Album: One Nation Underground
Artist: Pearls Before Swine
Born: Eau Gallie, Florida
Released: October 1967
Genre: Psychedelia
Influenced: This Mortal Coil
One thing I love about pop is that it gives voice to genuine originals. In Tom Rapp, whose lispy delivery and erudite lyrics marked him out from the crowd, Pearls Before Swine had one of the most unique frontmen in pop history. Though One Nation Underground doesn't have the thematic unity of the band's more critically acclaimed release, Balaklava, I prefer the songs and mood of this, their debut album. There's a medieval feel to the psychedelic folk of Another Time, Regions of May and Ballad To An Amber Lady, three of my favourite tracks on the album, all esoteric and mesmerising. The knowledge that Another Time was written by Rapp after a close encounter with death (car crash) helps to give the song an added haunting quality.
Despite what the LP's front cover might suggest, in depicting the infernal section of Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, this album isn't all about mysticism, death and high art. Tom Rapp reveals his sense of humour on (Oh Dear) Miss Morse, which must be the first song ever released to convey a (sexually explicit) message via morse code. There is also the earnest and youthful intent of Uncle John, one of the most articulate anti-Vietnam songs released during the war, which no doubt escaped censure owing to the album's low-key success (100,000-250,000 copies sold by a small label). Playmates reveals the heavy influence of Dylan, while Drop Out! voices anxieties about the dropping of the bomb and Morning Song is just mysterious and brilliant. Tom Rapp retired from the music scene in the mid-70s and qualified as a civil rights lawyer in the mid-80s, perhaps one of the most original career trajectories in pop. Despite its limited influence, this album is one of the finest and weirdest products of late '60s psychedelia.
Artist: Pearls Before Swine
Born: Eau Gallie, Florida
Released: October 1967
Genre: Psychedelia
Influenced: This Mortal Coil
One thing I love about pop is that it gives voice to genuine originals. In Tom Rapp, whose lispy delivery and erudite lyrics marked him out from the crowd, Pearls Before Swine had one of the most unique frontmen in pop history. Though One Nation Underground doesn't have the thematic unity of the band's more critically acclaimed release, Balaklava, I prefer the songs and mood of this, their debut album. There's a medieval feel to the psychedelic folk of Another Time, Regions of May and Ballad To An Amber Lady, three of my favourite tracks on the album, all esoteric and mesmerising. The knowledge that Another Time was written by Rapp after a close encounter with death (car crash) helps to give the song an added haunting quality.
Despite what the LP's front cover might suggest, in depicting the infernal section of Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, this album isn't all about mysticism, death and high art. Tom Rapp reveals his sense of humour on (Oh Dear) Miss Morse, which must be the first song ever released to convey a (sexually explicit) message via morse code. There is also the earnest and youthful intent of Uncle John, one of the most articulate anti-Vietnam songs released during the war, which no doubt escaped censure owing to the album's low-key success (100,000-250,000 copies sold by a small label). Playmates reveals the heavy influence of Dylan, while Drop Out! voices anxieties about the dropping of the bomb and Morning Song is just mysterious and brilliant. Tom Rapp retired from the music scene in the mid-70s and qualified as a civil rights lawyer in the mid-80s, perhaps one of the most original career trajectories in pop. Despite its limited influence, this album is one of the finest and weirdest products of late '60s psychedelia.
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