The album begins with "Titanic Overture", a short and simple instrumental. The song makes liberal use of what appears to be a Mellotron. The almost baroque-like "tron" soon breaks into a slightly middle-eastern musical tangent, only to finish before anything really happens. Next is "10 Minutes Before the Worm", starting oddly with Zappa-esque tinkering and effect noodling. The song then kicks into a very raw, psychedelic racket. Amid the racket, you can hear slightly poppy musical overtones; however, they sound warped and twisted when compared to the crisp sounds of the Byrds and early Beatles. "10 Minutes" really sets the tone for later songs in the album. Think warped psychedelic-garage-metal-pop...ok?
The psychedelic sounds of Alice Cooper continue with "Swing Low, Sweet Cheerio". Very reminiscent of Brit-Invasion bands such the Yardbirds and Zombies, the song is fairly standard-sounding when considering the oddball songs on the album. The song breaks into a very jazzy jam at the halfway mark, with a very cool harmonica solo rounding out this lost "nugget". Classic early Alice. "Today Mueller" is probably the most Beatles-influenced song on the album. The song would not sound totally out of place on the White Album. But the song retains Cooper's surrealist trademarks, off-key piano playing, slashing guitar jabs, and creepy harmonies.An interesting experiment, but the song does not really develop, coming in at less than two minutes.
"Living" is one of my favorite songs on the album. This very Who and Beatles influenced track sounds like the closest thing to an "American Beatles" there every could be. Slightly rawer than the Fab Four, the song also bears the influence of the rising Doors. More psychedelic and muscular than the Beatles, the song makes quite a bit of noise. The genius of the late "Glen Buxton" is very apparent in this track, and shows that Alice Cooper was originally a fully-functional band with many stars rather than just Vincent Furnier himself at centre-stage. "Fields of Regret" is one of the heaviest songs on the album. Sounding almost like Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly, the riff-rocker shows early signs of the heavier direction that Alice would soon take. The songs lingers a bit with bloated guitar solos spoken-word musings from Alice, but is a clear indication of the era of heavy rock from Alice was soon to come.
"No Longer Umpire" is another short, sketch of a song. The influence of Zappa can certainly be heard on this track. Oddly catchy, the song fades away before it can flesh itself out. Another "could have been" song on an album full of musical sketches. "Levity Ball" has never been one of my favorite songs, and nothing will change my mind. The song is catchy at first, but then the real weirdness of early Cooper becomes apparent. Odd descending guitar lines ride along what seems like endless drum crashes and pounding, before slowing down to a crawl.The psychedelic ending redeems the song somewhat, but it lacks a sense of musical direction and drive.
The very Zappa-sounding "B.B. on Mars" is another oddball song. Syncopated bass and guitar nearly drives the listening over the edge, and really shows that this material is even challenging today. Not one of my favorites. The true highlight of the album comes next, "Reflected" is pure garage awesomeness. Later known as "Elected" off of "Billion Dollar Babies", I prefer this original version of the song to the later version. There is something rawer about "Reflected", something innocent that reflects the nativity of the early days of Alice Cooper. Great tune.
"Apple Bush" reminds me of the more jazzy English bands such as the Zombies and the Animals. The song is quite light compared to the racket on most of the album, and feels light and jazzy. White not a big fan of jazz in general, I did enjoy this song. Playing it for a friend, he could not guess that it was Alice Cooper at all. While most known for hard-rock and metal anthems, Alice could and can still write songs that reflect his diversity of musical influences. "Earwigs To Eternity" is an obvious reference to the early moniker of the band, the "Earwigs". The song is another sketch, barely over a minute long. Another song of ascending and descending scales atop out-of-tune vocals, the song slightly irritates. However, the album closes with a bang. "Changing Arranging" is a fan favorite, and my personal pick for the best song on the album. One can hear heavy metal being forged during this song, very heavy for 1969. Much rawer than even early Sabbath, waves of macabre harmonies, screeching feedback, and jazzy drum improvisation come together is a harmonious blend of proto-metal magic. Fantastic.
"Pretties for You" is an interesting album in Cooper's long discography. Overlooked in favor of his 1970's work, the album is an interesting time capsule of the transition between psych and metal that was happening around 1969-1970. Although not a classic album, there is enough here to grab the ear of even a casual Cooper fan. Pretty indeed.
Review-7/10
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