Pretties for You
| Pretties for You | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | June 25, 1969[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 1968 | |||
| Studio | Whitney Studios,Los Angeles[2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:10 | |||
| Label | Straight | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Alice Cooperchronology | ||||
| ||||
| SinglesfromPretties for You | ||||
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Pretties for Youis the debut studio album by AmericanrockbandAlice Cooper,released on June 25, 1969, byStraight Records."Alice Cooper" referred to the band and not its lead singerVincent Furnier.The album has apsychedelicstyle to it and the group had yet to develop the more concisehard rocksound that they would become famous for.
Most of the tracks feature unusual time signatures and arrangements, jarring syncopation, expressive dynamics, sound effects, and an eclectic range of music influences. A few songs, such as "Levity Ball", show the influence ofSyd Barrett-eraPink Floyd,with whom the band hung out during the British group's U.S. tour.[9]Alice Cooper guitaristGlen Buxtonstated he could listen to Barrett's guitar playing for hours on end.[10]
The artwork for this album is a painting byEdward Beardsley.[11]It was originally hanging on the wall of the living room inFrank Zappa's house,[12]and his wifeGail Zappastated that it was later stolen from them.[13]
Pretties for Youwas a critical and commercial failure, briefly appearing on theBillboardTop 200, and none of its songs have ever been played live by Cooper since the release of the band's breakthrough albumLove It to Death.[14]The song "Reflected",Alice Cooper's firstsingle,was later rewritten as "Elected",which features on their 1973 albumBillion Dollar Babies.
Production
[edit]According toAlice Cooper's band managerShep Gordon,when recording at Whitney Studios in Burbank,Frank Zappaleft his brother in charge of recording while Zappa left the studio. Zappa returned later that day and informed them the album was finished, having only recorded the band rehearsing. Gordon states that there was no producer during recording, that the band had no complete songs written, that Zappa "didn't spend 5 minutes in the studio" and never asked to hear their material, and that the band's debut album was made up entirely of that rehearsal recording, aside from the live recording of "Levity Ball".[15]
Reception
[edit]Lester BangsofRolling Stonefelt that there were no "[hints] of life, spontaneity, joy, rage, or any kind of authentic passion or conviction". However, he stated that "within the context of [Alice Cooper's] self-imposed limitations, the album is listenable". He concluded the review by saying that "Alice Cooper's music is, for this reviewer at any rate, totally dispensable".[16]
Pretties for You won an award in Germany for "Best Arranged Album of 1969".[17]
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine feels that the album "was an earnest but flawed stab at psychedelia that occasionally caught fire".[18]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written byAlice Cooper,Glen Buxton,Michael Bruce,Dennis DunawayandNeal Smith
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Titanic Overture" (Instrumental) | 1:12 |
| 2. | "10 Minutes Before the Worm" | 1:39 |
| 3. | "Sing Low, Sweet Cheerio" | 5:42 |
| 4. | "Today Mueller" | 1:48 |
| 5. | "Living" | 3:12 |
| 6. | "Fields of Regret" | 5:44 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | "No Longer Umpire" | 2:02 |
| 8. | "Levity Ball" | 4:39 |
| 9. | "B.B. on Mars" | 1:17 |
| 10. | "Reflected" | 3:17 |
| 11. | "Apple Bush" | 3:08 |
| 12. | "Earwigs to Eternity" | 1:19 |
| 13. | "Changing Arranging" | 3:03 |
Live covers
[edit]On November 8, 2015, the entire record was performed live at The Stone in NYC as part ofNick Didkovsky's residency there.[19]Neal Smith, Dennis Dunaway and Cindy Smith Dunaway were in attendance. Dennis Dunaway joined the band for "Nobody Likes Me" as an encore, a song that was originally slated to be on the record.
Personnel
[edit]- Alice Cooper band
- Alice Cooper–lead vocals,harmonica
- Glen Buxton–lead guitar
- Michael Bruce–rhythm guitar,backing vocals,keyboards
- Dennis Dunaway–bass guitar,backing vocals
- Neal Smith–drums,backing vocals
Charts
[edit]| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard200[20] | 193 |
References
[edit]- ^Alice Cooper Box Set
- ^"Hot Rats: Notes & Comments".globalia.net.RetrievedApril 28,2019.
- ^abDoyle Greene (17 February 2016).Rock, Counterculture and the Avant-Garde, 1966-1970: How the Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground Defined an Era.McFarland. p. 125.ISBN978-1-4766-2403-7.
- ^abLove It to DeathatAllMusic.Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- ^Buckley, Peter (2003).The Rough Guide to Rock.Rough Guides. p. 224.ISBN9781843531050.
- ^Pearson, Paul (August 8, 2007)."Alice Cooper, Love It to Death".PopMatters.RetrievedApril 28,2019.
- ^Cope, Julian (2012).Copendium: An Expedition into the Rock 'n' Roll Underworld.London: Fsber & Faber. pp. 91–92.ISBN978-0-571 27034-7.
As a rock'n'roll group, Alice Cooper were always so much more than those first two horrible/brilliant LPs – and even they were genuine experimental rock of the Frankenstein kind. That is, they fell on their face at least seventy percent of the time, but struggled ever upward towards some Doorsian light at the end of the tunnel.
- ^"Pretties For You".alicecooper.RetrievedAugust 8,2023.
- ^Liner notes toThe Life and Death of Alice Cooperbox set, p. 62.
- ^Palmerston, Sean (August 10, 2011)."Alice Cooper – Old School 1964-1974".Hellbound.ca.RetrievedFebruary 29,2012.
- ^"Pretties For You".Sickthingsuk.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon February 19, 2012.RetrievedApril 26,2010.
- ^"LIFE: Musician Frank Zappa (R) w. parents (L–R... - Hosted by Google".Images.google.RetrievedApril 26,2010.
- ^"Re: Questions about Alice Master Tapes".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-19.Retrieved2012-07-10.
- ^Alice Cooper Tour Archive
- ^"Episode 758 - Shep Gordon".WTF with Marc Maron Podcast.November 10, 2016.RetrievedApril 28,2019.
- ^Bangs, Lester (July 12, 1969)."Records".Rolling Stone(37). San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.: 36–37.RetrievedAugust 25,2015.
- ^Steve Demorest - Alice Cooper (1974). A Circus Magazine Book.ISBN978-0445030466p42
- ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas.Pretties for You - Alice CooperatAllMusic.Retrieved July 6, 2011.
- ^"Pretties For You LIVE".didkovsky.RetrievedJuly 6,2016.
- ^"Alice Cooper Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved May 25, 2024.
