Velvett Fogg: Velvett Fogg... Plus 1969 (Reissue 1989)

 

Velvett Fogg were a British psychedelic rock band between 1968 and 1969. Tony Iommi was a member in mid-1968, but soon left to form Black Sabbath. Their lone eponymous album was released in January 1969, and re-released on CD by Sanctuary Records in 2002. The group released an album of organ-heavy, derivative psychedelic rock in the late '60s with a tinge of eccentricity. It became a sought-after collector's item 15 to 20 years later. Velvett Fogg were one of many new bands within the

underground scene, that were formed at the end of the 1960s that would attempt to take pop music to a higher level of creativity. Birmingham also had its own flourishing underground music scene during that time with a variety of innovative groups emerging. The line up of Velvett Fogg all came from within this alternative music scene in the city. The Velvett Fogg line-up were players whose common attributes consisted of an abundance of musical talent along with a desire to create something new and exciting.
                     

Velvett Fogg were formed in 1968 from members of a Birmingham band Gravy Train. Up front was soul singer Ernie Handy, Bob Hewitt was lead guitarist, with Graham Mullett on drums, and Mick Pollard on bass guitar. Londoner Frank Wilson who played Hammond organ, was also on vocals, eventually becoming band leader and lead vocalist. The newly formed band spent most of the year touring Germany playing at army bases and clubs. Their stage act included a light show and a go-go

dancer (who later married Ernie). Upon returning to Birmingham, the band, now managed by an agency called Inter City Artists, was given a record deal by Jack Dorsey of Pye Records. At this time it seemed that the more unusual or controversial a band was, then the greater chance there would be for success in the record business. The record label was looking to sign unusual "underground" acts and Velvett Fogg were told to, in Jack Dorsey's words; "develop an image that would make people think you would piss on the pope" !
                

Keith takes up the story; "I was in the Rum Runner one night, when someone told me that Velvett Fogg were looking for new material, and they introduced me to them. I arranged to meet them at their rehearsal place, Langley Baths. I went along the next day, and went through the following songs with

them; 'Yellow Cave Woman', 'Once Among The Trees', and 'Within' The Night' and that was it! The next couple of days, they were in London recording". Before recording could begin in late 1968, Ian Leighton departed Velvett Fogg and was replaced by guitarist/vocalist Paul Eastment (a cousin of the band's previous guitarist Tony Iommi). Paul Eastment was also to contribute original compositions for the album along with Frank Wilson, Graham Mullet and Mick Pollard.
                   

Velvett Fogg recorded the tracks for their debut album on Pye Records under the direction of Jack Dorsey. Apparently, Dorsey aimed to get the band onto the then-popular progressive band wagon. "I was a classically trained pianist but we all had to play way below our capabilities" said Frank Wilson.

The band were also allowed to record covers of a few songs they liked, and these included psychedelic-sounding versions of "New York Mining Disaster 1941" by The Bee Gees and Tim Rose's "Come Away Melinda". Original songs for the Velvett Fogg album were supplied by Keith Law, a local who became a friend of the band. A veteran of the West Midlands music scene, Law played with such groups as The Williamsons, Love and Understanding, Paint, and Jardine. In his initial writing sessions with the band Law came up with "Yellow Cave Woman", "Once Among The Trees" and "Within' The Night".
                        

John Peel wrote sleevenotes for their 1969 debut and only album, where he mentioned how he discovered the record:
                       

"Actually producer Jack Dorsey of Pye Records and his secretary brought me this record as I huddled in my mean bed wracked with jaundice with the unoccasional, long-suppressed flicker of pain crossing my boyish features. They left the record, saying they needed the notes that I’m typing by Monday. It’s

now Saturday night, tomorrow’s “Top Gear” and I’ve listened five or six times to the Velvett Fogg, liking them more with each hearing. However I forgot to ask anyone for details about the members of the group – In fact I don’t even know how many there are within it. Perhaps that information will be elsewhere on this sleeve. I don’t know their names, what they play, when they were born, the colour or not of their eyes, hair, teeth. I have never heard even the faintest rumour about their taste in breakfast foods, furniture, musicians or girls."
                     

Frank Wilson returned to London and joined Riot Squad and then The Rumble Band before following in Rick Wakeman's footsteps to join Warhorse in 1970. Frank Wilson, now performs with his band Run VT, and performs at venues in South East England. Keith Law and Frank Wilson are back together writing as Velvett Fogg Reloaded, and recording for a proposed new Velvett Fogg album.
                   

