The key to the success of the
Pretty Things first studio recording in 19 years is that most of it sounds as if it were made during their mid-'60s heyday rather than at the time of their early '80s demise. It's downfall is overwrought, out-of-style songs like "Love Keeps Hanging On," which sounds like something the fictional band, Strange Fruit, would've come up with. Cover songs like "Eve of Destruction" and "Play with Fire" are completely redundant, yet the openers, the jangly guitar workout, "Passion of Love," and the
Bo Diddley-beat tribute to an old bandmate, "Vivian Prince," make the disc worthwhile. ~ Denise Sullivan