The story is well-known: south Wales group, , are discovered by ' aide-de-camp , who not only signs them to but produces their first sessions. Their first single, the glorious -like is released in November 1968, yet it unaccountably stiffs. Disheartened, shelves the planned U.S./U.K. release of ' debut album, though it does eventually sneak out in Japan and Germany. The group replaces bassist with Liverpudlian and, at label exec 's suggestion, changes their name to , swiped from 's working title for ( wanted to call them "Prix," preferably with the final letter pronounced.) Despite their early success, goes on to become probably the unluckiest and one of the most tragic bands in music history. However, very few people have ever heard ' album; copies of the original Japanese and European pressings were hens-teeth rare, and even the 1992 CD reissue with bonus tracks was seemingly in print for about 35 seconds. This is a shame, because ranks with 's best; in some ways, it's actually preferable to 's albums, because the production (four tracks by , the rest by a then-unknown ) is much fresher and less precise than it would be on 's slicker later albums. (Even the six tracks that eventually ended up in remixed form on 's debut, , sound better here.) Though the party line has always been that sounded like , in reality, these 12 tracks have much more in common with the minor-key mopery of the early , from the heartbreaking ' only writing contribution, which ironically would show up again on the first album after he was kicked out of the group) to the frankly rather silly -style a exercise in maudlin sentimentality that makes look subtle, though it does feature a nice clarinet part. is the album's undiscovered gem, though the and co-write with its weird staccato reeds section and unexpectedly aggressive middle eight, complete with burping, frog-like bass vocals, is probably the best track. Of the four bonus tracks, the extremely silly from ' 1967 demo, and the -like rocking flip of the single, are the best, with and the previously unreleased there for completists' sake. ~ Stewart Mason