Pearls Before Swine [Import]

pearls before swine [import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
New second album from acclaimed South Africanalternative rock group with strong political feelings and astaunch anti-racist stance who have toured previously withPearl Jam. The band's debut sold over 100,000 copies world-wide. Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam & Do

Pearls Before Swine,Tribe After Tribe,Rock/Pop

Pearls Before Swine [Import]

Average customer rating:

Cast Ye Not ........
Ode to Joy
Thank you!
A Mind Altering Experience

The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings
Pearls Before Swine
Manufacturer: Esp Disk Ltd.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Jewels Were the Stars
The Use of Ashes
The United States of America
A Journal of the Plague Year
The Wizard of Is

ASIN: B0009JPVAQ
Release Date: 2006-07-27

Tracks:

Another Time
Playmate
Ballad to an Amber Lady
(Oh Dear) Miss Morse
Drop Out!
Morning Song
Regions of May
Uncle John
I Shall Not Care
The Surrealist Waltz
Trumpeter Landfrey
Translucent Carriages
Images of April
There was a Man
I Saw the World
Guardian Angels
Suzanne
Lepers and Roses
Florence Nightingale
Ring Thing

Album Description

Tom Rapp, an 18 year-old draft resistor and college dropout living in Eaugallie, Florida, sent a small unsolicited reel of tape to ESP. Bernard Stollman invited him to bring his musicians to New York, where they recorded their acclaimed debut, One Nation Underground in 1967. Less than a year later, they released the equally strong follow-up, Balaklava. Classics of the genre, which certainly would have seen wider attention had ESP survived past 1968, these recordings are getting a well-deserved second chance, thanks to a thorough remastering, under the supervision of Tom Rapp.

Customer Reviews:

Cast Ye Not ........ .......2007-05-30

My Pearls Before Swine ESP-DISK arrived today. I hadn't heard them in roughly 40 years! I remember loving their music, lyrics, and Tom Rapp's voice. I highly recommend this 2 record compilation ("One Nation Underground" and "Balaklava") on one CD to anyone who was there in the 60s or who is curious about the music. I'm putting this one with my "Joy of Cooking", "13th Floor Elevators", "Grateful Dead", "Incredible String Band", and other CDs of genius groups from that time. Excuse me, I have to go now, I have some wonderful listening to do.

Ode to Joy.......2007-03-13

Tucked away in my record closet are vinyl copies of these two albums. They're so badly scratched from repeated playing that it's painful to listen to them now. But now I can listen to these wonderful songs in all their awesome glory. The pristine quality of this CD far exceeds what I heard on my old college stereo. Oh joy!

Thank you!.......2006-11-29

It's been almost 40 years since I first bought this album. The LP is long gone, along with Balaklava and The Use of Ashes. Thank you for making the first two available again, since I can't find them.
The songs are lovely and will carry you away, if you let them.
Be sure to de-code the chorus in Miss Morse. Yes, it does spell something.

A Mind Altering Experience.......2005-06-23

I had never heard Pearls Before Swine before this album, at all. I was able to get my hands on an advance copy and, after some dithering (after all, it's a band from the 60s I never heard of, how good could it be?), I finally put it into my player.

And rarely take it out.

This CD instantly became one of my precious favorites. Tom Rapp sings with a bit of a lisp which, at first, had me thinking something was messed up. Upon confirmation that this was how it's supposed to be, I gave it some more time and fell in love. This lisp of his adds a completely unique quality to his singing which you find in practically no one else in music. To me, it speaks of someone who is so into it, he doesn't care if people think it sounds odd, and that alone adds strength to the music.

His songs are at once silly ("(Oh Dear) Miss Morse"), fun ("Playmate"), sad and lonely ("There Was A Man"), insightful ("Guardian Angels") and more. The very final track, "Ring Thing", will make more than a few people chuckle once they understand what it is, especially considering a certain trilogy of blockbusters recently.

