THESE THINGS TOO

"These Things too" is a transitional record between the psychedelic/obscure folk period of Pearls Before Swine and the symphonic folk period. The cover is less impressive then on the earlier recordings and the album title suggests that we have to deal with recordings that didn't fit on the earlier recordings or are 2nd rate material. This album may not be Pearls Before Swine's most appreciated record; there are still some gems on it however and should not be skipped by fans of the surrounding works.

There is a great change in sound in comparison with the previous obscure Balaklava record. The addition of a piano and some more traditional singer/song writer material makes this record less interesting, but I must admit I'm still very impressed by about the halve of the songs which do remind me of the great Balaklava. Tom Rapp enters different new territory with a French chanson (Mon Amour), woman backin' vocals (Man in the Tree) and country music (If you don't want to (...)). Like on Balaklava there is one cover song on the record. This time its a Bob Dylan track (I shall be released), which I find one of the weaker tracks of the record. There are two versions of "Frog on the window" on the record: the first one is a psychedelic one and the other an more Spanish/ Greek influcenced one.

Both sides of the record contain some great songs and some mediocre songs. Maybe it is because Tom Rapp devoted this record to his wife Elisabeth (who takes care of the woman vocals) that this record is a bit more "dreamy" in sound and less obscure/ psychedelic then the previous recordings. The recordings themselves are more "difficult" and this record took me longer to appreciate then the earlier recordings. This record is still growing on me however and therefor I'll credit three stars for it. First try out the far more brilliant Balaklava!