Pretties for You

1. Titanic Overture

2. Ten Minutes Before the Worm

3. Swing Low, Sweet Cheerio

4. Today Mueller

5. Living

6. Fields of Regret

7. No Longer Umpire

8. Levity Ball [Live at the Cheetah]

9. B.B. On Mars

10. Reflected

11. Apple Bush

12. Earwigs to Eternity

13. Changing Arranging

Tracks:

Titanic Overture
Ten Minutes Before the Worm
Swing Low, Sweet Cheerio
Today Mueller
Living
Fields of Regret
No Longer Umpire
Levity Ball [Live]
B.B. on Mars
Reflected
Apple Bush
Earwigs to Eternity
Changing Arranging

Album Description

1989 remastered release of Alice Coopers' debut album originally released in 1969 has none of the bands' legendary grotesque rock, but instead takes an earnest stab at psychedelia which occasionally catches fire. 13 tracks produced by Alice Cooper. Enigma Retro.

Album Details

Before the Monsters, Before the Costumes, Before the Glam, Vincent Furnier and his Mates Released their Debut Album on Frank Zappa's Bizarre Label and it Remains a Favorite of the Band's Aficionados for It's Raw Energy and Psychedelic Leanings.

Customer Reviews:

The Debut Album.......2006-12-04

The debut of the original Alice Cooper Band. Today everyone thinks of Alice as the man, but from 1969 through the mid-70's The Alice Cooper band was just that a band with Alice as their frontman. Consisting of Alice on vocals, Dennis Dunaway on bass, Glen Buxton on guitar, and Mike Bruce on Guitar and keys, the Alice Cooper band began their career in Arizona, but it was when they moved to Detroit that things really started to take off for them. At the time of this album the band were protégés of Frank Zappa and signed to his label. The music is very different from latter day Cooper. A little psychedellia, a bit of metal, a bit of garage rock, and like most other bands of their day a Beatles influence. Some of the songs on this album remind me of early Pink Floyd. Highlights include the 6 minute plus "Sing Low, Sweet Cheerio" with it's instrumental workout. "Fields Of Regret that sounds almost something like the Doors might do. "Levity Ball" which would be the first of many Alice Cooper songs with the subject of cross dressing as its main subject. "Reflected" would eventually resurface with different lyrics as "Elected". The version I have is the re-mastered re-issue from 1989, but the sound is still very spotty. The album was not recorded very well. Overall this is not essential Alice Cooper, but gives a good look at the band's early potential.

The birth of Alice Cooper and what a monster.......2006-09-03

The birth of a phantom into a crib alongside Frank Zappa. With its eyes on a Detroit spewing forth a heady brew including Mitch Ryder, The Stooges and MC4, just add a dash of psychedelia and a splash of Sabbath and, voila, you have the earliest incarnation of Alice Cooper that is Pretties for You. Only a band unencumbered with the baggage of success would have the time to explore music for the sake of exploration itself. The result is a mix of hard rocking early metal, surreal pleasantries skipping in fairy boots in Neverland and the ominous feeling that the riders of the apocalypse have visited the world outside of the building and are about to break down the door. Sure, the result is a mess. However, the potential of the musicians adds a unity to the whole that makes for compelling listening. Moving from the garage-hard, pre-punk assaults to surreal but listenable, almost pop, fantasy tunes through to free form stream of conscious workouts can be a lot to assimilate. If you have come to this looking for more of the anthemic rock songs of the later Alice you may be disappointed, to hear talented musicians producing great experimental music near the height of their creativity, this is for you. If you liked this then the successor, Easy Action, is a more focused package of the same.

Alice Cooper Psychedelic Rock.......2006-08-15

If you are like me you didn't find this album until much later on after listening to "I'm Eighteen" or "No More Mr. Nice Guy." When I started to collect Alice Cooper back catalog of Lp's I had no idea what was going to come out of my speakers. I just had this expression as if being dropped alone on a planet a millions years from Earth with only a rubber band.
Alice Cooper was signed by Frank Zappa's Straight Label who also toured with Zappa. Did you know back in those days Frank Zappa wanted Alice Cooper change their name to Alice Cookies? Well he did but it was a good thing Alice Cooper kept their name.
PFY was recorded with in a few days and even though it was stating in the credits as being Produced by Alice Cooper. It was Produced by Ian Underwood and Herb Cohen with Zappa maybe coming in to assist on a song or two.
I have to admit after listening to it for sometime I really enjoyed what I heard from those strange and discord sounds. Being in the the late 60's, 1968 to be exact but wasn't released until `69 PFY instruments had the Psychedelic influences of early Pink Floyd or 13th Floor Elevators. Although the lyrics still had that West Coast hippie living but still pretty out there by any means.
This lp starts off with an instrumental titled "Titanic Overture." About a minute long "Titanic Overture" leads in with an organ that seems to be reminisce of "Goin Out of My Head."
"Fields of Regret," with The Doors influence.
It's also good to note "Reflected" which Alice would keep in his back pocket to reprise it with new lyrics on"Elected."
My all time favorite is the live cut of "Levity Ball" which I still love to this day. I know I get a lot of strange looks when I say that too.