I have to say, as well, that the sound quality is simply mind boggling. It is totally clear, every tone comes out perfectly. There's no hiss or pop. I know I'm not an audio engineer, but I dare say this is a FLAWLESS album. A couple tracks have that typical static sound of rough LP recordings, but they're meant that way - the sound of an early 20th century recording, music and all. Considering the age of the originals, and the lack of work done on them over the past 35-plus years, Joe Phillips - re-release producer and re-mastering engineer - pulled a complete rabbit from his hat.

I, myself, am not a child of the 60s, having been born at the end of 1977, so a lot of music from the era has been lost to me. And hey, let's face it, if it's not still popular now, why care? This attitude is completely wrong for Pearls Before Swine. The loss of them over the past several decades is a tragedy.

My father, however, while not a hippy, did have PBS's second album, 'Balaklava', from 1968. One evening, I'm going on about PBS and he tells me it sounds familiar, so I play some tracks, and his eyes just light up. He starts telling me that he used to have it, and some of the stories he remembered from back then. About a week later, I was rifling through some old LPs that my folks had, from before they split, and sure enough, there's 'Balaklava' in its sleeve, a first pressing even, from 1968. In EXCELLENT condition, no less! Amazing!

So, when I saw when this album would be officially released, I got another copy and gave my dad the CD for Father's Day. He was so shocked and so happy, one of those rare times when a gift for someone really, really means something to them.

This album has come to mean so much for me. It's a view into the past, and it carries so much meaning and emotion, I just get taken back. When it's late at night, I get to feeling a little down and thinking about life, and listen to this, I long so badly for the years when these albums were originally out. This CD has the power to transport me to a generation I was never a part of, and never will be; to a time and a world I will never see.

"Did you find that the Universe/ Doesn't care at all? Did you find that if you don't care/ This whole wrong world will fall?" Yes, Tom; a whole lot of us have found that now, and only too late.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful dream of an album.
Those beautiful pearls

These Things Too
Pearls Before Swine
Manufacturer: Water
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Use of Ashes
The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings
One Nation Underground
City of Gold
Beautiful Lies You Could Live

ASIN: B0000ZMH2E
Release Date: 2004-01-20

Tracks:

Footnote
Sail Away
Look Into Her Eyes
I Shal Be Released
Frog In The Window
I'm Going To The City
Man In The Tree
If You Don't Want To (I Don't Mind)
Green And Blue
Mon Amour
Wizard Of Is
Frog In The Window
When I Was A Child
These Things Too

Album Description

Pearls Before Swine's third album (and their first for Reprise) was originally released in 1969. Dreamy psychedelia, organic American folk songs, political and social utopias, personal brokenness and transformation, country-rock, and pure beatific vision are the elements that create Tom Rapp's sonic architecture here. 14 tracks including 'I Shall Be Released' co-written with Bob Dylan. Water. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful dream of an album........2005-07-20

I fell in love with this album on a drive to Birmingham, where I used to live. Going down the interstate on a sunny day, listening to a tape of this on vinyl, was intoxicating. I absolutely love the SOUND of this and wish other musicians would take the time to make their albums sound this good, this warm. Oh, and of course the songs are awesome and inspired, especially Look Into Her Eyes and Sail Away and the cover of I Shall Be Released. F*@king beautiful, man!

There is a feeling of letting go, of accepting the world as it is and reveling in its beauty. When I hear it, I keep thinking back to my childhood, wandering in my back yard, through the ravine on sunny days. 4 and a half stars - for some reason I don't want to give it 5. Maybe I don't love ALL the songs, but how many times have I used "beautiful" in this review? OK.

Those beautiful pearls.......2004-07-05

This is the one that got me hooked on PBS way back in 1969. I was then able to find the first ones in the discount bin, since PBS never made a dent in the U.S. charts to my knowledge. But there was nothing like them then, and nothing like them now. Tom Rapp succeeded in putting poetry and music together in a way many artists only attempted to do. For some, either the words (oh so precious) or music (lousy arrangements) would embarrass you, but not so with PBS. They had an original sound that somehow does not sound dated on this CD and the following 2 or 3. There is a sadness and melancholy to most of Tom's songs, but for me, it's not depressing due to the perspective inherent in the lyrics, and the beauty of the whole. His next album would be his masterpiece ("Use of Ashes") but this one is not far behind. If you missed them before, don't miss them now. Or to put it another way: "Hey, what's that at your feet? Looks kinda like jewelry. What will ya do with it?"