Paul Eastment started a Brum band called Holy Ghost — later to become Ghost, with whom he recorded an album He later fronted another group called Resurrection, as well as recording with local folk singer, Shirley Kent. (You can find GHOST HERE)
               

Keith Law stayed in the music business, is still writing songs, and is now an entertainer in South West England.
                     

                
During the years since Velvett Fogg's demise, demand amongst collectors for copies of their (now very rare) album has increased considerably. Original albums have changed hands for high prices with bootleg copies also known to be in circulation.

                                    

Velvett Fogg – Velvett Fogg...Plus
Label: See For Miles Records Ltd. – SEE CD 259
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 1989
Country: France
Released: 1969    
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

                           

01. Yellow Cave Woman  (Written-By – K. Law)   7:00
02. New York Mining Disaster  (Written-By – B.R. & M. Gibb)   2:55
03. Wizard Of Gobsolod  (Written-By – Eastment)   2:57
04. Once Among The Trees  (Written-By – K. Law)   5:39
05. Lady Caroline  (Written-By – Eastment)   2:23
06. Come Away Melinda  (Written-By – Minkoff, Hellerman)   5:55
07. Owed To The Dip  (Written-By – Wilson, Mullett, Pollard, Eastment)   6:07
08. Within The Night  (Written-By – K. Law)   4:47
09. Plastic Man  (Written-By – Wilson, Mullett)   4:47
10. Telstar 69  (Written-By – J. Meek)   2:47

Total Time: 00:45:25

NOTES

                         

Track 10 is a bonus track.

LINE - UP

                    

Frank Wilson - Hammond organ, vocal
Paul Eastment - guitar, vocal
Graham Mullett - drums
Mick Pollard - bass guitar
Keith Law - songwriter

Flac Size: 257 MB

The Ghost: When You're Dead - One Second 1970

 

UK ack THE GHOST was formed in 1969, at the very start using the moniker Holy Ghost but pretty soon shortened for obvious reasons. Paul Eastmont (vocals, guitar), Charlie Grima (drums), Terr Guy (keyboards, vocals) and Daniel McGuire (bass, vocals) were the forming members; and when Shirley Kent (vocals, guitars) hooked up with shortly after the line-up was complete, and they headed off to

record their first single, issued in 1969. swiftly followed by a full length production, both issued in 1969.
Ghost formed in Birmingham in the late sixties. They started out playing a heavish sort of blues-rock before they met up with singer Shirley Kent who'd already recorded two tracks on a charity EP, The Master Singers And Shirley Kent Sing For Charec 67 (Keele University 103) in 1966. Paul Eastment had earlier played in Velvett Fogg.
              

They recorded their album at the end of 1969, spawning their first 45 at the end of the year. When You're Dead was a strong song with a clear US West Coast influence. It was hardly Chart material, though, so predictably sales were poor. The album came out in January 1970. There's a clear contrast between the folk pieces that Shirley Kent sings on like Hearts And Flowers and Time Is My Enemy, which in style recall Sandy Denny's heyday in Fairport Convention, and the blues-rock numbers contributed by the rest of the band, of which For One Second sounds the strongest. Also worth checking out is the powerful Too Late To Cry. The album has now become a major collector's item, partly on account of its rarity but also on account of the breadth of its appeal to fans of both blues-rock and folk.
                   

               
The band returned to the studio in Spring 1970 to record I've Got To Get To Know You. Another track from their album, For One Second, was put on the flip, but when the 45 failed to sell the band slowly began to fall apart. Shirley Kent left to pursue a solo career and eventually released an album in 1975, Fresh Out, under the pseudonym Virginia Tree. I haven't heard it but it's reputedly folkier than Ghost's

output and featured former band members Paul Eastment and Terry Guy on three of the tracks. After Kent's departure, the remaining band members soldiered on for a while using the name Resurrection but this later incarnation of the band didn't make it onto vinyl. However, Shirley Kent decides to leave the band to start a solo career soon after. The band continue using the moniker Resurrection, but split up without releasing any more material.
                  

