“Pretty Girl”
by The Sky Saxon Blues Band
1967 song
The Seeds’ unusual blues-drenched album A Full Spoon Of Seedy Blues opens with the song "Pretty Girl". It may have touches of the blues but "Pretty Girl" is really more of a surf number; Jan Savage plays rickety guitar figures high on the neck that bring to mind the curls of great ocean waves splashing on a sunny day. Sky Saxon’s cheerful vocals are about his pretty girl, and while the chords are the bog-standard I-IV-V blues structure Sky isn’t exactly channeling anyone from the 1920s Mississippi delta.
Daryl Hooper runs his fingers rapidly up and down the piano on "Pretty Girl", adding a Little Richard-like flash and spark to the track. Other parts of the LP were much bluesier and more sparse, but "Pretty Girl" kicks things off with a raucous southern California rock ‘n’ roll celebration.
"Pretty Girl" was recorded at the final session for A Full Spoon Of Seedy Blues, on October 14, 1966. Take 1 of an unknown number of takes was chosen as the master. Several members of Muddy Waters’ band played with The Seeds on "Pretty Girl" and the session’s two other songs, “Love On Call” (unreleased) and "Plain Spoken".
