1967 PEARLS BEFORE SWINE UNDERGROUND + POSTER psych

$

89

1967 ESP RECORDS COLLECTIBLE.... WITH...THE POSTER                   

      PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

       One Nation Underground

\                                                          USA - ESP RECORDS - 1054 

CONTAINS THE BIZARRE BOSCH POSTER....

Original 1967 first pressing vinyl, in great clean condition...

Recorded at Impact Sound in New York City, between May 6-9, 1967, by the Florida-based group, which at that point comprised main songwriter and singer Tom Rapp, Wayne Harley, Lane Lederer, and Roger Crissinger. Percussion was by session musician Warren Smith.

The album presents a mixture of styles - "psychedelic folk reminiscent of UK folk collides with Farfisa-driven punk and hard-to-categorize repetitive minimalism, all thrown together with the undisciplined, creative exuberance of youth"

Psychedelic-folk debut from one of the most erudite, literate minds in rock, Thomas D. Rapp (and the first of his ever-changing Swine). This is still a stunning piece of work, from the nightmarish sleeve art — the "Hell Panel" from Hieronymus Bosch's 15th century painting "Garden of Delights" — to the strange yet powerful songs. "Another Time," the most memorable selection, is an understated acoustic song, the first that Rapp ever penned, based on his experience in a horrific car crash where he walked away unscathed. Of similar mood is the beautiful "Ballad of an Amber Lady." "Drop Out" is a straightforward song built around a popular credo of the '60s. "Uncle John" is one of the earliest protest songs about the Vietnam War. Strangest (and funniest) of all is "(Oh Dear) Miss Morse," where Rapp adopts a Victorian persona and sounds out the Morse code spelling of F-U-C-K, accompanied by banjo and Farfisa organ.

Considering Rapp's fascination with history, it's not surprising that one of the songs here, "I Shall Not Care," features a co-writer credit to "Roman Tombs." The cryptic words that comprise this song's title were discovered on a tomb that dates to the final days of the Roman Empire. 

Highlight is the gloomy atmosphere of the closing gem, The Surrealist Waltz, which plods along with the spookiest vocal and that surprisingly effective out of tune Farfisa which is also on Playmate (another standout).

On this album Pearls Before Swine has two faces: one is mellow melancholic hippie folk with outstanding lyrics and the other is Velvet Underground-esque (mind that it's 1967 outside) rock'n'roll with tight bass lines and repetative riffs...

• "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" -

CONDITION: The cover is in nice shape, "EX" (excellent) the white boarder and white back cover is snow white clean, hard to find like this so many years later ...just a light bomp on 2 corners keeps it from M-, and that's saying something.

The vinyl is all clean and glossy M- and compliments the cover nicely ... as is:

The poster is clean and sharp, even if folded over once by the record company at a slightly odd angle...but, MINT. 

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record