Pearls Before Swine (band)
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225676939
2008-07-14T21:18:38Z
Ghmyrtle
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[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225658155 by [[Special:Contributions/Drcocapepper13|Drcocapepper13]] ([[User talk:Drcocapepper13|talk]])
{{Infobox musical artist
|Name =Pearls Before Swine
|Background =group_or_band
|Img =pbs onu.jpg
|Img_capt =Cover of ''One Nation Underground'' (1967), showing a detail of the "Hell" panel of "[[The Garden of Earthly Delights]]" [[triptych]] by [[Hieronymus Bosch]]
|Origin =[[Melbourne, Florida]], [[USA]]
|Genre =[[Folk rock]], [[psychedelic rock]], [[psych folk]]
|Years_active =[[1965]]-[[1974]]
|Label =[[ESP-Disk]], [[Reprise Records|Reprise]], [[Blue Thumb Records|Blue Thumb]]
|Associated_acts =[[Area Code 615 (band)|Area Code 615]]
|Past_members =[[Tom Rapp]]<br>with:<br>Wayne Harley (1965-69)<br>Lane Lederer (1965-68)<br>Roger Crissinger (1965-67)<br>Jim Bohannon (1968)<br>Jim Fairs (1969)<br>Elisabeth Rapp (1969-72) <br>Mike Krawitz (1971)<br>Gordon Hayes (1971)<br>Jon Tooker (1971)<br>Morrie Brown (1971)<br>Robbie Merkin(1971)<br>David Wolfert (1971)<br>Art Ellis (1971-74)<br> Bill Rollins (1971-74)<br>Harry Orlove (1971-74)
}}
'''Pearls Before Swine''' was an [[United States|American]] [[psychedelic folk]] band formed by [[Tom Rapp]] in [[1965]] in [[Eau Gallie, Florida|Eau Gallie]], now part of [[Melbourne, Florida]].
==Early years, 1965-68==
With high school friends [[Wayne Harley]] (banjo, mandolin), [[Lane Lederer]] (bass, guitar) and [[Roger Crissinger]] (piano, organ), [[Tom Rapp|Rapp]] wrote and recorded some songs which, inspired by [[the Fugs]], they sent to the avant-garde [[ESP-Disk]] label in New York. The group took its name from a [[discourse on holiness|Bible passage]]: ''"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine..."'' (Mat. 7:6, KJV), meaning: do not give things of value to those who will not understand or appreciate it. They were quickly signed up, and recorded ''[[One Nation Underground (Pearls Before Swine album)|One Nation Underground]]'' ([[1967]]), featuring songs of mysticism, protest, melancholia, and some controversy in the case of “Miss Morse”, which spelled out an obscenity in [[Morse code|code]]. The album eventually sold some 200,000 copies, although management and contractual problems meant that the band received little reward for its success.<ref>[http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/tomrapp.html Tom Rapp by Mark Brend<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The more mysterious-sounding and strongly anti-war ''[[Balaklava (album)|Balaklava]]'' ([[1968]]) followed, inspired by the [[Charge of the Light Brigade]]. Rapp has said ''"The first two albums are probably considered the druggiest, and I had never done any drugs at that point. I smoked Winston cigarettes at that time, so these are all Winston-induced hallucinations."''<ref>Sleevenotes to ''Jewels Were The Stars box set</ref> The album covers featured paintings by [[Hieronymus Bosch|Bosch]] and [[Pieter Brueghel the Elder|Brueghel]]. The records themselves included interpretations of the writings of [[Tolkien]] and [[Herodotus]] as well as archive recordings from the 1890s, with innovatively arranged songs using an eclectic variety of instruments<ref>[http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/tomrapp.html Tom Rapp by Mark Brend<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.
==The Reprise period, 1969-72==
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: [[Image:Cityofgold.jpg|thumb|240px|left|Cover of City Of Gold (1971)]] -->
The band signed for [[Reprise Records]] in 1969, although by this time the other original members had left and the band name referred to Rapp and whichever musicians he was recording or touring with, one of whom, Jim Fairs, was previously a member of [[The Cryan' Shames]]. The five albums on Reprise were generally more conventional in sound, but contained a unique blend of humanistic and mystical songs, with some whimsical touches. Some were recorded in New York and others – particularly ''[[The Use of Ashes]]'' and ''City of Gold'' - in [[Nashville]] with top session musicians including [[Charlie McCoy]], [[Kenny Buttrey]], and other members of [[Area Code 615 (band)|Area Code 615]]. Several also featured Rapp's then-wife Elisabeth on vocals.
In his teens, Rapp lived close to [[Cape Canaveral]] and watched the rockets take off. The song ''Rocket Man'', on the album ''The Use of Ashes'' - written the day [[Neil Armstrong]] landed on the moon - was credited by [[Bernie Taupin]] with inspiring his [[Rocket Man|hit song]] with [[Elton John]] of the same title. Quote : ''"We didn't steal that one from Bowie, we stole it from another guy, called Tom Rapp..."''<ref>Sleevenotes to ''Jewels Were The Stars box set</ref>. Many of the other songs of this period reflected Rapp's interests in mysticism, his relationship with his alcoholic father, and his experiences of living for a time in (and marrying a native of) [[the Netherlands|Holland]]. The final Reprise album, ''[[Familiar Songs]]'', was a collection of [[Demo (music)|demo]] re-recordings of some of Rapp’s earlier songs, and was released (under his own name, not as a "Pearls Before Swine" album) without his knowledge<ref>Sleevenotes to Familiar Songs CD reissue</ref>.
