted territory for the band with it's acoustic guitar, bongos and echo drenched blues licks, easily my favorite interpretation of this number!! Betty Harris' blues belter "Cry To Me" (previously covered by The Stones on their "Out Of Our Heads" album) is next, though I prefer the Stones reading, this isn't without charm thanks to the backing vocals and the moody backing. "Gonna Find A Substitute" closes the album, though uncredited it's actually an Ike Turner composition culled from Ike & Tina's rare as hell (U.K.) Sue E.P. "The Soul Of..". The Pretties make it their own with trademark gusto: thundering bass and blistering bluesy guitar before the number gradually fades out like they'd had enough!

Dutch pressing Fontana 858 039 FPY 1967

More U.K. Obscurities On U.S. Labels: The Pretty Things "Come See Me"

 

THE PRETTY THINGS-Come See Me/Judgement Day U.S. Fontana F-1550 1966

The Pretty Things were a band who I really didn't know a thing about, their name was everywhere and I had seen a photo of them in a "Life" magazine book at school on Great Britain and a friend had put "Can't Stand The Pain" on a cassette mix for me but I never investigated further. Curiously I bought "The Electric Banana" LP in 1986 but that was it. Then in early 1987 my then girlfriend made me a mix tape of their songs, mostly culled from the Bam Caruso Pretty Things compilation album "Closed Restaurant Blues" that encompassed their '65-'67 sounds on Fontana records (picking up where the earlier Edsel records compilation LP "Let Me Hear the Choir Sing" had left off). At the time I was knee deep in my obsession with a U.K. mod band called Makin' Time and was playing the grooves off their posthumous second album "No Lumps, Fat Or Gristle Guaranteed". The moment I put on that Pretty Things tape that kicked off with "Come See Me" Makin' Time were all but forgotten.....

"Come See Me" is a song that is frequently guilty of confusing people about it's origin. It was written by the American soul singer J.J. Jackson in conjunction with Pierre Tubbs and Sidney Barnes. Frequently it's claimed that J.J. Jackson recorded it first, this is in part true. Jackson cut a demo version backed by The Jeeps (which was included on the Strike records CD compilation "The Best of Strike Records") BUT the first actual release was by the Pretty Things who launched their version in the U.K. on April 1966 as Fontana TF 688. Jackson liked what he heard and then decided to record and release his own version which saw the light of day in April on 1967 on the Strike label in England as JH 329. It would not be released in the United States until the following year in March as Loma 296 (curiously Johnny Maestro  released a version with The Crests in America on Parkway P-999 in August of 1966!). 

As in the case with many American 60's releases of British material, this one got altered. Presumably Fontana U.S.A got spooked by the British b-side "L.S.D." and decided to substitute it with "Judgement Day", a track culled from the U.S. issue of the band's untitled debut long player. 

For the uninitiated "Come See Me" is a two minute and forty five second monster. From John Stax's murky bass line intro Nicky Hopkin's subtle ivory tinkling it's an absolute tour de force accented by Dick Taylor's disjointed fuzz licks on the chorus! ("Ugly Things" honcho and Pretty Things fan/expert supreme Mike Stax told me that John Stax remembers guitarist Dick Taylor playing bass on the track, Dick modestly remains unsure). 

Though "Judgement Day" is certainly no "L.S.D." it's not easily forgotten either because it's suitably ballsy enough to compliment the searing A-side, fair cop!

Both sides are available on a variety of Pretty Things compilations, the most recent being the 2017 "Greatest Hits" collection put together by Mike Stax, which is also available on streaming. 

Hear "Come See Me":

https://youtu.be/Ty1iKoVdcCI?si=D3bXfsDTk8l1Rcj-

Hear "Judgement Day":

https://youtu.be/utzYb5ZizVI?si=7Dx2Pmw3Pb10EA0R

More U.K. Obscurities On U.S. Labels: The Pretty Things "Don't Bring Me Down"

 

THE PRETTY THINGS-Don't Bring Me Down/We'll Be Together US Fontana S-1941 1964

Britain's r&b miscreant quintet The Pretty Things released their second single, "Don't Bring Me Down" back in the U.K. as Fontana TF 503 in October 1964 with it simultaneously being issued here on Fontana as well. In Britain the band scored their highest chart rating with it where it rose to #10, sadly they had no such luck in the United States.

"Don't Bring Me Down" was written by the band's acquaintance Johnnie Dee (he would also write "Get Yourself Home", released by fellow r&b ravers The Fairies, and recorded by the Pretties but not issued until the 90's) and was later featured on David Bowie's LP tribute to the 60's "Pin Ups" (alongside the Prettie's previous single "Rosalyn").  It's tap-tap-tap rhythm is infectious from the get go and the music has a call and response about it, sprinkled with the miniature rave up's with lead guitarist Dick Taylor's pyrotechnic licks. It's famed for the risque line "I met this chick the other day...and then I laid her down, my head is spinning round" which apparently raised some hackles back home at the time.

Viv Prince serves up some cappuccino's for his band mates. 

The flip side, "We'll Be Together" was penned by vocalist Phil May, guitarist Dick Taylor and bassist John Stax (the first time a band original graced vinyl). It's a bluesy down tempo number showcasing Taylor's licks and May's harp blowing, not unlike an early Rolling Stones original on their debut long player. Not one of my favorite Prettie's tunes but not remotely unlistenable either.

