Depending on who you spoke to, The Pretty Things were either a Poor Man's Rolling Stones, or The Rollling Stones were a Poor Man's Pretty Things. There was a time early on when they were neck and neck in the popularity polls, had various members go in and out of each others bands in the beginning and, had fate gone the other direction, could very well have been The Pretty Things we hear all about today, still touring some almost fifty years later.

But no. It didn't work that way. And The Pretty Things have more or less been relegated more to background legend and "rumors attributed to . . ." than "Worlds Greatest Rock n' Roll Band". Still though, The Pretty Things were a very influential band in their heyday, during the time of the first British Invasion, and even transitioned over to a great Psychedelic period in the mid-late 60's. But came the 70's and, like a lot of bands, and music in general, got a little lost along the way. And The Pretty Things, though still together and touring (with personnel modifications) were not in top form.

But they were still a great act to see live, even if their studio work lapsed into the formulaic. This concert, recorded by the BBC in London in 1973 is from that period and they take off when they're in familiar territory such as their last number of the set, the immortal Route 66. It gives some indication of where they were when they first were gigging and why they had the reputation they did.

And consider they may have worn the mantle The World's Greatest Rock n' Roll Band and it kind of makes sense.