Pretty & Twisted (album)

Pretty & Twisted
Pretty & Twisted
Studio album by Pretty & Twisted
Released	1995
Genre	Alternative rock
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Johnette Napolitano

Pretty & Twisted is the debut album by the American band Pretty & Twisted, released in 1995.^[2] It was the band's only album.^[3]^[4]

Pretty & Twisted is dedicated to Marlon Brando.^[5] The album's first single was "¡Ride!", which was written with Chris Bailey.^[6]^[7] The band supported the album by touring with the Young Dubliners.^[8]

Production

The album was produced by Johnette Napolitano; it began as a solo project, with Napolitano initially recording in her home.^[9]^[10] "Mother of Pearl" is a cover of the Roxy Music song.^[11] "Come Away with Me" incorporates unrecorded lyrics written by Janis Joplin.^[12]^[13] "Singing Is Fire" is a Charles Bukowski poem set to music; "Stranger" was written with Paul Westerberg.^[10]^[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[15]
Calgary Herald	B−^[16]
The Indianapolis Star	^[17]
Knoxville News Sentinel	^[18]
Los Angeles Times	^[19]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	^[20]

Trouser Press wrote that, "while Pretty & Twisted simplifies things and cuts away the artsier pretensions of latter-day Concrete Blonde, it replaces them with dopier ego indulgences."^[21] The Los Angeles Times thought that "there's something both Bowie-esque and Cure-like in the band's aggressively ominous atmospherics—a sound with the grit and the grace to make the edge of desperation seem like the only place to be."^[19] The Hamilton Spectator declared that "Napolitano's experience certainly gives Pretty & Twisted a decided advantage as one of the better debut albums to come around in a while."^[22]

The Knoxville News Sentinel determined that, "for all the intrigue of the lyrics and singing, Pretty & Twisted only sporadically gets substantial instrumental support."^[18] The Calgary Herald concluded that "many of these songs lay lifelessly in the cauldron, although the ones that do work roar out spitting and smoking."^[16] The Indianapolis Star opined that "much of this new disc runs flat, with dark tracks bearing well-worn sentiments."^[17]

AllMusic called the album "a wonderful slice of adult alternative rock that is both melodic and intelligent."^[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Johnette Napolitano except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Highs Are Too High"		6:10
2.	"Mother of Pearl"	Bryan Ferry	5:05
3.	"Souvenir"		5:09
4.	"No Daddy No"		4:34
5.	"¡Ride!"	Chris Bailey, Napolitano	3:40
6.	"Train Song (Edge of Desperation)"	Marc Moreland, Napolitano	6:30
7.	"Stranger"	Paul Westerberg, Napolitano	2:59
8.	"Singing Is Fire"	Charles Bukowski, Napolitano, Moreland	3:11
9.	"Don't Take Me Down"		4:37
10.	"Come Away with Me"	Janis Joplin, Napolitano	5:55
11.	"Dear Marlon Brando"	Moreland, Napolitano	3:30
12.	"Billy"	Moreland, Napolitano	3:39
13.	"Watching the Water"		4:17

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Pretty & Twisted CD album booklet.^[23]

Johnette Napolitano – vocals (1–13), bass (1–13), keyboards (1, 5–7, 11, 13), guitars (1, 3, 9–10), beat (1, 9–10, 13), percussion (2–3, 5–6, 8–11, 13)
Marc Moreland – guitars (1–13), vocals (4, 11), keyboards (8)
Danny Montgomery – drums (2–8, 11–12)
Chris Bailey – guitars (5)

Production

Johnette Napolitano – producer, engineer
Earle Mankey – engineer (1–13), mixing (1–12)
Alex Gordon – engineer (1–13), mixing (13)
Sean Freehill – engineer, sampling, sequencing
Anne Catalano – assistant engineer
Danny, Jeff and Susan at Paramount – additional assistants
Tom Baker – mastering

Other

Bruce Poulsen – cover photography
Johnette Napolitano, Marc Moreland – additional photos
William Herron III – logo
Brigid Pearson – assemblage

References

^ Buckley, Peter (January 21, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050.
^ Pensinger, Matt (2 June 1995). "Great Beginnings: Johnette Napolitano happily sheds her Blonde roots and finds music that's Pretty & Twisted". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. p. AA13.
^ "Pretty & Twisted Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 509.
^ Monk, Katherine (7 Sep 1995). "Napolitano's trademark howl takes a pretty twist". Vancouver Sun. p. C8.
^ Weatherford, Mike (4 Aug 1995). "Simply Twisted: Getting away from L.A. and exploring the seedier side of Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 1J.
^ Ferman, Dave (August 3, 1995). "Pretty and twisted – Johnette Napolitano has a new sound, but her Blonde roots are showing". Life & Arts. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 3.
^ Matthews, Lynn (1 Sep 1995). "Pretty & Twisted". Weekend. The Columbian. p. 1.
^ Rosen, Craig (Jul 15, 1995). "Napolitano makes Warner her Pretty & Twisted Nest". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 28. p. 8.
^ ^a ^b Punter, Jennie (24 Aug 1995). "From the ashes of Concrete Blonde: Singer Johnette Napolitano launches brave new trio". Toronto Star. p. E10.
^ Morse, Steve (18 Aug 1995). "Concrete Blonde singer gets moody with Pretty & Twisted". Living. The Boston Globe. p. 59.
^ Burton, Alan (January 21, 1996). Rave on: Classic Texas Music Quotes. Texas Tech University Press. ISBN 9780896723702.
^ Semon, Craig S. (17 Sep 1995). "Johnette Napolitano's new band falls short". Datebook. Telegram & Gazette. p. 9.
^ Gonzalez, Roberto (17 Aug 1995). "Pretty & Twisted: Pretty & Twisted". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 5.
^ ^a ^b "Pretty & Twisted". AllMusic.
^ ^a ^b McEwen, Mary-Lynn (20 Aug 1995). "New Releases". Calgary Herald. p. D2.
^ ^a ^b Bacon, Scott (24 Sep 1995). "Pretty & Twisted 'Pretty & Twisted'". The Indianapolis Star. p. I6.
^ ^a ^b Campbell, Chuck (8 Sep 1995). "Napolitano's new venture shares flaws with the past". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b Cromelin, Richard (6 Aug 1995). "Napolitano's in Fine Form with Twisted Agenda". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 60.
^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 264.
^ "Concrete Blonde". Trouser Press. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
^ Krewen, Nick (24 Aug 1995). "Pretty & Twisted/Pretty & Twisted". Ego. The Hamilton Spectator. p. 4.
^ Pretty & Twisted (US CD album liner notes). Pretty & Twisted. Warner Bros. Records. 1995. 9 45910-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)