Both sides have been issued on a host of Prettie's compilations, the most recent being the comprehensive Prettie's 2017 CD collection  "Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky" and the 2011 double CD deluxe edition of the first two long players with bonus cuts. 

Hear "Don't Bring Bring Me Down":

https://youtu.be/mMON9beHcio

Hear "We'll Be Together":

https://youtu.be/QPySm80G02s

R.I.P. Phil May

                          Phil May November 9, 1944 - May 15, 2020

Phil May, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ September 17, 1999

"This pen doesn't work" Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ September 17, 1999

Word came through that Phil May had passed away. Its taken me awhile to sit down and write about it because time has been short and I really wanted to put my soul into writing this.

My introduction to The Pretty Things came at a very early age. I was probably 11 or 12 and at the onset of my British Invasion fascination with all things Sixties and British in a "Time Life" World Library book in my school library on Britain there was a picture of them playing live in b&w. But they were never on oldies radio and there was no Internet to search for them on. In 1983 I bought David Bowie's "Pin Ups" where he covered the Prettie's "Rosalyn" and "Don't Bring Me Down". I honestly did not hear them until 1985 when a girl I was friends with taped me selections of tracks theirs. Around the same time another friend put "Can't Stand The Pain" on a compilation tape. Finally in 1986 I acquired my first Pretty Things record, the Bam Caruso compilation LP "Closed Restaurant Blues" from Venus Records and so began the acquisition of their Sixties catalog.

Fast forward to September 17, 1999 and the entire 1967 line up of the band kicked off their U.S. Tour at Maxwell's in Hoboken (I was fortunate to catch this gig as drummer Skip Allen bailed a few gigs later).  What I remember most about their set was they performed five tracks from "S.F. Sorrow" which sounded god like (no doubt owing, in some small part,  to the several pints of Double Diamond coursing through my veins).  After the gig I found Phil May standing at the bar on his own nursing a glass of white wine. We had a brief chat and he signed several E.P.'s for me (despite a malfunctioning pen) and came across as a lovely, polite chap.  I sadly never got to see them again.  Rest in peace Sir.

"David Bowie's just doing what Phil May of the Pretty Things used to do. He's just wearing different clothes"  -Van Morrison 1973

Great British 7" Freakouts: The Pretty Things

THE PRETTY THINGS-Talkin' About The Good Times/Walking Through My Dreams Germany Columbia C 23 732 1967

Most 60's British r&b bands fell like Dracula to garlic and a sharpened stake to psychedelia. The Pretty Things weathered the storm easing from r&b into psych (via what I like to call their "mod" period in '65-'66) before getting freaky much like The Stones and The Yardbirds. To me some of The Stones attempts at psychedelia were sometimes embarrassing with poor track selection (half of "Their Satanic Majesties Request" for instance) and awful production and the Yardbirds were just bluesmen on acid while Pagey was ripping off Davy Graham and Bert Jansch.  The Pretty Things had a great track selection of originals in their psychedelic period and a great producer  in Norman Smith (also responsible for the first Pink Floyd album and two of their three Syd Barrett era 45's and their two post Syd ones).

February 1968's coupling of "Talkin' About The Good Times" b/w "Walking through My Dreams" (U.K. Columbia DB 8353, US Laurie LR 3458) picks up where November '67's "Defecting Grey"/ "Mr. Evasion" 45 (U.K. Columbia DB 8300) left off as far as psychedelia is concerned. The credit for shaping the Pretties psychedelic sound to my ears is owed in no small part to members Jon Povey (keyboards) and Wally Waller (bass) and their backing vocals (and their writing assistance to lead singer Phil May and guitarist Dick Taylor). The Pretties also get high marks for this period for using the Mellotron and much like The Zombie's "Oddysey And Oracle" it's used sparingly and tastefully not a brutal assault like The Stones "We Love You" (which I dig but it always came off as "bad trip" music opposed to the Pretties, Moodys, Zombies and Pink Floyd's pastoral feel of the instrument).

"Talkin' About The Good Times" is in my estimation the most psychedelic record The Pretties ever cut. I'd prefer to skip any Pink Floyd comparisons that are often thrown about by people on this era. It's clockwork guitar/balalaika/sitar intro reminds me of something off of the Tomorrow LP and it's immediately meshed with loads of Mellotron and the band's layers of harmonies (dig the Beach Boys style a capella bit towards the end) and then it fades out with a hypnotic riff from Dick Taylor (and more Mellotron).

"Waking Through My Dreams" is  less trippy with subtle organ/piano beneath the bands incredible harmonies, with guitars playing descending licks and crashing drums from Skip Allen (who would depart soon after to be replaced by former Tomorrow drummer John "Twink" Alder). The fade out once again showcases the perfect meshing of their vocal abilities and hypnotic riffs beneath a layered tapestry of sound.

Both cuts are featured on several Pretty Things collections, the most current being "Come See Me:The Very Best of The Pretty Things". "Talkin' About The Good Times" cropped up on Bam Caruso's "Rubble 3: Nightmares In Wonderland" collection while "Walking Through My Dreams" was issued on the "Nuggets II" box set, "Psychedelia At Abbey Road" and "Rubble 2: Pop Sike Dreams" compilations.

Hear "Walking Through My Dreams" live BBC:

https://youtu.be/Ye6LVazuML8

Hear "Walking Through My Dreams":

https://youtu.be/64WvcRhAwi4

Hear "Talking About The Good Times":