THE GHOST briefly appeared like a spectral vision in Birmingham, England in the late-1960's. Their hauntingly-titled one and only album "When You're Dead - One Second" rose from the grave in 1970 before the band just as quickly disappeared in a wisp of hazy smoke like a phantom apparition. The spooky album cover showed a ghostly translucent image of the five-piece band gathered around a large tombstone, headed by a Celtic Cross. Right from the first few opening bars of "When You're Dead", you can tell we're going to be in for a weird and wonderful wild psychedelic ride here. This acid-drenched music is very reminiscent of the American band H.P. Lovecraft. In fact, The Ghost have such a strong resemblance to the American West Coast sixties sound that it's hard to believe they could be from the gloomy backstreets of Birmingham in England. This "phantasmic" bunch of Brummies really know how to Rock! The Ghost are listed as Prog Folk on ProgArchives, but make no mistake, this opening number sounds like a wild Psychedelic Rock trip back in time to the flower-power freeway of love in San Francisco in the swinging sixties.
              

In complete contrast, the second song "Hearts and Flowers" is a gorgeous Folk Pop refrain that could quite easily have been recorded by Peter, Paul & Mary or The Seekers. It's a truly beautiful melody floating along on a gentle wave of gorgeous guitar strings and uplifting harmonies. This stunning song - featuring Shirley Kent on lead vocals - is a real gem that shines like a sparkling diamond and would

have had tremendous hit potential if it had ever been released as a single. We're back on the magic bus again for "In Heaven", and if you love the sound of H.P. Lovecraft, then you'll be "In Heaven" too when you hear this absolutely fabulous psychedelic sixties song. It's groovy, baby! There's a return to gentler Folk Rock territory for "Time is My Enemy", a poignant song about the passing of the years which conjures up fond memories of the classic years of Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention, although this is more of an unconventional slice of Psych-Folk.
                  

Shirley Kent sounds in magnificent voice on this hauntingly- beautiful song. It's a compelling blend of Sandy Denny's "Fotheringay" and "Who Knows Where the Time Goes", given a liberal psychedelic sprinkling of glowing rainbow colours. This is turning out to be a very good album indeed! Continuing with the intoxicating blend of storming Hard Rock songs and gentle Folk Rock refrains comes "Too Late To Cry", a rousing rip-roaring rocker, featuring an extended psychedelic wah-wah guitar trip back to the Streets of San Francisco in the hippy sixties, or the wild and untamed streets of Chicago in the case of H.P. Lovecraft.
               

We're onto Side Two now "For One Second", which opens as a gently laid-back country-tinged melody, but wait one second because there's a surprise in store when the song metamorphosises from a caterpillar into a bright and beautiful psychedelic butterfly for the storming crescendo of acid-soaked

guitar reverb in the fabulous finale. And now we come to The Ghost's magnificent magnum opus, "Night of the Warlock", a spirited Demons and Wizards song that barrels along at pell-mell speed, taking the listener on a crazy helter-skelter ride in a headlong rush towards psychedelic nirvana. This is like a maniacal harum scarum version of "Season of the Witch", wound up to 99 and given an energetic burst of adrenalin and raw power.
             

We're off to meet the "Indian Maid" next, so you can expect to hear some exotic far-eastern vibes from the Indian sub-continent, although the song is still firmly rooted in western psychedelia. Either way, it's another great song wherever you are in the world. It's time now to mount the battlements for "My Castle Has Fallen", a storming medieval ballista firing a relentless percussive artillery barrage of pummelling Psychedelic Rock! There's no let-up in the incredible pace either because "The Storm" is on the way, a thunder and lightning display of sonic energy to rattle the windows and light up the sky. It's not all Crash! Bang! Wallop! though, because there's a return to gentler climes for "Me and My Loved Ones", a bright rainbow sunburst of groovy psychedelic colours to close the album in magnificent style. Wait a minute though, we're not quite through yet, because there's the groovy sixties number "I've Got To Get To Know You" added as a bonus track.
             

The sole album by this British band was a strange entrant into the field of late-'60s/early-'70s psychedelia, mixing folk-rock, much heavier West Coast-influenced psych, and early hard rock. The lead-off track, "When You're Dead," is the most effective and famous (at least in the world of

psychedelic collectordom) cut. Lead singer Paul Eastment sounds much like Family's Roger Chapman, but even creepier (and more ostentatious), as the group vamp around a skin-crawling riff, anchored by an almost garagey shrill organ. Yet the second song, "Hearts and Flowers," could almost be the work of an entirely different outfit, with the band's other lead singer, Shirley Kent, shining on a pretty folk tune reminiscent of some of Fairport Convention's most precious early numbers. The CD reissue on Mellotron adds the non-LP 1970 single "I've Got to Get to Know You" as a bonus track.
               

