ONE NATION UNDERGROUND

After the initial rock and roll craze died in 1959 with the death of Buddy Holly, the drafting of Elvis Presley, the arrest of Chuck Berry and a scandal involving Jerry Lee Lewis all in the year 1959, the vacuum was filled by surf rock, garage rock and most importantly folk music as teens felt that rock and roll was a bit juvenile and that jumping on the folk bandwagon was more mature. In the USA folk music provided the perfect place to rant about politics, social injustices and all the other ills of society but in the mid-60s bands like The Fugs and Love started to adopt some of the early aesthetics of psychedelic rock and thus a totally new hybrid of psychedelic folk emerged. While much of this was tied to the hippie movement and drug culture, a few acts like Tim Buckley and PEARLS BEFORE SWINE offered a sober reference to a more psychedelically tinged variety of folk music taking it places Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel never dreamed of.

Formed in 1965 in Melbourne, Florida by Tom Rapp, PEARLS BEFORE SWINE found Rapp and his high school friends following in the footsteps of The Fugs and became one of the first American bands to fully embrace the more psychedelic possibilities of folk music without abandoning its more traditional roots. Named after the Bible passes from Matthew 7:6, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine ?." this band found an instant following and was quickly signed to the ESP label which while known for its experimental jazz artists had been the first to discover the bizarre antics of The Fugs. The band released its debut ONE NATION UNDERGROUND, a play on the American motto "One Nation Under God" in the summer of 1967 and stood out from the competition like a sore thumb or should i say sore hoof?

Taking a few cues from Donovan, Rapp infused his folk music with lyrics steeped in history as well as taking stabs at the system with early protest songs about the Vietnam War and infused it with an escapist's dose of psychedelia but not without a touch of humor as heard on the hilarious "(Oh Dear) Miss Morse" which features the word "f.u.c.k." played out in Morse code while an accompanying banjo and psychedelic organ run offer a note of seriousness. The first of four albums before Rapp would carry on as a solo artist, PEARLS BEFORE SWINE was rather unique in its more traditional folk music approach that evokes early Bob Dylan or Nick Drake only infused with a heavy Farfisa organ accompaniment that was more en vogue in the rock world than anything from the more sober world of folk music. The band delivered the odd mix of instrumentation that offered an eclectic mix of the celeste, vibraphone, autoharp, sarangi and even the occasional horns to its odd mix of psychedelic folk rock.

The tracks were quite varied with Dylan-esque tracks such as "Playmate" and "Uncle John" totally contrasting with the more plaintiff seriousness of Leonard Cohen on the opening "Another Time." Sparse folky vibes alternate with upbeat folk rock numbers like "Uncle John" while tracks like "Regions Of May" offer a jazzy touch that features excursions away from the status quo. Add to that an apocalyptic first impression courtesy of the Hieronymus Bosch album cover art and PEARLS BEFORE SWINE instantly stood out as that folk based band that was a bit hard to categorize. The album was quite popular and remains the band's best seller having exceeded 200,000 copies. A tendency to drift into the avant-garde on the track "I Shall Not Care" also stoked interest as it provided the highlight of the band's psychedelic folk style that offered a bizarre deviation from the usual folk flavors of the day.

As the album ends with "The Surrealist Waltz" you know you've entered the twilight zone with dreamy vibes accompanying pastoral folky guitar strumming in 3/4 timing while trippy organ runs and insightful lyrics find ethereal vocal harmonies haunting the backdrop. One of the most unusual early folk bands to hit the scene, PEARLS BEFORE SWINE was more of the melodic cousin to the abrasively anti-folk Fugs that relished in crafting an early proto-punk rebellion in the context of folk music. An interesting band that may take a while to warm up to given Rapp's diverse approach and oft abrasive vocal style but if a roller coaster ride of influences under the guise of folk music sounds appealing then PEARLS BEFORE SWINE is just what the doctor ordered.