Adding Tom Rapp solo to Pearls Before Swine

Not really sure where you'd post this...I don't think Suggest New bands and Artists is quite the right forum for it though. Maybe this one...New Report Thread Please Post Errors Here? Maybe it needs discussing in Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation forum first? Doubtless it'll be moved to the right place by someone who knows where...

I don't have a problem with the proposal.  I'll see what the other Prog Folk members have to say.

Normally I would not be in favour of such changes and the 4th Rapp album, "A Journal of the Plague Year" (1999), does not help here because of the long time-gap it cannot be seen as continuation of the PBS time-line - it is a bona fide Rapp solo album.

Edited by Dean - January 12 2012 at 18:35

Thanks Hugues, appreciate the comments and your opinion.

Dean, I was also originally inclined to evaluate Rapp's solo work separately from the PBS albums, but I had some trouble reconciling that with precedence for similar situations in the Archives.  Really Pearls Before Swine ceased to exist as a de facto group by the time their second album was released, and really except for the first album all the records issued as PBS alums were pretty much Tom Rapp augmented by studio musicians.  And since the original band never even toured together it could be argued PBS was never actually a band, at least not after 1967, so Friso's suggestion of listing the records as "Pearls Before Swine/Tom Rapp" has some merit, especially since three of the studio albums were released under the name Tom Rapp/Pearls Before Swine ('City of Gold', 1971; 'Beautiful Lies You Could Live In', 1971; and 'Sunforest', 1973) even though the latter two didn't include any original band members except Rapp.

And three of the four Pearls Before Swine compilation albums include songs from records issued as PBS, PBS/Rapp and just as Rapp, as well as 'Live Pearls' which was recorded in 1971 and released as a PBS album in 2008 even though none of the original Pearls played on it except Rapp.  None of the PBS/Rapp or Rapp records are actually solo albums anyway since all of them feature numerous studio musicians, so it seems to me the PBS and Rapp discographies are pretty much inexorably intertwined.

As for 'A Journal of the Plague Year' it's true this was released after a 20+ year hiatus, but we have precedent for that on the Archives as well.  Carol of Harvest released albums more than 30 years apart with the latter one having only Axel Schmierer from the original band and it's a Carol of Harvest album in name only.  Bark Psychosis had two albums 20 years apart and the second was mostly a Graham Sutton solo effort with a bunch of studio musicians and friends.  It's a Beautiful Day had a 30 year break before their last album (which included half the original band but was actually issued under the name 'David LaFlamme Band' for legal reasons).  And Babe Ruth released their final album 30 years after the prior one with most of the original band but a sound that is neither Ruth-like or even remotely progressive.

So if we assume "Pearls Before Swine" == "Tom Rapp" then we should consider the entirety of the discography regardless of the name(s) that appear on the covers.  And once we agree to that then we certainly can't split the last album simply because it isn't progressive and/or because it doesn't include most of the original members.  If we did that we'd have to revisit the latter albums of a whole lot of bands including Genesis, Yes, APP, ELO, Renaissance, etc. etc.

This is an interesting case for sure...

Go for what you think is right, Bob,  you're the head honcho, now

Precedent and consistency aren't PA traits, with the high number of collaborators on teams over the years doing things their own way there will never be consistency and every possible action has a precedent somewhere in the system, for example if Allan Shacklock had released the last Babe Ruth as Shacklock (which was also the name of his band before Babe Ruth) it would not have been listed in the discography,  T.Rex are excluded from the Tyrannosaurus Rex discography because T.Rex is not progressive, David Gilmour is in Prog Related even though the last two Floyd albums were essentially Gilmour solo albums, the first Gilmour solo was basically a Joker's Wild album and his last two solo live albums have been Floyd's greatest hits, the Parlour Band is listed but A Band Called O and the "O" Band are not... etc etc

Sorry, I missed Dean's last comment.  I wanted this conversation to run its course and I think it has.  

Dean, I appreciate your feedback and counterpoints, and I agree the Babe Ruth example was a stretch.  But I am quite familiar with the history of both PBS and Tom Rapp, as is Sean Trane (and probably Ken as well), and I do feel comfortable in this case with merging them into one as they were both essentially the same entity after around 1967.

Friso, if you are volunteering to update the bio then I'll say that we appreciate your offer and you can go ahead.

Sean Trane, thanks for the comments.  I promise to be the guardian of our virtues and ensure none of Tom Rapp's less deserving cousins like Tupac or Eminem find their way in here... 

So, what do you think?