The Ghost has risen from the grave of the psychedelic sixties era and reappeared as an awesome apparition fifty years later on ProgArchives. "When You're Dead - One Second" is an album full of haunting Folk refrains and spirited psychedelic acid trips. All in all, it's a heavenly album full of devilishly good songs.
                    

The Ghost – When You're Dead - One Second
Label: UFO Records – BFTP CD 005
Series: Blast From The Past
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 1991
Country: UK
Released: 1970    
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic, Prog Rock

TRACKS

          

01. When You're Dead    4:25
Written-By – P. Eastment, P. Keatly
02. Hearts And Flowers   2:54
Written-By – S. Kent
03. In Heaven   3:21
Written-By – T. Guy
04. Time Is My Enemy   4:06
Written-By – S. Kent
05. Too Late To Cry   5:04
Written-By – P. Eastment, P. Keatly
06. For One Second   5:25
Written-By – T. Guy
07. Night Of The Warlock   4:22
Written-By – P. Eastment, T. Guy
08. Indian Maid   4:21
Written-By – T. Guy
09. My Castle Has Fallen   2:57
Written-By – P. Eastment
10. The Storm   3:36
Written-By – P. Eastment, P. Keatly
11. Me And My Loved Ones   4:09
Written-By – T. Guy
12. I'Ve Got To Get To Know You   4:02
Written-By – S. Kent

LINE - UP

                

Bass Guitar – Daniel MacGuire
Drums, Percussion – Charlie Grima
Engineer – John Taylor
Vocals, Lead Guitar – Paul Eastment
Liner Notes, Supervised By – Carl Denker
Organ, Piano – Terry Guy
Vocals – Shirley Kent

Flac Size: 314 MB

Pearls Before Swine: Studio Discography

 

Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp in 1965 in Eau

Gallie, which is now part of Melbourne, Florida. They released six albums between 1967 and 1971, before Rapp launched a solo career.
                

                  
With high school friends Wayne Harley (banjo, mandolin), Lane Lederer (bass, guitar) and Roger

Crissinger (piano, organ), 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 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 them.
            

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.
           

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE - ONE NATION UNDERGROUND 1967

                

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.
                  

Pearls Before Swine – One Nation Underground
Label: Drag City – DC-659CD
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered Oct 20, 2017
Country: US
Released: 1967    
Genre: Rock, Folk, & Country
Style: Folk, Psychedelic Rock, Folk Rock

TRACKS

              

01. Another Time   3:05
Written-By – Rapp
02. Playmate   2:17
Written-By – Saxie Dowell
03. Ballad To An Amber Lady   5:13
Written-By – Crissinger, Rapp
04. (Oh Dear) Miss Morse   1:52
Written-By – Rapp
05. Drop Out!   4:07
Written-By – Rapp
06. Morning Song   4:05
Written-By – Rapp
07. Regions Of May   3:25
Written-By – Rapp
08. Uncle John   2:52
Written-By – Rapp
09. I Shall Not Care   5:10
Written-By – Roman Tombs, Teasdale, Rapp
10. The Surrealist Waltz   3:27
Lead Vocals – Lane Lederer
Written-By – Lederer, Crissinger

LINE - UP

Autoharp, Banjo, Mandolin, Vibraphone, Synthesizer [Audio Oscillator], Harmony Vocals – Wayne Harley
Bass, Guitar, English Horn, Horn [Swinehorn], Sarangi, Celesta [Celeste], Finger Cymbals – Lane Lederer
Co-producer [Production Aide] – Elmer J. Gordon
Drums, Percussion – Warren Smith
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Tom Rapp
Harmony Vocals – The Swine Chorus
Organ, Harpsichord, Synthesizer [Clavioline] – Roger Crissinger

ANOTHER TIME  LYRICS

Where have you been to?
Where did you go?
Did you follow the summer out
When the winter pushed its face in the snow?
Or have you come by again to die again?
Well, try again another time

                  

Did you follow
The crystal swan?
Did you see yourself
Deep inside the velvet pond?
Or have you come by again to die again?
Well, try again another time

When you set to shape the world
Was the shape the shape of you?
Or did you cast enchanting glances
Through the eye that all men use?
Or have you come by again to die again?
Well, try again another time

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?
Or have you come by again to die again?
Well, try again another time

Did you ever capture
All those jewels in the sky?
Did you find that the world outside
Is all inside your mind?
Or have you come by again to die again?
Well, try again another time

Flac Size: 196 MB

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE - BALAKLAVA 1968

                       

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'.