Pretties for you.......2006-08-06

This is Alice Cooper's first album. Most of the album isn't very good. However, 3 of the songs show signs of the Alice Cooper we all know and love.

EXCELLENT TRANSACTION.......2006-07-17

I would prefer an edition with lyrics and photos but if it is not possible. Thank you. Excellent package. Fast transaction. CD new. Very difficult to find in Spain

Average customer rating:

Alice Cooper's first album
WHAT?
Alice Cooper - 'Pretties For You' (Rhino)
As Weird as it Gets
Will Leave You Scratching Your Head at First

Pretties for You
Alice Cooper
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000E78E
Release Date: 1991-10-08

Tracks:

Titanic Overture
Ten Minutes Before the Worm
Swing Low, Sweet Cheerio
Today Mueller
Living
Fields of Regret
No Longer Umpire
Levity Ball [Live]
B.B. on Mars
Reflected
Apple Bush
Earwigs to Eternity
Changing Arranging

Customer Reviews:

Alice Cooper's first album.......2005-06-01

Pretties For You (1969.) Alice Cooper's first album.

Alice Cooper made a name for himself in the early seventies as one of the most beloved and controversial figures in classic rock. Many artists from the era had image on their side, but Alice Cooper was one of the few classic rock artists that had image and a damn fine hard rock sound to back it up. For Alice Cooper's classic band, it all started in the sixties. A preacher's son, Vincent Damon Furner, was playing in a number of bands, including The Spiders and The Nazz. However, after hearing that there was another band out there called The Nazz (the one with Todd Rundgren), Furnier needed a new band name. He consulted a Quija board, and the name it gave him was Alice Cooper - the name of a witch burned at the stake in the seventeenth century. He took the name for both his band, as well as an alter ego for himself (he thought he was the reincarnation of this witch, and he'd legally change his name to Alice Cooper a few years later.) With guitarists Michael Bruce and Glenn Buxton, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith, the five-piece band got a record deal on Frank Zappa's newly-formed label. How does the band's first album, 1969's Pretties For You, measure up? Read on for my review.

Before I get into the tracks, I should probably state that this is NOT the Alice Cooper band you know and love. On this album, the band uses a sound unlike any they would ever use again. The sound the band uses here sounds like a mixture between the Beatles (latter years) and Cream, with some slight traces of the elements of the Alice Cooper sound to come thrown in. Kicking off this album is the awesome instrumental Titanic Overture. You wouldn't expect Alice Cooper's band to instrumentals very well, but they do this one great. Next up is 10 Minutes Before The Worm (many songs on here have titles that make very little sense.) This is a catchy tune, although it's a very short one. If it was a little longer, it would be perfect. Track three, Sing Low Sweet Cheerio, is one of the longer cuts on the album. The length of the song, nearly six minutes, is one of its greatest strengths. You've gotta love the harmonica! Today Mueller comes next, which is a mid-paced rocker with piano backing it. This track fuses a plethora of different rock stylings, making it wildly diverse and excellent. The fifth track, Living, is a fast-paced sixties rocker, heavily reminiscent of the Beatles song Doctor Robert, from their Revolver album. This is probably my favorite song on the album, and I could totally picture the Beatles circa 1966 performing it. Fields Of Regrets, on the other hand, is a bit more on the heavy rock side. This is one of the more Cream-like compositions featured on the album, and that's a good thing. With No Longer Umpire (don't ask me where they got that title), the band reprises the stylings featured earlier on the album in Today Mueller. The reprise is a nice touch. The next track is Levity Ball, which was recorded live for some unknown reason. This is a classic sixties-style rocker with some excellent instrumentation. B.B. On Mars (another weird title) comes next. The twin guitar assault that opens this track just plain rules. All through this track, the guitars steal the show. Reflected is the song that the band would later turn into the big hit Elected on their 1973 Billion Dollar Babies album. This version of the song is a bit heavier and less pop-friendly than that later take on the song, and this makes this version of the song featured here WAY better than Elected. Why'd they rehash it later on like that? If it ain't broke don't fix it! Apple Bush comes next. This is a rocker similar to the bluesy rock sound that Jethro Tull used on their debut album, 1968's This Was. Interesting. Alice Cooper even sounds like Ian Anderson here! The semi-psychedelic hard rockers Earwigs To Eternity and Changing Arranging close out the album, and do a damn good job of it. In the end, this is an excellent album, even if it sounds nothing like the later Alice Cooper band.

Sadly, this album is extremely difficult to find (as of June 30, 2004), because it has long since been out of print (I'm not even sure if the album was ever released on CD in America.) Fortunately, if you search hard enough on the internet, you can come across a reissue that contains both this album and the 1970 follow-up, Easy Action. The reissue does nothing to fix the horrific production quality of the albums (and many of the songs on the album sound TERRIBLE (blame Zappa's company's production for that)), but it's good to have both albums in one place. If you get the album, be sure to get that edition of the album.