PEARLS BEFORE SWINE (Melbourne, Florida, USA) is the band formed by folk singer, guitar-player and songwriter Tom RAPP and some of his high school friends. Though RAPP would remain the only standing member of the band over the years, this first line-up can be attributed with the first two albums, “One Nation Underground” (1967) and “Balaklava” (1968), on which PEARLS BEFORE SWINE can be described as a psychedelic and progressive folk group. Both albums were released by ESP. After this Tom RAPP would continue to record milder folk records under the PEARLS BEFORE SWINE flag with a diversity of studio musicians until dropping the bandname in 1973. He then delivered another three albums under his own name (these are also included on this page) before becoming a civil rights lawyer. In 1999 Tom RAPP would return with another solo album.

Rapp would eventually become a cult-idol because of his mystical and political songwriting and his emotionally driven, folky and almost whimsical (in a good way) vocal performances.

I
The first line-up of PEARLS BEFORE SWINE consisted of Tom RAPP, Wayne HARLEY, Lane LEDERER and Roger CRISSINGER. Together they would record the classic “One Nation Underground” (1967), a psychedelic folk album with some heavy edges, psychedelic moods, political lyrics and mystical folk songs. The album sold a reasonable 250.000 copies, but due to lack of proper management the band would not profit very much from this. In 1968 the band would re-emerge with again RAPP, CRISSINGER and LEDERER, this time joined by Jim BOHANNON and some guest musicians in the studio. “Balaklava” (1968) would be their most progressive effort with a continuation in style, but with a more daring approach with psychedelic sound-effects, symphonic arrangements and a dark ending song based on the ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

II
On the third album “These Things Too” (1969) the band’s line up changed significantly. RAPP would be joined by his wife (of Dutch origin) Elisabeth, Wayne HARLEY, Jim FAIRS as well as some studio musicians. This album would be their first album on the Reprise label, but unfortunately the recording quality was rather poor. Mainly for this reason this album is perceived as the lesser PEARLS BEFORE SWINE ALBUM.

III
After this, yet another line-up of the band was disbanded, and RAPP and his wife went to the famous musical city of Nashville to record “The Use of Ashes” in 1970 with a long list of studio musicians. The sound changed to that of a well-produced folk sound with pop-arrangements reminding us a bit of Bob DYLAN, but with a symphonic edge to it. “The Use of Ashes” is perceived as one of the best albums of Tom RAPP because of its splendid sound, delicate style and songwriting. Leftovers from these recording sessions were release in 1971 as “City of Gold” a.ka. “Nashville album”. This album has a wider range of styles, including country, folk and the return of psychedelic influences on the last tracks of the album. Elisabeth RAPP would contribute a lot on these two albums.

IV
The last album recorded under the PEARLS BEFORE SWINE flag is the 1972 “…Beautiful Lies You could live in” with RAPP and his wife as standing members. The song-writing on this album is particularly strong, sentimental and intimate, though the reverb-folk sound was replaced by a more dry, down to the earth folk recording.
 
V
In 1972 Tom RAPP’s first solo album was released “Familiar Songs”. It was a collection of demos and re-recordings of PEARLS BEFORE SWINE songs that was released without RAPP’s knowledge. The album doesn’t have a sound that is significantly different from the album before it, but is mainly interesting because of a couple of new songs and new arrangements for older songs of PEARLS BEFORE SWINE. In the same year RAPP signed with Blue Thumb, a record label that would fully acknowledge his status as solo-artist, though RAPP would remain his touring group PEARLS BEFORE SWINE with Art ELLIS and Bill ROLLINS. RAPP would gain full control over the recording of “Stardancer” (1972), which is seen as one of his finest records by both critics and himself. On this album Rapp would fall back on psychedelic leanings of the first two PEARLS BEFORE SWINE albums, making it an interesting album for listeners of psych-folk. In 1973 Tom RAPP would record the “Sunforest” album, on which PEARLS BEFORE SWINE was also mentioned on the cover artwork. On this album, which is generally seen as a weaker album, there are pop, folk and up-tempo tracks. In the mid-seventies Rapp would eventually leave the music industry to become a successful civil rights lawyer.

VI
In 1997 Tom RAPP was contacted by the Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine, which would lead to him reappearing at Terrastock festival with his sons band ‘Shy Camp’. This would in turn inspire him to the writing and recording of “A Journal of the Plague Year” (1999) which had both new songs and previously unrecorded tracks. The album has a surprisingly recognizable sound for listeners of RAPP’s music of the seventies because of its intimate, delicate folk style. The song ‘The Swimmer’ was a memorial for Nirvana singer Kurt COBAIN.



PEARLS BEFORE SWINE (including Tom RAPP solo) is included on PA because of the first two albums that fit in the psych folk (and perhaps proto-prog) category, as well as his solo effort “Stardancer”. Furthermore, listeners of mild folk (with symphonic tendencies) will also find a strong album in “The Use of Ashes”, whereas others become fan of the Tom RAPP style and end up collecting most of his releases (like me).


Bio by Friso

Friso,

And Pearls Before Swine are now Pearls Before Swine/Tom Rapp with your bio posted.  Thanks again for the thorough work!