Silk Torpedo

Silk Torpedo is the seventh album by the English rock band Pretty Things. This is their second album without Wally Waller, the group's rhythm guitarist/bassist since 1967. The album has more of a glam rock feel, a contrast from their early R&B years and their psychedelic years.

Silk Torpedo
Studio album by Pretty Things
Released	1 November 1974
Recorded	1973
Studio	Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Rock
Length	42:02 (original release)
Label	Swan Song
Producer	Norman Smith
Pretty Things chronology
Freeway Madness (1972) Silk Torpedo (1974) Savage Eye (1976)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Tom Hull	B−[2]

The album was the first to be released in the UK on the Swan Song Records label.^[3]

The album is the second rock opera by The Pretty Things, the first being S.F. Sorrow (1968), and follows the story of an unnamed protagonist throughout major points in his life. Since the band has not commented on it much, the story may be open to interpretation, as the story contains some plot ambiguity.

Track listing

("Dream" and "Joey" are conjoined into a single song, as are "Belfast Cowboys" and "Bruise In The Sky".)

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dream"	Jon Povey	1:08
2.	"Joey"	Phil May	5:35
3.	"Maybe You Tried"	May, Pete Tolson	4:19
4.	"Atlanta"	May, Tolson	2:42
5.	"L.A.N.T.A."	May, Povey, Norman Smith	2:23
6.	"Is It Only Love"	May	5:04

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Come Home Momma"	May	3:32
2.	"Bridge of God"	May	5:01
3.	"Singapore Silk Torpedo"	May, Tolson	5:11
4.	"Belfast Cowboys"	May, Povey	5:10
5.	"Bruise in the Sky"	Povey	1:50

Bonus tracks from 2002 CD reissue by Repertoire Records

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Singapore Silk Torpedo" (live at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1974)	May, Tolson	7:11
12.	"Dream / Joey" (live at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1974)	May, Povey	7:16

Personnel

The Pretty Things

• Phil May – lead vocals, percussion
• Pete Tolson – lead and acoustic guitars, bass
• Jon Povey – keyboards, backing vocals, harmonica, percussion
• Gordon John Edwards – bass, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar
• Skip Alan – drums, backing vocals, percussion

with:

• Jack Green – backing vocals
• Silver Band – brass on "Is It Only Love"

Technical

• Norman Smith – production
• Keith Harwood – engineer
• Hipgnosis – cover art

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: Third Card". Overdose. Retrieved 26 June 2020 – via tomhull.com.
3. Davis, Stephen (18 August 2023). Hammer of the Gods (2008 ed.). London: Pan Books. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-330-43859-9.