Customer Reviews

Constructive Melancholy: 30 Years of Pearls Before

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I discovered Pearls Before Swine in 1977, quite by accident. I liked the painting on the cover and, hey, it was in my budget - 25¢! I was 13. Put the record on my parents' turntable and WOW! Such sad and strange songs, full of beauty and a haunting, fragile poetry. It sounded like an anti-war album from a man who'd seen a thousand wars. Needless to say, I was hooked, and PBS became my first (and most important) influences beyond the scope of my family, schoolfriends and little town. Found most of the Reprise albums and later, "One Nation Underground". PBS were long gone by then, and it was many years before I learned anything solid about them or their frontman, Tom Rapp. This CD, with its sterling fidelity, brings back feelings of awe and discovery I haven't felt in more than two decades. Thank you so much, Tom Rapp, for your great songs. They have really brought me pleasure through the years.

The revival of psychedelica has brought to light many criminally ignored bands of the 60's. While the Velvet Undergound were viewed a mere curiosity in the sixties, they enjoy the stature of diety in these existential times. The Grateful Dead were always around, but their second wave of popularity elevated them to a counter-cultural money machine, thanks to legions of fans who adopted a bedouin lifestyle to follow the band's tour schedule. Even Roky Erickson, the egnimatic founder of the 13th Floor Elevators, has been hailed as "brilliant" by Henry Rollins, the dungeon-master of straight edged thrash rock. In the late eighties, This Mortal Coil, a British studio ensemble, recorded a couple of eerie gothic renditions of Pearls Before Swine classics. This Mortal Coil, being almost as esoteric as Pearls Before Swine, did little to gain attention for this wonderful band. This collection of nuggets from the band's Reprise years will hopefully rescue Pearls Before Swine from oblivion and provide a long overdue legacy for the band.

Tom Rapp, the leader of Pearls Before Swine, was a musical genius who's reach sometimes exceeded his grasp. He was a poet with "big ideas" about cultural icons, art, beauty, history and geopolitics. His musical arrangements were often sweeping and baroque presentations with unconventional chord progressions and unfashionable mid-tempo time signatures. His adventurous compositions often flirted with self-implosion under the weight of their ideas. There is a fine line between musical majesty and silly pretension. Tom Rapp's music resisted the temptations of self indulgence, so the music not only remains fresh, but vital in light of the renewed interest in chamber pop during the past five years.

Tom Rapp's lyrics have often invited comparisons to Leonard Cohen. The Cohen comparison is flattering but Rapp's poetics conjure ornate and surrealistic imagery while Cohen's musings remained incarnate in the flesh. Both Cohen and Rapp were bards of the dark side; Cohen was the Ego and Rapp was the Id. Rapp created a sense of place with his lyrics aiming his politcal ire and cry for humanism like a midevil troubador. Vietnam was Rapp's "la peste", the plague of an entire era of young people. This Reprise retrospective of Pearls Before Swine is by no means a complete compliation of the group. It covers roughly a 4 year period from 1969 until 1972. It was a time when the orignial members of the group were dropping out and Rapp began to forge an intresting but idiosyncratic path. Like the other reviewers, I lament the fact that "One Nation Underground" and "Balaklava" were not included here. I almost docked it a star from 5 to 4 stars because of this, but the Byzantine music industry will not relinquish rights to their two first albums on the avant garde (home of the Fugs!) ESP label. The albums are available as German imports from a division of ESP. There are also two lost albums issued by the jazz label Blue Note which may never see the light of day. I am personally thankful that this 26 song compilation is out. It is an important piece of the PBS legacy.

Tom Rapp left the business in 1974 and attended law school at University of Pennsylvania and worked as a civil rights attorney in Bucks county (PA) for 17 years. He recently moved to Florida where he practices law and occasionally does concert and festival appearances in the USA and Europe.

I ordered this cd when i saw it listed on amazon, not knowing what it was (a collection from pbs 1969-1973), a collection or a new disc. That's how i feel about tom rapp and pbs - there is something absolutely magical about the tunes and the approach. I've loved them ever since i heard "These Things Too" in 1969 (I was 10 yrs old w/ a hippie brother). Then I heard "Balaklava" (their masterpiece) and have been a different person since. This is a wonderful disc with many of the greatest rapp songs (snow queen, if you don't want to, the jeweler, rocket man, etc) and one new to me - instrumental - "from the movie of the same name" - beautiful! So, I love this disc. My complaint? (and reason for only 4 stars) - no "the man in the tree" - my most favorite, and i'm scared that with this out, they won't re-release "these things too" But it is a great album.

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.

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.

I've had Pearls Before Swine's "City of Gold" on vinyl, but it's scratched from 25+ years of use, and has not been available on CD; with this great release, some of those fine songs can be heard; I hope more recordings by these guys will be reissued! (especially "City of Gold")

the long awaited cd is finally here. an essential part of anyones pbs collection. tom rapp is one of the finest lyricists/poets of this or any generation. this collection of songs is also a great way to introduce the uninitiated to the magic of pbs. thanks tom.

I've loved the music of Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine for many years, and feel they deserve a much bigger place in Sixties music history than they have now. However, how a compilation disc can be called "A 30-Year Retrospective", and yet not contain even one track from their first two outstanding late Sixties albums, "One Nation Underground" and "Balaklava", is totally beyond me! While the songs on this set are interesting, I would give this CD zero stars if I could, for its' selective interpretation of PBS history.

Tom Rapp is without a doubt one of the finest songwriters of the 20th century. If you buy this or the ESP recordings, you will not be disappointed.
Please notice I didn't say if you like this kind of music or that kind of music as a preamble to you liking this or not? That's because I believe this music transcends style and touches the depths of the human soul. Any person experiencing life feels what this man says in the most poignant of words and song.
Do yourself a favor, buy this and feel yourself in music.

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