Pretty Things

This one is almost a perfect set and it certainly opens on a roaring note with the superb fuzz bass bombs that make "Come See Me" one of those great pre-punk landmarks. Its impact is matched by two other early singles that secured this band's reputation. A decade later David Bowie included both "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Rosalyn" in his covers project, Pin Ups. Hearing the splendid originals with Phil May in all his early longhaired spitting glory is testament to Bowie's memory and taste. As there are at least seven other very strong reasons for picking up this retrospective, I'd advise that you supplement your '60s roots collection with one of the very few bands that could seriously rival the Beatles and the Stones.