The Pretty Things

The coolest thing about the Pretty Things -- aside from the fact that guitarist Dick Taylor was an original member of the Rolling Stones, and that the aging group is still banned from the entire country of Australia -- is that they haven't stopped playing together since 1963. Probably the most underrated British Invasion band of the '60s, the Pretty Things have been cult heroes for nearly four decades, and it's a safe claim that their style of Psychedelic/Garage Rock has always been more innovative and eclectic than many of their more well-known contemporaries. The Pretty Things' live shows span the timeline of their musical journey. From their early, gritty, R&B shuffle-punk on through their lysergically acidic, warped carousel ride SF Sorrow (the first full-length concept album ever recorded), the Pretty Things have experimented with anything and everything. Their 1999 release Rage...Before Beauty is a solid and well-rounded recording that evinces the notion that the 1990s are, in fact, the 1960s turned upside down.