Tracks:

The Jeweler
From The Movie Of The Same Name
Rocket Man
God Save The Child
Song About A Rose
Tell Me Why
Margery
The Old Man
Riegal
When The War Began

Album Description

Their fourth album (second for Warner/Reprise) and released in 1970 features songs written by Tom Rapp while living in Holland. Subversive, tender, moving, goofy, maddening, and profound! 10 tracks including the song 'Rocket Man' which is based on a short story by Ray Bradbury. Water. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

A Lost Classic.......2005-06-08

The other comment on this album says most of what I could ever want to say about this album, but I'd like to add a few points.

First off, David Bowie's constantly referenced Pearls Before Swine as an influence on him, and his sound on the "Space Oddity" album is very much derived from the Pearls Before Swine sound. Obviously, big-time Bowie fans will have an interest in this--as my dad pointed out, Rapp's "Rocket Man" was one of a few wierd rock/pop takes on space travel (Bowie's "Space Oddity" and Elton John's "Rocket Man") that were out at essentially the same time.
Also, be sure to check out the stunning cover of "The Jeweller" on This Mortal Coil's second album, "Filigree and Shadow." It's a stunning re-work of the original that is a sincere tribute to Rapp's composition and lyricism.

OUR SONG IS BUT A CANDLE THAT WILL ONE DAY FADE AWAYý.......2004-01-21

...not these songs. They are, each and every one of them, jewels of the art - and they will endure. Tom Rapp refers to jewels in the lyrics of three of them - `The jeweler', `Rocket man' and `The old man' - and his compositions are indeed jewel-like, both lyrically and melodically so far ahead of their time that it's no surprise that he never achieved commercial success. His work was always critically acclaimed - but the albums released originally by Warner subsidiary Reprise (of which this was the second) were allowed, shamefully, to languish out-of-print for too many years. Released as a four-cd boxed set in 2003, they are available individually, as of today - to which I for one am most grateful to the San Francisco-based Water label. This album was one of my favorite recordings of the 70s - I remember wearing out more than one copy of the LP. It's been too many years since I've heard it - I've listened to it all the way through 3-4 times today, and it hasn't lost one iota of the charm with which it held me rapt (or should that be `Rapp'ed'...? [sorry...]) through so many listenings all those years ago.

The first track, `The jeweler', is one of the most beautifully poetic, moving lyrics I've ever heard. Rapp's portrait of the old man who, after closing his shop, sits up late in the dark, lovingly polishing old coins with `...spit and cloth and ashes' is a poignant one. His imagery is absolutely perfect and beautiful - `...he makes them shine with ashes, he knows the use of ashes, he worships God with ashes.' The booklet notes (by Edwin Pouncey) lean toward the interpretation that the implication is that the jeweler `...must suffer for the adoration of money' - the song seems to speak to me more of the old man's love for beautiful things, of his attempts to restore them to their former beauty. He can shine the coins, removing `the thumbprints from so many ages' - he cannot remove the scratches. Most of the time, he is conscious of this limitation - but all the same, he works on them into the night: `...both his hands will blister badly, they will open painfully, and the blood flows from his hands...he wishes he could cure the scars...when he forgets, he sometimes cries.'

Jewels are mentioned again in the third track, `Rocket man' (NOT the same as the song by the same title written by Elton John) - in this case, as a double image: the jewels of a mother's tears, the jewels of the father's imagination being the stars themselves. The song (inspired by a story by sci-fi great Ray Bradbury) is sung from the perspective of the son of a `rocket man', an astronaut. The boy and his mother are all too aware of the dangers inherent in the father's work - it seems that they do not speak of it, but rather acknowledge it silently: `...and on my mother's face, as lonely as the world in space, I could read the silent cry: that if my father fell into a star, we must not look upon that star again.' Thus, when the father's ship is swallowed by a solar flare, the mother and son go out when `...the sky was cloudy or the sun was blotted out, or to escape the pain we only went out when it rained.'