You Can Find it HERE

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE - THESE THINGS TOO - 1969

                

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.

Pearls Before Swine – These Things Too
Label: Water – WATER 111
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2003
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk

TRACKS

              

01. Footnote    1:16
02. Sail Away    3:06
03. Look Into Her Eyes    4:34
04. I Shall Be Released    3:02
05. Frog In The Window (Reprise)    1:36
06. I'm Going To The City    2:27
07. Man In The Tree    3:25
08. If You Don't Want To (I Don't Mind)    3:20
09. Green And Blue    0:22
10. Mon Amour    2:04
11. Wizard Of Is    3:36
12. Frog In The Window    3:36
13. When I Was A Child    4:44
14. These Things Too    3:24

LINE - UP

Banjo, Backing Vocals [Harmony] – Wayne Harley
Celesta [Celeste], Guitar, Backing Vocals [Harmony] – Jim Fairs
Guitar, Vocals – Tom Rapp
Vocals – Elisabeth Rapp

Flac Size: 244 MB

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE - THE USE OF ASHES 1970

           

In 1970 RAPP and his wife, like so many other folk and rock acts of that period, traveled to Nashville

to record "The Use of Ashes" supported by long list of local 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.
                  

Pearls Before Swine – The Use Of Ashes
Label:Water – WATER 112
Format:CD, Album, Reissue 2003
Country:US
Released:1970    
Genre:Folk, World, & Country
Style:Folk

TRACKS

        

01. The Jeweler    2:48
02. From The Movie Of The Same Name    2:21
03. Rocket Man    3:06
04. God Gave The Child    3:08
05. Song About A Rose    2:21
06. Tell Me Why    3:43
07. Margery    3:03
08. The Old Man    3:16
09. Riegal    3:13
10. When The War Began    5:07

LINE - UP

Bass – Charles McCoy, Norbert Putnam
Cello – Buddy Spicher
Dobro – Charles McCoy
Drums – Kenneth Buttrey
Flute – Bill Pippin, John Duke
Guitar – Charles McCoy, Mac Gayden, Tom Rapp
Harmonica – Charles McCoy
Harpsichord – David Briggs
Keyboards – Hutch Davie
Oboe – Bill Pippin, John Duke
Piano – David Briggs
Viola – Buddy Spicher
Violin – Buddy Spicher
Vocals – Elisabeth, Tom Rapp

Flac Size: 172 MB

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE - CITY OF GOLD 1971

                

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.

Tom Rapp, Pearls Before Swine – City Of Gold
Label: Water – WATER 113
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2003
Country: US
Released: 1971    
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk

TRACKS

           

01. Sonnet #65    0:49
02. Once Upon A Time    2:40
03. Raindrops    2:06
04. City Of Gold    3:09
05. Nancy    4:50
06. Seasons In The Sun    3:25
07. My Father    2:22
08. The Man    2:30
09. Casablanca    2:33
10. Wedding    1:42
11. Did You Dream Of    2:50

LINE - UP

Bass – Norbert Putnam
Drums – Kenneth Buttrey
Flute, Oboe – Bill Pippin, John Duke
Guitar [Guitars] – Mac Gayden
Guitar, Vocals – Tom Rapp
Harmonica, Vocals, Guitar, Guitar [Dobro], Bass – David Noyes
Harpsichord, Piano – David Briggs
Keyboards – Hutch Davie
Viola, Violin, Cello – Buddy Spicher
Vocals – Elizabeth Rapp

Flac Size: 171 MB

TOM RAPP, PEARLS BEFORE SWINE - ...BEAUTIFUL LIES YOU COULD LIVE IN 1972

                

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.
              

