Sometimes in musical history those who do things first get overshadowed by those who do it bigger or with more polish. Such is the case with the following two bands; The Pretty Things, whose credit for writing the first full length rock opera is often overshadowed by The Who's Tommy, and The Creation who were the first to adapt the violin bow to play a guitar. Bigger isn't always better and polish and money aren't always substitutions for ingenuity. So here's to those who did it first.

	The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow S.F. Sorrow is certainly The Pretty Things' masterpiece. Often left behind by their early garage tracks and later reputation as a harder touring band; the album is a somber ode to the common man. The album tells the tale of S.F. Sorrow a
working class nobody who endures the drudgery of British factory life, experiences the horror of war and the pain of loss only to eventually sink into madness. The album varies from psychedelic pop to mournful acoustic ballads undercut with an unmatched honesty towards man's mediocrity. The initial production suffered setbacks and was all but forgotten a year later when Townsend released Tommy to much acclaim. The recent CD reissue features many original tracks produced at the time but never released, now restored from original tapes. Download: [MP3] The Pretty Things -She Says Good Morning [MP3] The Pretty Things -The Loneliest Person Buy The Pretty things
	The Creation - Our Music Is Red - With Purple Flashes With the exception of The Who, no band better exemplifies Freakbeat than The Creation. The band is a prime example of mod punk attitude and style. Their sound is owed in part to the production of Shel
Talmy, who had a hand in the seminal sound of The Who as well. The Creation effortlessly integrated the sounds of psych and soul into their work and the originals on this collection are clearly the best examples of their recorded work. Due to the conventions of the time period, however the band was forced to record many unispiring covers that with the exception of the Wilson Pickett penned "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" fail to capture their bravado and candor. Still, originals such as the aforementioned "Painter Man" in which Eddie Phillips lays the groundwork for Jimmy Page's violin bow theatrics more than make up for the rest. This compilation culls together many of the band's singles and b-sides issued during their carrer. Responsible for the inspiration of many bands to come, this is quite possibly an essential collection. Download: [MP3] The Creation -Painter Man [MP3] The Creation -Mercy, Mercy, Mercy Buy The Creation