The quality of the songwriting is repeated in every track - even the short instrumental `From the movie of the same name' is quite lovely. Rapp addresses issues of the day: man's inhumanity to man (`Tell my why'), the horrors of war (`Margery', `Riegel', and `When the war began'), as well as love and loneliness (`God save the child', `Song about a rose') - and songs that are simply (an appropriate/inappropriate word here) about the human condition, and life (the two mentioned above, plus `The old man'). His songs, while dealing with issues and feelings that are modern, have a medieval mood to them - and this can be attributed to both his lyrics and his music. The use of orchestral instruments in the arrangements here (and in his other albums as well) enhances the mood of the pieces nicely, elevating them above the level of `pop music' - which is one reason, perhaps, that the Pearls Before Swine albums never realized a wider audience. It's a pity - but it's too often the case.

Tracks:

Where Is Love
Butterflies [Demo Version]
Love, You Are Not Alone [Demo Version]
Grace Street [Demo Version]
Translucent Carriages [Complete Version]
Space [Demo Version]
Sail Away
City of Gold [Demo Version] - David Bromberg, Pearls Before Swine
Song About a Rose [Demo Version] - David Bromberg, Pearls Before Swine
For Free [Demo Version]
Roadside Hotel
Prisoner of War [Demo Version]
Wizard of Is
Oh, Sister
Lincoln Dream [Demo Version]
Can't Go Back
Mary, Mary [Demo Version] - David Bromberg, Pearls Before Swine
Going to the City [Live]
Rocket Man
Riegal
Just Let the Grass Grow

Tracks:

Everybody's Got Pain [Live]
Amber Lady/I Saw the World [Live]
Crawling Towards Bethlehem [Live]
Translucent Carriages [Live]
Miss Morse [Live]
There's No Other (Like My Baby) [Doo Wop Version][Live]
Island Lady [Live]
Frog in the Window [Live]
Morning [Live]
Riegal [Live]
Full Fathom Five/I Shall Not Care [Live]
Marshall [Live]
Footnote/When War Began [Live]
Jesus [Live]
Anothertyme [Live]
Rocket Man [Live]
Crewman [Live]
Suzanne [Live]
Prayers of Action/Candle [Live]
Lesson of the 60s [Live]
Rocket Man [Live]
Jeweler ]Live]
If You Don't Want To (I Don't Mind) [Live]

Customer Reviews:

Great great music in a great product.......2007-03-28

Indeed little words in order to testify when the great music becomes truth.

Thanks a lot

Cordialmente

Giòeco

It's here, it happened.......2004-08-10

It's here, it happened: a cornucopia of Pearls Before Swine artifacts saw the light of day on two discs culled from the shoeboxes Tom Rapp kept under his bed for so long. Whether Pearls Before Swine has been underrated, ignored, forgotten - it doesn't matter: those who knew the band firsthand or a generation later will hold this set close to their heart, as it is a personal gift from Tom.

Average customer rating:

South African Tribal Roots Rock
crushin percussion

Pearls Before Swine

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000007UOX
Release Date: 1997-04-22

Album Description

New second album from acclaimed South Africanalternative rock group with strong political feelings and astaunch anti-racist stance who have toured previously withPearl Jam. The band's debut sold over 100,000 copies world-wide. Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam & Do

Album Details

Tracks: Boy, Lazurus, Senor, Fire Dancers, Bury Me, Pat on the Back and More.

