Pearls Before Swine (band) - The Reprise Period, 1969-72

The Reprise Period, 1969-72

The band signed for Reprise Records in 1969, although by this time the other original members had left and the band name now referred to Rapp and whichever musicians he was recording or touring with, one of whom, Jim Fairs, was previously a member of The Cryan' Shames. The five albums on Reprise were generally more conventional in sound, but contained a unique blend of humanistic and mystical songs, with some whimsical touches. Some were recorded in New York and others – particularly The Use of Ashes and City of Gold - in Nashville with top session musicians including Charlie McCoy, Kenny Buttrey, and other members of Area Code 615. Several also featured Rapp's then-wife Elisabeth on vocals. The oddly-upbeat "The Man", from City of Gold, was sung by David Noyes and recorded at A&R Studios in New York City during the summer of 1970. Noyes' friend, Jon Tooker, took his position when the band toured Europe that fall.

In his teens, Rapp lived close to Cape Canaveral and watched the rockets take off. The song "Rocket Man", on the album The Use of Ashes - written the day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon - was credited by Bernie Taupin with inspiring his hit song with Elton John of the same title. Quote : "We didn't steal that one from Bowie, we stole it from another guy, called Tom Rapp...". Many of the other songs of this period reflected Rapp's interests in mysticism, his relationship with his alcoholic father, and his experiences of living for a time in (and marrying a native of) the Netherlands. The final Reprise album, Familiar Songs, was a collection of demo re-recordings of some of Rapp’s earlier songs, and was released under his own name, not as a "Pearls Before Swine" album, and without his knowledge.

In 1971, Pearls Before Swine toured for the first time, the group then comprising Rapp, Mike Krawitz (piano), Gordon Hayes (bass) and Jon Tooker (guitar). Around this time, Rapp often referred onstage, not quite seriously, to the group as "the house band for the SDS." A live album from this period, Live Pearls, recorded at Yale University, was released as a download in December 2008.