Tom Rapp, Pearls Before Swine – ...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In
Label: Water – WATER 114
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 2003
Country: US
Released: 1971    
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk

TRACKS

    

01. Snow Queen    4:00
02. A Life    2:57
03. Butterflies    2:46
04. Simple Things    2:56
05. Everybody's Got Pain    2:47
06. Bird On A Wire    3:34
07. Island Lady    4:02
08. Come To Me    2:58
09. Freedom    3:03
10. She's Gone    2:12
11. Epitaph    1:25

LINE - UP

Bass – Gordon Hayes, Gerry Jermott, Morrie E. Brown
Drums – Billy Mundi, Grady Tate, Herb Lovell
Electric Guitar – Amos Garrett, Stu Scharf
Guitar – Jon Tooker
Guitar, Vocals – Tom Rapp
Organ, Piano – Steve Alan Gramble
Piano – Bob Dorough, Michael Krawitz
Vocals – Elisabeth Rapp

Flac Size: 190 MB

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE - THE WIZARD OF IS 2004

                 

San Francisco's Water Records has certainly done right by Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine. Not

only has the label reissued its Warner Bros. recordings in their entirety individually and as a box set, it has now come up with this 44-track, two-disc collection of rarities and live recordings from 1967-1976. This is a mighty artifact indeed.
             

The first disc contains all sorts of demos and strange little live recordings. Some were made at home by the first edition of the band with Elisabeth Rapp and Wayne Harley, some are solo (including a stunningly beautiful original recording of "Butterflies"), some are with later incarnations, some are with

notable musicians like David Bromberg ("City of Gold" and "Mary, Mary"), and some are Nashville session demos. There is also a slew of cover version demos, including highly original readings of Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister," Randy Newman's "Sail Away," Joni Mitchell's "Real Good for Free," the Spector and Bates classic "There's No Other (Like My Baby)," Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," and even Jacques Brel's "Love, You're Not Alone," along with poems by Shakespeare, W.H. Auden, and Sara      
Teasdale that Rapp set to music.
              

            
Disc two features live recordings from a Goddard College show featured in its entirety as well as a Netherlands Radio performance and a performance from the Choate School in 1972. There is also a cut

-- "Lesson of the 60s" -- recorded at Terrastock in 1999. Fans will no doubt find a treasure trove of material here; some exists on bootlegs, but it's awesome to have the cleaned-up quality of the material available officially. The sound, given the wildly varying nature of the tapes, is surprisingly good and the music is truly inspired. Rapp gave listeners no dregs here; this is a fascinating and compelling collection of tapes from the catalog of a genuine musical enigma.
                      

Pearls Before Swine – The Wizard Of Is
Label: Water – water136
Format: 2 x CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2004
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Folk Rock

CD 1.

               

01. Where Is Love    2:23
02. Butterflies    2:48
03. Love, You Are Not Alone    6:00
04. Grace Street    3:42
05. Translucent Carriages    3:28
06. Space    3:35
07. Sail Away    2:02
08. City Of Gold    2:38
09. Song About A Rose    1:50
10. For Free    3:08
11. Roadside Hotel    1:47
12. Prisoner Of War    2:18
13. Wizard Of Is    3:09
14. Oh Sister    2:37
15. The Lincoln Dream    0:50
16. Can't Go Back    3:20
17. Mary Mary    1:23
18. Going To The City    2:11
19. Rocket Man    4:02
20. Riegal    3:30
21. Just Let The Grass Grow    1:29

Flac Size: 286 MB

CD 2.

               

01. Everybody's Got Pain    2:38
02. Amber Lady / I Saw The World    3:51
03. Crawling Towards Bethlehem    1:35
04. Translucent Carriages    3:19
05. Miss Morse    1:53
06. There's No Other    1:50
07. Island Lady    3:46
08. Frog In The Window    1:38
09. Morning    2:53
10. Riegal    2:47
11. Full Fathom Five / I Shall Not Care    2:46
12. Marshall    2:20
13. Footnote / When The War Began    5:25
14. Jesus    1:18
15. Anothertyme    2:54
16. Rocket Man    2:52
17. Crewman    1:36
18. Suzanne    4:30
19. Prayers Of Action / Candle    3:54
20. Lesson Of The 60s    0:41
21. Rocket Man    2:56
22. The Jeweler    2:28
23. If You Don't Want To (I Don't Mind)    3:57

NOTES

This is a 2-CD set of all previously unreleased vintage Pearls Before Swine recordings. Disc one features '60s and '70s home demos, out-takes, various studio recordings, works in progress -- many songs that never appeared on any Pearls Before Swine albums, various cover songs, experiments, and just an amazing view of Tom Rapp's personal tape archives. Disc two features a complete early '70s live concert performance, as well as other vintage '70s live recordings and radio sessions.

Flac Size: 352 MB