Customer Reviews:

South African Tribal Roots Rock.......2002-07-20

Having been an ardent fan of Tribe After Tribe's since 1988, before they left our shores, this is by far my least favourite album of theirs. It borrows too much from the European and American sounds, losing their home-grown African sound. Tribe After Tribe's self-titled debut hit home, with Love Under Will coming across as more refined, yet still retaining their unique sound.

crushin percussion.......2002-02-16

For those five or ten of you on the planet who know about Robbie Robb, you can skip this and just buy the CD. Its his best yet under the Tribe moniker. For the rest of you, this album stands as an excellent introduction to the African-influenced tribal rhythms and powerful lyrical themes of Tribe After Tribe - its also unfortunately the only one of his albums still in print other than Three Fish. While choosing to express a folkier side of himself on the Three Fish albums, this one comes out like a pulsing cannon blast on "Boy", with powerful guitars and effective electronic touches soaring over the pounding tribal base. "Senor", as Robb affirms in the liner notes, is a bit too close to some moments on Pink Floyd's _Animals_ for comfort, but it has some surprisingly elegant acoustic guitar work from Robb that is ultimately winning. "Fire Dancers" and "Hopeless The Clown" also rock hard, while "Murder on the Lee Shore" is a rich, eerie textural exploration. Helping the cause is the fact that Robb has surrounded himself here with a dream-list of bass rhythm machines, including Doug Pinnick (King's X), Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) and Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Armored Saint). They surf the astounding percussion gracefully. The only dubious choices made here are 1) Robb's insistence on providing explanations for the songs, instead of lyrics - I guess i'd rather have the lyric; 2) my copy's production notes page uses nearly unreadable fonts on the interior, which makes it frustrating to try and track down who's playing what.

Average customer rating:

stargazing
Underrated
No extras needed, this is the one to buy!
A Box Set of Rare Jewels That Were Stars
A lot of pearls, some swine as well.

Jewels Were the Stars
Pearls Before Swine
Manufacturer: Water
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings
A Journal of the Plague Year
The Wizard of Is
Constructive Melancholy: 30 Years of Pearls Before Swine
The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp

ASIN: B00008A7TB
Release Date: 2006-03-16

Tracks:

Footnote
Sail Away
Look into Her Eyes
I Shall Be Released
Frog in the Window
I'm Going to City
Man in the Tree
If You Don't Want To (I Don't Mind)
Green and Blue
Mon Amour
Wizard of Is
Frog in the Window
When I Was a Child
These Things Too

Tracks:

Jeweler
From the Movie of the Same Name
Rocket Man
God Save the Child
Song About a Rose
Tell Me Why
Margery
Old Man
Riegal
When the War Begins

Tracks:

Sonnet #65
Once Upon a Time
Raindrops
City of Gold
Nancy
Seasons in the Sun
My Father
Man
Casablanca
Wedding
Did You Dream Of

Tracks:

Snow Queen
Life
Butterflies
Simple Things
Everybody's Got Pain
Bird on a Wire
Island Lady
Come to Me
Freedom
She's Gone
Epitaph

Album Description

This box contains 4 Warner/Reprise albums (remastered from the original tapes and released on CD for the first time), 'These Things Too', 'The Use Of Ashes', 'City Of Gold' & 'Beautiful Lies You Could Live In'. Includes a detailed 48-page book with photos, interviews, essays, memorabilia and more. Limited to 2000 copies. Water Records. 2003.

Album Details

Four CD box set plus 60 page booklet.

Customer Reviews:

stargazing.......2005-09-21

i have been a fan of tom rapp since the early seventies. i still have all the vinyl but now at long last a portable version of songs i like. music to travel with. excellent.

