A Year of Blind Spots: S.F. Sorrow

Joe is working through a list of albums that he considers "blind spots," i.e. albums that he's never heard but feels like he should.

S.F. Sorrow

Pretty Things

1968

What 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die has to say about S.F. Sorrow by Pretty Things:

Pretty Things came to prominence in the early 1960s by boiling up Bo Diddley-inspired R&B; their initial sound, captured on early singles like "Road Runner," was even raunchier, though far less popular, than what the Rolling Stones were offering. Inspired by the thriving psychedelic scene, the group entered a transitional stage with 1967's introspective Emotions, an unremarkable effort, but one that set the stage for their greatest achievement.

Recorded during a druggy stay at Abbey Road during the Summer of Love, S.F. Sorry was a daring project that provided the blueprint for all future rock operas. Pete Townshend cites S.F. Sorrow as a major influence behind 1969's Tommy—which is putting it mildly, given the similarities between the two.

Utilizing tricks learned from working Sgt. Pepper's, Norman Smith helped bring vocalist Phil May's story of Sebastian F. Sorrow to life through a kaleidoscope of vocal collages, Middle Eastern instrumentation, and fuzzy guitar. The sounds range from the breathtaking a cappella intro of "Bracelets of Fingers" and the graceful sitar on "Death" to the lush vocal harmonies of "The Journey" and the dense guitar of "Old Man Song."

Although expertly executed, S.F. Sorrow was greeted with indifference outside of the United Kingdom (in the United States, its late release led many to believe the band was simply cashing in on the success of Tommy). The fact is, fans might never have gotten to hear Tommy, scale Pink Floyd's The Wall, or even mosh along with Green Day's American Idiot if Pretty Things had not come of age first with S.F. Sorrow.

What 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die has to say about S.F. Sorrow by Pretty Things:

That would've been me. I totally would've been one of those fans, listening to S.F. Sorrow after Tommy and being like "psh, derivative." I totally understand S.F. Sorrow's placement in this book. I take the authors at their word that this album was crucial in the creation of the "rock opera," and I have little doubt that Townshend borrowed liberally to create the Who's magnum opus. But that doesn't diminish Tommy, and that doesn't mean that S.F. Sorrow is easier to listen to.

I dunno, man, I'm just tired of mediocre British rock albums from pre-'90s. I don't know how else to describe it. I am just starting to get the feeling that this book is a bit too England-centric. Or, maybe, the history of rock 'n' roll is too England-centric. This is what we allowed when we invited the Beatles onto our shores. We should've told them no. Stay where you are. Make your music on your little island and ship it over in large metal containers and let us Amuricans interpret it however we want, choose what we want, and keep the rest of the fluff over there, thank you very much. 

Okay, alright, maybe that's going too far. I just didn't think S.F. Sorrow was a good album. Perhaps one of the more extreme important-not-good albums we've come across thus far in A Year of Blind Spots. It's boring as hell, with very little in the way of catchiness. I think this is a problem with many rock opera attempts—there is a focus on the story, and the music itself is deemphasized. Pretty Things were upfront about the fact that they were making up the story during the recording process, and letting the music follow. That's no way to make an album, man. You gotta do it the other way around. You gotta have some killer songs, and then do the work to connect the lyrics and make 'em coherent. But alas.

The weird irony with me when it comes to rock operas is that it often takes a long time and lot of effort for me to care about the story. You'd think that would be catnip for me. I love albums that take big swings! Pretty Things are doing that here! They are creating the idea of rock operas! That's huge! But I struggle terribly with hanging onto the story as its passing me by. The basic premise is that you're following some guy, who's born to normal parents, joins the army, and then, eventually, goes to some mythical place where he is forced to examine his life as he has lived it so far, and is... I dunno, trapped in a hall of mirrors or something? It's not a bad thing to lose the thread, because rock opera plotlines are allowed to be obtuse (not really sure how you can play pinball by smelling it, for instance). But if it's gonna be weird and filled with missing or implied details, then the music has to hold your hand and pull you along. And Pretty Things aren't up to the task.

I'm not too worried. The knowledge of this thing's existence was worth the price of admission. I've thought my whole life that Tommy started the game, but this whole time, I was wrong. Knowing about S.F. Sorrow is good "actually" information, e.g. "Actually, Pretty Things made the first rock opera." Ya know, because that's why I'm doing this. To be pretentious. Yes.