S.F. Sorrow
by The Pretty Things

The Pretty Things' 1968 album "S.F. Sorrow" did not 'cause much attention when it was originally released. The band had already shown, with their previous album "Emotions", that they wanted to explore new grounds, and that they felt that the r&b concept was too limited for them.

"Emotions" showed that the band possesed excellent songwriters in Wally Allen, Phil May and Dick Taylor. Unfortunately the production of that album was not too successful; at least at the time it was considered as some kind of a "disaster".

This is not the case with the follow-up album "S.F. Sorrow". The sound is great and Norman Smith's production captured the new psychedelic sounds and trends of the late 1960's perfectly.

"S.F. Sorrow" is a concept album, which tells the sad story of the life of S.F. Sorrow. The idea of doing rock concept album was very new at this time. And Pretty Things were among the very first to come up with a rock album; but in my opinion this is not what makes "S.F. Sorrow" a classic album. The album's strength is clearly the music; though the story is quite interesting too.

The catchy "S.F. Sorrow", driven by great acoustic guitars, gives the album the perfect start. The song almost has hit-record potentials. The musically more complex "Bracelets" follows. It's a song in the same vein as their great "progressive" 1967 single "Defecting Grey". The song did not make it to the charts, but I remember that it got some airplay here in Denmark in 1967-68. The song is featured here as a bonus-track.

"She Says Good Morning" indicates that the Pretty Things were also inspired by the Beatles' "Revolver" album. "Private Sorrow" is another great track - the flute and the acoustic guitars almost sounding like Jethro Tull The dramatic "Ballon Burning" tells the dramatic story of the "Hindenburg" crash in which Sorrow's girlfriend dies. "The mysterious "Baron Saturday" enters the story in the song of the same title. Great Beatle-like vocals.

Musically some of the last tracks are obviously songs that serve to tie the story together and not meant to stand alone. 2 tracks stand out, though. "Trust" and the sad but very beautiful finale "The loneliest Person" featuring only an acoustic guitar and Phil May's vocals.

The 4 bonus tracks are 2 Columbia singles released in 1967-68. All good songs and musically fitting perfectly into the rest of the album. This album is a milestone in the Pretty Things' career! (Edited)

From teague TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/25/2020 23:05 | #254512 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

S.F. Sorrow contains a lot of what makes music from the 60s appealing. The Beatles' pop sensibilities and chemistry, The Velvet Underground's willingness to push the boundaries of rock music, The Who's loudness and rock 'n' roll. And to tie it all together, this S.F. Sorrow may very well be the first ever rock opera. I'm glad to see it hasn't been completely forgotten on this website. (Edited)

Got sucked into the album in the first listen. This is a really crazy psychedelic story about some strange guy named SF Sorrow. There are some really trippy songs on here, my favorites being Baron Saturday and Defecting Grey. There’s great guitar playing throughout and this band can really rock. This has become one of my favorite albums ever after a random encounter with it a few days ago. This is a highly under rated album. There’s a dark sort of theme throughout this album that for some reason gives me Courage the Cowardly Dog vibes. SiTtInG aLoNe On A bEnCh WiTh YEW! (Edited)

From Medelsvensson 10/28/2019 23:15 | #244229 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

One of the best - and perhaps the most musically prophetic - albums of the 60’s. Aspects of it are so way ahead of its time that it shocks you on first listen.

In terms of comparisons to Tommy and whether it influenced that album. I don’t find it at all similar other than the conceptuality of it. It is also a way better album than Tommy which is a prime example of trying way to hard. (Edited)

From NowhereMan 04/20/2009 23:54 | #3664 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

One of the best kept secrets of the sixties, one of the best albums,I recommend it highly! (Edited)