Parachute (Pretty Things album)
Encyclopedia
Parachute, released in 1970 is The Pretty Things
' fifth studio album, following S.F. Sorrow
and preceding Freeway Madness
. It is their first album without Dick Taylor
.
Reviews at the time of release were very positive, with Billboard
calling it "another top-flight album" for the band. In 1975, Rolling Stone
critic Steve Turner
even wrote that it had been "a Rolling Stone 'album of the year'," though in fact Parachute did not place among the magazine's Albums of the Year for 1970 or 1971, and indeed was not mentioned in Rolling Stone until Stephen Holden
called it an "obscure underground classic" in his review of Freeway Madness.
The musicians involved were Phil May
, Wally Waller, John Povey, Vic Unitt, Skip Alan.
The record was later packaged together with S.F. Sorrow
as a double LP titled Real Pretty. In Canada, this album was on Motown Records
.
Snapper Records released a 40th anniversary double CD in September 2010 which included acoustic reworkings of various tracks recorded in May 2010 by Wally Waller and Phil May.
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
' fifth studio album, following S.F. Sorrow
S.F. Sorrow
S.F. Sorrow is the title of the fourth LP by the British rock group The Pretty Things, released in 1968.One of the first rock concept albums, S.F. Sorrow was based on a short story by singer-guitarist Phil May. The album is structured as a song cycle, telling the story of the main character,...
and preceding Freeway Madness
Freeway Madness
Freeway Madness is the sixth album by British rock band, The Pretty Things. It's the second album without founding member Dick Taylor and the first without bassist Wally Waller as a full member, who has been with the band since the band's 1967 album Emotions...
. It is their first album without Dick Taylor
Dick Taylor
Richard Clifford 'Dick' Taylor is an English musician who was an early bass guitarist for The Rolling Stones. He left to become an art student at Sidcup Art College and while there formed The Pretty Things in September 1963...
.
Reviews at the time of release were very positive, with Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
calling it "another top-flight album" for the band. In 1975, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
critic Steve Turner
Steve Turner (writer)
Steve Turner is an English music journalist, biographer and poet, who grew up in Northamptonshire, England. His first published article was in the Beatles Monthly in 1969. His career as a journalist began as features editor of Beat Instrumental where he interviewed many of the prominent rock...
even wrote that it had been "a Rolling Stone 'album of the year'," though in fact Parachute did not place among the magazine's Albums of the Year for 1970 or 1971, and indeed was not mentioned in Rolling Stone until Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
called it an "obscure underground classic" in his review of Freeway Madness.
The musicians involved were Phil May
Phil May (singer)
Phil May is the stage name of an English vocalist...
, Wally Waller, John Povey, Vic Unitt, Skip Alan.
The record was later packaged together with S.F. Sorrow
S.F. Sorrow
S.F. Sorrow is the title of the fourth LP by the British rock group The Pretty Things, released in 1968.One of the first rock concept albums, S.F. Sorrow was based on a short story by singer-guitarist Phil May. The album is structured as a song cycle, telling the story of the main character,...
as a double LP titled Real Pretty. In Canada, this album was on Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
.
Snapper Records released a 40th anniversary double CD in September 2010 which included acoustic reworkings of various tracks recorded in May 2010 by Wally Waller and Phil May.
Track listing
- Scene One (Phil May, Wally Waller)
- The Good Mr. Square (May, Waller)
- She Was Tall, She Was High (May, Waller)
- In the Square (May, Waller)
- The Letter (May, Waller)
- Rain (May, Waller)
- Miss Fay Regrets (May, Waller)
- Cries From the Midnight Circus (May, Waller)
- Grass (May, Waller)
- Sickle Clowns (May, Waller)
- She's a Lover (May, Waller)
- What's the Use (May, Waller)
- Parachute (Norman Smith, May)
Bonus tracks on 2000 reissue
- Blue Serge Blues (John Povey, May, Waller)
- October 26 (Waller, May)
- Cold Stone (Waller, May, Peter Tolson)
- Stone-Hearted Mama (Waller, May)
- Summer Time (Waller, May, Tolson)
- Circus Mind (May, Tolson)