''... Beautiful Lies You Could Live In'' was the sixth album credited to American psychedelic folk group

Pearls Before Swine A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

, and their fourth on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. It was released in 1971. Like its predecessor '' City of Gold'', the album was credited to

Tom Rapp Thomas Dale Rapp (March 8, 1947 – February 11, 2018) was an American singer and songwriter who led Pearls Before Swine, an influential psychedelic folk rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Described as having "a slight lisp, gentle v ...

and Pearls Before Swine, rather than solely in the group's name. By this time, Rapp was usually recording as, in effect, a solo singer-songwriter, supported by his wife Elisabeth and by session musicians. However, the move towards presenting Rapp as a solo artist happened at the same time as the group Pearls Before Swine - which, since its formation in 1965, had never previously appeared live - was beginning its first concert tour in 1971. The other members of the 1971 touring band - Mike Krawitz (piano), Gordon Hayes (bass) and Jon Tooker (guitar) - all played on ''Beautiful Lies'', but were not specifically differentiated as band members from the session musicians. The sessions took place in New York and Woodstock, presumably in early 1971, and featured musicians of the calibre of

Amos Garrett Amos Garrett (born November 26, 1941) is an American-Canadian blues and blues-rock musician, guitarist, singer, composer, and musical arranger. He has written instructional books about music and guitar. Garrett holds dual citizenship and was rai ...

(guitar),

Bob Dorough Robert Lrod Dorough (December 12, 1923 – April 23, 2018) was an American bebop and cool jazz vocalist, pianist, composer, songwriter, arranger, and producer. Dorough became famous as the composer and performer of songs in the TV series ''School ...

(piano), and Billy Mundi (drums). The album has a more orthodox folk rock (or country rock) sound than earlier Pearls Before Swine records, with electric guitars and drums more prominent. It also contains several of Tom Rapp's most beautiful and evocative songs, such as "Snow Queen", "Island Lady", and "Freedom", together with a cover of Leonard Cohen's " Bird On A Wire". The album concludes with a brief setting of A. E. Housman's poem, "Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries", sung by Elisabeth. Reverting to the group's practice of using classic art images on their album covers, the sleeve design shows the 19th century Pre-Raphaelite painting " Ophelia" by John Everett Millais. ''Beautiful Lies'' was in effect the last album recorded by Rapp for the Reprise label, although a further album, ''

Familiar Songs ''Familiar Songs'' is an album released on Reprise Records in 1972 by American singer-songwriter Tom Rapp, the leader of folk-rock group Pearls Before Swine A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically ...

'', was issued by the company without Rapp's knowledge or approval. ''Beautiful Lies'' was issued on CD in 2003 as part of the ''Jewels Were the Stars'' compendium of Pearls Before Swine's first four Reprise albums.

Track listing

# "Snow Queen" - 4:00 (Rapp) # "A Life" - 2:57 (Rapp) # "Butterflies" - 2:46 (Rapp) # "Simple Things" - 2:55 (Rapp) # "Everybody's Got Pain" - 2:47 (Rapp) # " Bird On A Wire" - 3:33 (Leonard Cohen, Cohen) # "Island Lady" - 4:01 (Rapp) # "Come To Me" - 2:57 (Rapp) # "Freedom" Originally entitled "Freedom (Amsterdam 1969)" - CD sleeve notes- 3:03 (Rapp) # "She's Gone" - 2:11 (Rapp) # "Epitaph" - 1:24 (A. E. Housman, Housman / Elisabeth Rapp)

Performers

: Vocals, Guitar * Morrie E. Brown: Bass * Steve Alan Grable: Piano, Organ * Jon Tooker: Guitar * Elisabeth (Rapp): Vocals * Gordon Hayes: Bass * Michael Krawitz: Piano * Billy Mundi: Drums *

: Piano * Stu Scharf: Electric guitar * Grady Tate: Drums *

: Electric guitar * Herb Lovell: Drums * Gerry Jermott: Bass

Other credits

* Produced by Peter H. Edmiston * Executive Producer : Charles R. Rothschild * Recorded at A&R Studios, New York; Aura Sound, New York; and Bearsville Studios, Woodstock * Engineered by Mark Harman

References

External links

Lyrics to ''Beautiful Lies''
* [ AMG review]
Official site for Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine

Fan site on MySpace
{{Authority control Pearls Before Swine (band) albums 1971 albums Reprise Records albums