Pretties for You

Alice Cooper’s 1969 debut sounded nothing like the darkly glammed-up shock-rock pioneer that began to solidify on 1971’s *Love It to Death*. Instead, *Pretties for You* reveals a band finding their footing amidst some heavy Frank Zappa influenced art-school weirdness and Syd Barrett inspired psychedelia. “Swing Low Sweet Cheerio” rocks like mid-‘60s English freakbeat psych-rock replete with nonsensical distorted nursery-rhyme lyrics, Beatlesque vocal harmonies and unpredictable song changes that just seem to come out of nowhere — including a sudden harmonica solo that bleeds into a San Francisco-flavored acid-rock guitar solo. More intricate arrangements abound on “Fields of Regret,” a fuzzed-out gem of garage-rock brilliance on par with better moments from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. “Apple Bush” is another notable jam with catchy melodies, surreal imagery and progressive drum patterns. Blending Pink Floyd’s lysergic laments with the Beatles’ barbed hooks and backing vocals, “Changing Arranging” plays like a lost song from the soundtrack to Barbet Schroeder’s 1969 cult film *More*.

Alice Cooper's debut album reflected none of his legendary, grotesque hard rock; instead, Pretties for You was an earnest but flawed stab at psychedelia that occasionally caught fire.