While The Pretty Things have only managed two new studio albums this century, they’ve certainly proved that less can be more. Both last year’s The Sweet Pretty Things (Are In Bed Now Of Course…) and this reissued 2007 set benefited from an injection of grit and guts that many musicians a third of Phil May and Dick Taylor’s pensionable age could learn from.
Added is a ‘remastered’ version (as usual, we ask: what was wrong with the original mastering?); the extras also add intrigue. Look Away Now is the only original composition, a strong tune full of clattering percussion, mod fury and world-gone-wrong lyrics. Otherwise, the pick of the four covers is their take on Hoochie Coochie Man, which brings the Pretties’ own sense of menace to the Muddy Waters standard. Worth repurchasing for? No. Adding value for newcomers? Most certainly.
