Pretties For You – ALICE COOPER**

Titanic Overture/10 Minutes Before The Worm/Sing Low Sweet Cheerio/Today Mueller/Living/Fields Of Regret/ No Longer Umpire/Levity Ball (Live At The Cheetah)/B B On Mars/Reflected/Apple Bush/Earwigs To Eternity/ Changing Arranging

Pretties For You was the debut album from the Detroit hard rock group Alice Cooper, which is also the stage name of their male lead singer. The group would become a major force in rock music during the mid seventies. (US:193)

“It's tinny, it's unfocused and it's amateurish but it's also strangely wonderful. Some tracks seem to have ten different time signatures and melodies in one song. Pretties For You was almost universally panned on its release, yet now some of those same critics bemoan the fact that AC turned into a rock behemoth instead of pursuing the psychedelic freak-outs exhibited here. It's a wonderful little nugget.”

“Musically speaking, psychedelic doesn't quite cover it. The band was definitely heavy here, with strong overtones of acid rock. It's a different kind of heavy than Love It To Death onward, however. They weren't nearly as tight and focused as they would later become. The songs feel more like individual fragments pieced together, usually in a jarringly illogical pattern. Few of the songs have any semblance of structure, much less an identifiable chorus that relates to the song title.”

“The Alice Cooper group were still searching for a musical identity, but this in no way detracts from the album. This is a loud, confusing, messy and fascinating listen.”

“Alice Cooper's first album is a beautiful psychedelic mess that assaults the senses in ways the later shock-rock stuff never could. This is the least understood Cooper disc for many obvious reasons - it sounds nothing like anything that would come after it. This is just the sound of a young band completely adrift.”

“Some really great late 60s, feedback drenched, psychedelic tunes on this little known record. Fans of later-era Cooper may be disappointed but appreciators of vintage psych will revel in its charm.”

“It's obvious there is quite a lot of talent in the band at this stage, but there isn't much focus. If you are a die-hard fan of Alice Cooper then I highly recommend it. But if you are a casual fan, stick with the Warner Brothers releases.”