Alice Cooper's first album is, for lack of a better term, underrated genius, even if the band hadn't yet found the sound that would bring them such high success in the seventies. Be warned though - this album is WAY different from other Alice Cooper albums. If you're anything less than a die-hard fan, chances are you won't like it. I am a die-hard fan of the Alice Cooper band, and it took the album a long time to grow on me. But, if you're a die-hard fan of Alice Cooper with an open mind who is willing to give the album a chance, and listen with an open mind, you'll agree, it deserves all five stars. The clasic Alice Cooper band is, in my mind, virtually unparalleled in their greatness, and this album demonstrates it - though not in the same way their other albums do. No die-hard fan of the Coop sound be without this.

WHAT?.......2005-02-18

Probably the most strange and bizarre album I have heard in my life. Since you see the cover, it's pretty clear that its gonna get weird

Does it has a bad production? Yes, it does
Did the group knew how to play their instruments? No, I bet they didn't
Did the instruments were even tuned? No, probably not

Alice Cooper has something that a few people have. He has the sense of music, he doesn't know how to play an instrument but he keeps writing great songs. Since the first album, he keeps evolving and he doesn't stop.

Back to the album, if you haven't heard this one, believe me, your jaw will drop to the floor and you are gonna keep that face for about a month. I highly recommend to listen 10 times this one after you judge what you are hearing. It'll definitively grow on you. You just can't help it.

I can't explain this one and I think no one does, not even the band. But it's good, it's damn good. Like others reviewers have said, don't look for something like "I'm eigtheen" or "School's out", this is like another band playing another kind of music. Pretty much like hearing "Lonesome crow" over "Blackout" from the Scorpions. You know who is singing and who is playing but you can't believe it.

This one should have an sticker on the cover that says: OPEN YOUR EARS AND YOUR MIND.

Don't drive and listen to this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Highlight: Fields of Regret, Levity ball, No Longer Umpire, Today Mueller.
Lowlight: Reflected.

Alice Cooper - 'Pretties For You' (Rhino).......2005-01-05

Originally released in 1969,this was the very first album put out by the ORIGINAL Alice Cooper group.In fact I remember this lp was rather a dismal sell,UNTIL he practically became a house hold name between the unleashing of his 'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'Welcome To My Nightmare' efforts.I've always felt that in some ways,'Pretties For You' was like new wave ten years ahead of it's time.You know,bands like Gary Numan,B-52's and Devo,even though the two genres are way different from one another and they'll draw a completely opposite crowd.For the most part anyway.As for the cuts that I've never quite forgotten are "Sing Low,Sweet Cheerio",the psychedelic "Today Mueller",the upbeat pop-like "Living"(my personal favorite on this lp),"Fields Of Regret",the untimely "Levity Ball"(wish he'd play this track in concert sometime)and "Changing Arranging" which sort of has a similar beat to that of "Elected".Remember back in the day,this band of long-haired weirdos were viciously hated by most everyone.Isn't it ironic how they changed that hate around?Quick footnote:if you want to see what the band was like during this era,check out the scene where they play at a swinger's bash in the 1970 movie 'Diary Of A Mad Housewife'.A must-have.

As Weird as it Gets.......2004-10-07

This album was my introduction to the original Alice Cooper band and the reason I bought it was not only the photo of five freaky looking guys on the back, but the fact that it was on Frank Zappas' label. I was not disappointed when I heard it either. Until I heard Captain Beefhearts' Lick My Decals Off album (about six months later), I'd never heard anything so weird or so interesting. The album sounds like it was recorded in a can and for audiophiles I supposed it would be considered unworthy. But the music and the atmosphere hooked me on the band. Right after their second album Easy Action came out, I got to see them at the Swing Auditorium in Sand Berdoo. In that set they played most of the first album with stuff from the second. Alice wore a T-Shirt with a pair of naked breasts on it, Glenn Buxton (one of my guitar heroes) had a pink Les Paul, and Neal Smith's drums were pink and had teddy bear decals all over them. Their show was even freakier than the album! Alice played with a sword and kept messing with Glenn and Michael Bruce's hair and probably half the audience thought he was just a flat chested girl!

Can't ask for any better than that!

I look forward to getting the CD version of this since my three copies on vinyl are wore out! Kind of gives you an idea how much I played them!

I highly recommend seeking this gem out.

Will Leave You Scratching Your Head at First.......2004-09-03

Take a pinch of Alice Cooper, stir in a big helping of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, and add just a touch of Gentle Giant and you kind of get "Pretties For You". Only the late 60's could have produced this music. I found both "Pretties For You" and "Easy Action" back in the late 80's on CD, reissued by the Retro label, and I guess those are the disks being offered here used. The production on "Pretties" is okay, but some of the songs sound as if they were recorded in a steel tank. Sometimes that actually helps the feel of the cd though, you know you are hearing the band in it's raw form. It's obvious there is quite a lot of talent in the band at this stage, but there isn't much focus. It's also kind of cool to hear bits and pieces of songs on "Pretties" that will turn up again on later recordings, the most obvious being "Reflected" later becoming "Elected" on Billion Dollar Babies. If you are a die-hard fan of Alice Cooper than I highly recommend "Pretties For You", or if you like Zappa or Beefheart and haven't heard this disk pick it up. But if you are a casual fan, stick with the Warner Brothers releases.

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