Underrated.......2004-11-12

Having been familiar with the two ESP discs for awhile, I was reluctant to spend the money on these four Reprise albums. If you've read the same press I've read, you might be under the impression that the ESP albums are the 'classics', the ones you should own, while these four here are patchy at best (go check out the individual reviews at allmusic.com to see what I mean). I ended up taking a chance and bought this box set anyway, and have to admit to being very pleasantly surprised. I don't think these pale in comparison to 'One Nation Underground' and 'Balaklava' at all. They may feature more conventional songwriting approaches, but they are all still beautiful records. I also don't agree with the reviewer who says that there is a downward slope in quality: Rapp begins to incorporate elements from country and traditional folk-rock in 'City of Gold' and 'Beautiful Lies ...', which makes them different to his earlier releases, but still worthy additions to his catalogue. Who wants an artist to simply retrace their steps? I love the fact that there is a clear stylistic development over the course of these records. Even if you prefer one PBS 'sound' over another, I don't think it detracts from the significance of Rapp's achievements. If you have enjoyed the ESP releases and are thinking of spending the money on this box set, I'd say that there is a good chance you won't be disappointed. Invest in this before it disappears. Like me, you may end up loving the ESP and Reprise albums in equal amounts.

No extras needed, this is the one to buy!.......2004-04-29

If you desire to own any of Pearls Before Swine's music this is the box set to own.Along with the additional ESP recordings this is IT. Though nothing is added to the original album lengths, the sound quality,beautiful packaging,copius liner notes(48 page booklet AND EACH cd has additional 15 pages in coverslips) with full lyrics make buying these "works of art" separately obsolete.I can only hope the rest of Tom Rapp's output eventually is boxed like it is here.Bravo!!!

A Box Set of Rare Jewels That Were Stars.......2003-12-27

Anytime you pay fifty bucks for a box set by an artist, it begs the question; Is the music within worth the price of admission? I can't tell you how many "deluxe" box sets are gathering dust on my shelf because they are simply repackaged "hits" with a few unlistenable outtakes and alternate takes added to lure a collector. Many record labels have exploited both the artist and consumer by selling us the orginal vinyl issue; then the CD issue; and now the remastered edition of our favorite albums and anthologies. "Jewels Were the Stars" actually offers us something that we haven't heard before. This 4 CD box set helps to complete the puzzle of the Pearls Before Swine's post ESP label work and is the most coveted reissue of 2003 for fans of early psychedelica. The four albums presented in this box set were hard to find, even when they were orginally issued in vinyl.

Pearls Before Swine's first two albums "One Nation Underground" and "Bakalava" have long been available as a import for fans who went to the trouble to purchase them on the internet or mail order, but these four albums have been out of print for nearly 30 years and it shows Pearls Before Swine to have a life well beyond their two classic ESP releases. By 1969, most of the original line up was gone, except for front man Tom Rapp, who persued his brilliant, but often idiosyncratic path, with a variety of musicians. Pearls Before Swine became a "nom de plume" for what was essentially four Tom Rapp solo albums from 1969 until 1971. This lovingly packaged and well presented box set, shows why Tom Rapp's music and poetry have inspired a cult of devoted fans and critics well beyond the lifespan of Pearls Before Swine. PBS is arguably the most under appreciated band that emerged the late sixties counter-invasion of American psychedelic and folk rock bands. The "Jewels Were the Stars" box set is important because it puts closure on the missing legacy of Pearls Before Swine's final four albums.

Tom Rapp went on to University of Pennsylvania in the mid-seventies and became a civil rights attorney in Bucks County Pennsylvania. In 2000 he resurfaced with the critcally acclaimed "Journal of the Plague Year" which revived interest in his music. He currently lives in Florida and does occasional European tours and folk festival work in the USA.

A lot of pearls, some swine as well........2003-08-25

This is a LOT of Pearls Before Swine! This is also something of a mixed bag as well. I'm a fan of the first two albums that this band did for ESP records (also available on CD), but the four albums on Warners/Reprise that make up the entirety of JEWELS WERE THE STARS show a gradual downward trajectory in quality.

