Published on May 28, 1999
Surprise confession: I might not be the most qualified person to
write this review, seeing my entire knowledge of Phil May and The
Pretty Things now consists of two albums. Originally, I had planned
on reviewing
Get The Picture, the second release from this seminal
British blues outfit, but decided (with a little nudging from the
right people – hi, Veronique!) to check out their first release in
years (and a reunion of sorts, bringing back the core of the lineup
from their
S.F. Sorrow album).
In a sense, things worked out better this way. Listening to the
group’s debut album and hearing their uncanny similarity to the
Rolling Stones provided an interesting reference point for
Rage Before Beauty. Where the first album featured a band
that was rough around the edges and had a sound that matched, this
album features an older, wiser band with a sound that has been
tightly knit.
The years have been kind to May and crew. May’s voice now has a
richness that echoes throughout this album, and the musical
interplay between the veterans – May, guitarist Dick Taylor (who
was once a member of the Rolling Stones), keyboardist John Povey,
bassist Wally Walter and drummer Skip Allen – shows that the band
has become as tight as the competing band that came from that era
in British music. (Guitarist Frank Holland rounds out the
crew.)
Tracks like “Passion Of Love,” “Blue Turns To Red,” “Goodbye
Goodbye” and “Fly Away” all show the listener that The Pretty
Things are back with a vengeance, and that they are still musically
important in this day and age. With the help of friends like Pink
Floyd’s David Gilmour (on “Love Keeps Hanging On”) and Ronnie
Spector (on “Mony Mony”),
Rage Before Beauty quickly becomes a must-hear album.
There’s even a bit of humor in the memories, as heard in “Vivian
Prince,” a tribute to the first drummer for the band.
But it’s at the end of the album, with the gospel-tinged “God
Give Me The Strength (To Carry On)” that the soul of The Pretty
Things is laid bare. May pours his all into the vocals of this
song, exposing every raw nerve that he’s suffered over the course
of 30-odd years. It’s a powerful song, and the perfect way to close
this album.
I do question, though, the reliance on cover tunes. Sure, with
Taylor’s past with the Stones, I can understand them choosing a
cover song like “Play With Fire”. But two other tracks, “Mony Mony”
and “Eve Of Destruction,” I don’t quite understand. May proves
often enough that he’s more than capable of writing a killer track;
why the band would choose to make three of the album’s 14 tracks
cover songs is a mystery.
While today’s listener can still pick up
Rage Before Beauty without having heard any of The Pretty
Things’s discography prior and enjoy this disc, it still helps to
have heard at least one disc from the band’s early days. It helps
to show how much this band has grown – and matured – since the
start, and it makes you appreciate
Rage Before Beauty that much more.