Come See Me: The Very Best of the Pretty Things

An equal love for rock ?n? roll and rhythm & blues is what guided The Pretty Things in 1963 when they first formed. Guitarist Dick Taylor, previously a member of Little Boy Blue & The Blue Boys with pals Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, met Phil May at art school and quickly joined forces. They recruited the rest of the original Things over the next year and went on to sign a record deal with Fontana. While U.S. audiences didn?t embrace these British invaders, European audiences did. In fact, it was David Bowie who first enlightened America about the Pretty Things phenomenon with covers of both "Rosalyn" and "Don?t Bring Me Down" in 1973. Another milestone for the band was 1968?s S. F. Sorrow. The first rock opera was a huge influence for Pete Townshend, who went on to create Tommy a year later.

Long overdue, Come See Me: The Very Best Of The Pretty Things is the band?s first comprehensive best-of package in the U.S. It focuses on the band?s initial decade, starting with a heavily R&B-influenced garage sound, passing through their late-?60s conceptual operetta and into psychedelia and standard classic ?70s rock. Its 25 tracks include the hits "Don?t Bring Me Down," "Defecting Grey" and "Honey, I Need." The Pretties reunited a few years back to re-record their operetta and continue to record and tour sporadically.

? This is The Pretty Things? first comprehensive "Best-of," packed with 25 tracks.

? The contemporary garage rock movement, led by The White Stripes, The Vines, The Strokes...has brought renewed interest to The Pretty Things, one of the pioneering groups of the genre.

? Sixties garage rock?s popularity is evidenced by the strong sales of Rhino?s Nuggets boxed sets (which featured The Pretty Things).

? The Pretty Things? Parachutes was Rolling Stone magazine?s 1970 Album of the Year.  more