It's not to say that there aren't a lot of superb moments here, but they mostly happen early on, especially on the first two albums of this set, THESE THINGS TOO and THE USE OF ASHES. As others have said, "The Jeweler" and "Rocket Man" are two of Tom Rapp's finest songs, but "These Things Too," "Wizard Of Is," and "When The War Began" also stay with you, as do many others. The latter albums, CITIES OF GOLD and BEAUTIFUL LIES YOU CAN LIVE IN are undone, I think, by a sense that Rapp & co are trying to force themselves to be "artists." There are good songs on these two albums, to be sure, but they're not nearly as memorable as previously, and there is a lot here that plays into the stereotype of "stoned hippies gawking at all the pretty colors" that's plagued a generation (mine!) that remembers what it was really like. The hands-down oddball cut on this entire collection (on the CITIES OF GOLD album) is the group's cover of the Jaques Brel-Rod McKuen song "Seasons In The Sun," more well known in the "hit" version by one-hit wonder Terry Jacks. What was Rapp smoking when he decided to do this one??

For all that, I'm glad I got this set, for two reasons. The first is that it provides me with a lot of great music from a band that has had it's legacy rescued from fading memory. The second is that it reminds me of why they might have faded away in the first place.

Balaklava
Average customer rating:
Balaklava
Pearls Before Swine
Manufacturer: Get Back Italy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

One Nation Underground

The United States of America

ASIN: B00073K7WQ
Release Date: 1999-08-11

Tracks:

Trumpeter Landfrey....
Translucent Carriages
Images of April
There Was a Man
I Saw the World
Guardian Angels
Suzanne
Lepers and Roses
Florence Nightingale....
Ring Thung

Constructive Melancholy: 30 Years of Pearls Before Swine

Average customer rating:

It's really good...but.....
can't get any better
can't get any better
Come by again, to die again....
pearls before invalid sound engineers

Constructive Melancholy: 30 Years of Pearls Before Swine
Pearls Before Swine
Manufacturer: Birdman
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

A Journal of the Plague Year
The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings
Jewels Were the Stars
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

ASIN: B00000IAGT
Release Date: 1999-08-24

Tracks:

Margery
Snow Queen
If You Don't Want To I Don't Mind
Riegal, The
Once Upon a Time
Sonnet 65
Casablanca
City of Gold
Miss Morse Update
Froggle
Everybody's Got Pain
Song About a Rose
She's Gone
Wedding, The
These Things Too
Green & Blue
Saw the World/ Another Time
Rocket Man
Jeweler, The
From the Movie of the Same Name
Raindrops
Love/Sex
Look Into Her Eyes
Sail Away
Old Man, The
Wizard of Is, The

Album Description

1998 collection spanning their years with Reprise Records ('69-'71) as well as a new recording of the classic 'I Saw the World/Another Time' as well as a 1972 radio recording of 'Love/Sex'. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

It's really good...but............2003-04-24

I wasn't aware that Constructive Melancholy existed before I heard rumors of a 4 disc Pearls Before Swine covering their Reprise Period. I considered the options and decided to save more than a few bucks.
Constructive Melancholy is a wonderful addition for any fan of their music's collection. However, as one who just couldn't wait for their "next one" after first hearing One Nation Underground back in High School, it just doesn't do it for me.
As wonderful as it was to hear The Jeweler, The Reigel and the Wizard of Is once again(without the scratches and hiss of 30+ year old LP's) I found that some of the remakes (Froggle, I Saw the World) became annoying in very short order.
If you lived and breathed it so long ago, it's really worth the $50 or so to get These Things Too,Use of Ashes,Cities of Gold and Beautiful Lies in their original entirty.
One final word. The only time I ever got to see them was right after the release of Star Dancer. If Sunforest is on CD why isn't this one.

can't get any better.......2002-11-20

CONSTRUCTIVE MELANCHOLY; 30 YEARS OF PEARLS BEFORE SWINE got me to retrieve all my old Rapp albums. Although I have listed to all these albums over the years the new album refreshed my memory as to the genius of Tom Rapp. I truly enjoy all of his writing and his music. It's good to know we may hear more from Rapp----Tom, try again another time. Wonderful mind.. Joan

can't get any better.......2002-11-20

Come by again, to die again...........2002-03-20

Ah, finally a collection of crystaline gems from a very underated and short-lived band called Pearls Before Swine. Stuff by this group is near impossible to find so's anything I can find will do. True, the first 2 albums are missed here, but if you purchase 'One Nation Underground' (the better in my opinion) and/or 'Balaclava' all bases would be pretty much covered. Pearls Before Swine deserves at least a 3-cd box set...heck, add some of Tom Rapp's solo work and up the anty to a 5-cd box!!!!!

