25 Feb 2018

New Horizons: Tribute to Tom Rapp of Pearls Before Swine

From New Horizons, 5:00 pm on 25 February 2018

William Dart pays tribute to singer-songwriter Tom Rapp, most well-known for leading the late '60s-early '70s band Pearls Before Swine, and who died recently.

Tom Rapp - Sunforest cover

Tom Rapp - Sunforest cover Photo: Blue Thumb Records

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."

This tough talk from Matthew's gospel rather suited the zeitgeist of the tough times of the '60s and '70s, politically and artistically, especially with the bristling counter-culture emanating from New York, San Francisco, and London. So Tom Rapp and his mates chose the name Pearls Before Swine for their band name.

Their music gets categorised as "psychedelic folk" and it's sweet and gentle. You just have to be alert to the barbs and stings concealed in the honey.

The band released six albums together, then Rapp released a further four under his own name. The last one came out long after the others in the year 2000.

Tom Rapp died on 11 February 2018, and to pay tribute, here's a selection of some of his best tracks:

1. 'The Swimmer'

From his last album, released in 2000, 27 years after the previous one, this is Tom Rapp's gentle tribute to Kurt Cobain.

2. 'Ballad to an Amber Lady'

From the first Pearls Before Swine album One Nation Underground (1967), this song gives us alt-folk, decades before we started using such labels. On the surface it might come across as one of the faux baroque ballads fashionable at the time but there's more to it than that. Lilliputian chimes and a disoriented harpsichord transfix.

3. 'Suzanne'

The band recorded Leonard Cohen's song in the dark with a few candles. This appeared on the second album Balaklava (1968).

4. 'Guardian Angels'

Also from Balaklava, 'Guardian Angels' has the uncluttered simplicity of a Renaissance lute song with a strange, out-of-this-world backdrop supplied by string quartet.

5. 'Rocket Man'

From the album The Use of Ashes (1970), 'Rocket Man' is a poignant tale based on Ray Bradbury's short story of the same name and is a delicate portrayal of an orphaned child.

6. 'Snow Queen'

A song from the final album under the name Pearls Before Swine, Beautiful lies you could live in (1971), 'Snow Queen' is a portrait of a damaged soul caught in gorgeous waves of tinkling transparency.

7. 'Forbidden City'

And from Sunforest (1973), the third solo album before he dropped out to become a lawyer (only to emerge 27 years later), Rapp is perhaps meeting his amber lady once more, but now she's blond-faced and frozen in the forbidden city of death. Who but Tom Rapp could present doom and darkness that falls more easily on the ear than this.

Music Details

'Song title' (Composer) – Performers
Album title
(Label)

'The Swimmer' (Rapp) – Tom Rapp
A Journal of the Plague Year
(Woronzow)

'Ballad To An Amber Lady' (Crissinger/Rapp) – Pearls Before Swine
One Nation Underground
(ESP)

'Translucent Carriages' (Rapp/Harley) – Pearls Before Swine
Balaklava
(ESP)

'Suzanne' (Cohen) – Pearls Before Swine
Balaklava
(ESP)

'Guardian Angels' (Rapp) – Pearls Before Swine
Balaklava
(ESP)

'Rocket Man' (Rapp) – Pearls Before Swine
The Use of Ashes
(Water)

'The Jeweller' (Rapp) – Pearls Before Swine
The Use of Ashes
(Water)

'Snow Queen' (Rapp) – Pearls Before Swine
…beautiful lies you could live in
(Water)

'Forbidden City' (Rapp) – Tom Rapp
Sunforest
(Blue Thumb)

 

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