''Parachute'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band

Pretty Things The Pretty Things were an English band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent. They took their name from Willie Dixon's 1955 song " Pretty Thing". A pure rhythm and blues band in their early years, with several singles charting in the Uni ...

, released in 1970. It is their first album without guitarist Dick Taylor. Reviews at the time of release were very positive, with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' calling it "another top-flight album" for the band. In 1975, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' critic Steve Turner wrote that it had been "a ''Rolling Stone'' 'album of the year'," though in fact ''Parachute'' did not place among the magazine's Albums of the Year for 1970 or 1971, and indeed was not mentioned in ''Rolling Stone'' until

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

called it an "obscure underground classic" in his review of ''Freeway Madness''. The band's lineup had Phil May, Wally Waller, John Povey, Vic Unitt, and Skip Alan. In 1976, the record was packaged as a

double LP A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording is ...

with their previous album '' S.F. Sorrow'' titled ''Real Pretty''. In Canada, this album was on

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

. Snapper Records released a 40th anniversary double CD in September 2010 which included acoustic reworkings of various tracks recorded in May 2010 by Wally Waller and Phil May.

Track listing

All songs by Phil May and Wally Waller, except where noted. Adapted from original UK pressing.

Bonus tracks on 2000 reissue

#"Blue Serge Blues" (May, Waller, Jon Povey) – 3:55 #"October 26" – 4:57 #"Cold Stone" (May, Waller, Pete Tolson) – 3:11 #"Stone–Hearted Mama" – 3:29 #"Summer Time" (May, Waller, Tolson) – 4:29 #"Circus Mind" (May, Tolson) – 2:00 *Note: many subsequent pressings of the album separated the medleys on Side A into three tracks each.

Personnel

Pretty Things * Phil May – vocals * Vic Unitt – guitars lbum tracks only* Wally Waller – bass, guitar, vocals * Jon Povey – keyboards, vocals * Skip Alan – drums * Pete Tolson – guitars onus tracks only Technical *Tony Clark – engineer *Nick Webb – assistant engineer *

Hipgnosis Hipgnosis were an English art design group based in London, that specialised in creating album cover artwork for rock musicians and bands. Their commissions included work for Pink Floyd, T. Rex, the Pretty Things, Black Sabbath, UFO, 10cc, ...

– cover design, photography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parachute (Pretty Things Album) 1970 albums Pretty Things albums Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis Harvest Records albums EMI Records albums Albums produced by Norman Smith (record producer) Victor Entertainment albums Psychedelic rock albums by English artists