This is totally cool acid-folk music which still defies easy catagorization. Be aware though, Tom Rapp's voice can be an acquired taste...he has a very slight lisp (at worst) which actually adds to the nuance of the surreal imagery of his lyrics.

pearls before invalid sound engineers.......2002-02-24

I'm in shock. just bought "constructive melancholy" today and was so glad to finally have some of these gems on cd.
I believe tom rapp and pearls before swine made some of the most moving and interesting music ever recorded, and a compilation of their long unavaliable records seemed overdue.
the selection of tracks here is flawless and gives a very good overview of their post-esp-albums.
but what in the world have they done ! I couldn't believe my ears when I heard "rocket man" - what a terrible remix ! seems they blasted the treble all the way up to make it more transparent, the balance of the instruments is changed, and they took all the reverb from the voice. this version sounds completely sterile and dull, compared to my original vinyl. "the jeweller" is even worse, with the over-accentuated shrill backing choir - a crime.
I didn't have the heart to listen to "old man" and "the riegal" after that.
to me, this sounds like the engineer had tried everything to make the recordings sound modern and well recorded, but, alas, he took away the spirit and soul of the music.
it may be because I'm so used to the originals, but I believe it unethical to change a recording that is not avaliable in its original (and marvelous) form.
if I were tom rapp, I'd sue for misrepresentation.

For The Dead In Space { Various Artists }

Average customer rating:

For The Dead In Space { Various Artists }

Manufacturer: Magic Eye Singles
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000MA3TOM

Product Description

Includes Damon & Naomi, Flying Saucer Attack, Tower Recordings, Bevis Frond, Batoh (from Ghost), Metronome (Eric from Yesteryear), Shy Camp (Tom's son David Rapp) and 9 more - even Tom Rapp himself (with an unreleased track from 1971). The CD version has 2 extra tracks. Receiving rave reviews and air-play worldwide. Glowing reviews in Popwatch, Washington Post, NY Times, National Public Radio, Magnet and countless other indie magazines. Track Listing: 1. Tono Bungay - Morning Song / Footnote (medley) 2. Flying Saucer Attack - Space (the man who fell to earth) 3. Metronome - Green And Blue 4. Fit & Limo - Surrealist Waltz 5. Carl Edwards - There Was A Man 6. Masaki Batoh (of Ghost) - Images Of April 7. Alchemysts - Drop Out! 8. Damon & Naomi - Translucent Carriages 9. Bevis Frond - Lepers And Roses 10. Kitchen Cynics Stardancer 11. Tower Recordings - I Saw The World 12. Shy Camp - Love/Sex 13. Mourning Cloak - I Shall Not Care 14. Tom Rapp - Hopelessly Romantic (unreleased PBS track) 15. Half Calf - For The Dead In Space 16. Shy Camp - Another Time The For The Dead In Space: Interpretations of the work of Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine CD is factory-sealed new. It has never been played and has always been kept in its original packaging and shrink wrap. The CD is not a promo or cutout. There are no marks or punches of any kind. All our CDs and vinyl are new! If you have any questions or want to see additional photos, just email us.

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time traveling blues

One Nation Underground

Manufacturer: Calibe/Esp
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005BH93
Release Date: 2001-05-07

Customer Reviews:

time traveling blues.......2001-07-25

This disc sounds like the sketchbook of someone steeped in the acid folk movement of the mid-sixties. This song sounds like Leonard Cohen, that like Dylan, this like Syd Barrett, that like Richard Farina. It's good. It's strange. There are some very beautiful songs here. Some are trapped in the past while others hover outside of time. Tom Rapp's vocal style is an acquired taste and it sounds like he is trying out different approaches, some which work and others which do not. As a historical document, you might enjoy this.

Rock Music:

Rock Music

rock music