In 1971, Pearls Before Swine toured for the first time, the group then comprising Rapp, [[Mike Krawitz]] (piano), [[Gordon Hayes]] (bass) and [[Jon Tooker]] (guitar). Around this time, Rapp often referred onstage, not quite seriously, to the group as "the house band for the [[Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)|SDS]]."
==Later years==
Two albums followed, released under Rapp's own name on [[Blue Thumb Records]]. The first, ''Stardancer'', never reissued on CD, was again recorded in Nashville, and was followed by ''Sunforest''. The band - by that time comprising Rapp, [[Art Ellis]] (flute), [[Bill Rollins]] (bass, cello) and [[Harry Orlove]] (guitar, banjo) - toured until 1974, with Rapp continuing to perform solo until a final appearance in 1976 supporting [[Patti Smith]].
Rapp then retired from music and, after graduating from [[Brandeis University]], became a civil rights lawyer. After being contacted by the magazine [[Ptolemaic Terrascope]], he re-appeared in [[1997]] at [[Terrastock]], a [[music festival]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], with his son's band, Shy Camp, and began recording again with [[1999]]'s ''A Journal of the Plague Year'' <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/rapp.htm washingtonpost.com: Style Live: Style: Style Showcase<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.
Original member Roger Crissinger left the group in 1968, joining San Francisco band One (1) led by Reality D. Blipcrotch<ref>[http://www.gotarevolution.com/reality.htm The Hangar<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. [[Lane Lederer]] is now a member of the [[Florida Orchestra]].
PBS have been cited as a key influence by various musicians including [[Damon and Naomi]], [[the Bevis Frond]], The Late Cord, [[This Mortal Coil]], and the Japanese band [[Ghost (band)|Ghost]]. Three tribute albums have been released by Secret Eye Records.
==Tom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine Discography==
===Albums===
====Original albums====
* [[One Nation Underground (Pearls Before Swine album)|One Nation Underground]] (1967, ESP-Disk)
* [[Balaklava (album)|Balaklava]] (1968, ESP-Disk)
* [[These Things Too]] (1969, Reprise)
* [[The Use of Ashes]] (1970, Reprise)
* [[City of Gold (Pearls Before Swine album)|City of Gold]] (1971, Reprise) ''(Thos. Rapp / Pearls Before Swine)''
* ...[[Beautiful Lies You Could Live In]] (1971, Reprise) ''(Tom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine)''
* [[Familiar Songs]] (1972, Reprise) ''(Tom Rapp)''
* [[Stardancer]] (1972, Blue Thumb) ''(Tom Rapp)''
* ''Tom Rapp Live'' (1973)
* [[Sunforest]] (1973, Blue Thumb) ''(Tom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine)''
* [[A Journal of the Plague Year (album)|A Journal Of The Plague Year]] (1999, Woronzow) ''(Tom Rapp)''
====Compilations====
* Constructive Melancholy (1999, Birdman) ''(CD compilation of 1969-72 Reprise tracks)''
* Jewels Were The Stars (2003, Water) ''(4 CD [[box set]] of first four Reprise albums)''
* The Wizard of Is (2004, Water) ''(2 CD collection of live recordings, out-takes etc.)''
* The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings (2005, ESP-Disk and WildCat<ref>http://www.wildcatrecording.com/ WildCat Recording</ref>) ''(the two ESP albums on one CD)''
===Singles===
* "Morning Song" / Drop Out! (1967, ESP-Disk)
* "I Saw The World" / Images Of April (1968, ESP-Disk)
* "These Things Too" / If You Don't Want To (1969, Reprise)
* "[[Suzanne (Leonard Cohen song)|Suzanne]]" / There Was a Man (1969, Reprise)
* "The Jeweller" / Rocket Man (1970, Reprise)
* "Marshall" / Why Should I Care? (1972, Blue Thumb)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.pbswine.com/ Official Tom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine website]
*[http://www.myspace.com/tomrapp Tom Rapp fan site]
*[http://members.chello.nl/cvanderlely/pearls.html A tribute to Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine]
*[http://www.dirtylinen.com/feature/50rapp.html 1994 interview with Tom Rapp]
*[http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/tomrapp.html Article by Mark Brend]
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/rapp.htm Washington Post article]
*[http://www.floridaorchestra.org/index.php?pag=music&op=musicians&id=121 Lane Lederer]
[[Category:American folk musical groups]]
[[Category:Psych folk groups]]
[[Category:Psychedelic musical groups]]
[[Category:Folk rock groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1965]]
[[sv:Pearls Before Swine]]