Balaklava

by Pearls Before Swine

Balaklava cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: November 1968
  • Label: ESP-Disk
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 1:06:01
  • Community rating: 3.91/5 from 5 ratings

Artists on this release: Leonard Cohen, Lane Lederer, Herodotus, Jim Bohannon, Wayne Harley, Tom Rapp

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Responding to the ongoing Vietnam War with a deeply anti-war sentiment wrapped in delicate acoustic arrangements, Tom Rapp crafted a profoundly moving sophomore album. 'Balaklava' is incredibly peaceful and wonderfully soothing, utilizing strange field recordings and beautifully soft chamber-folk strings to elevate deeply pastoral, slightly psychedelic acoustic poetry.

Genres

Descriptors: acoustic, natural, folk, male-vocals, experimental, orchestral

Tracklist

  1. Trumpeter Landfrey (0:35)
  2. Translucent Carriages (4:04)
  3. Images of April (2:44)
  4. There Was a Man (2:57)
  5. I Saw the World (3:26)
  6. Guardian Angels (3:04)
  7. Suzanne (5:00)
  8. Lepers and Roses (5:24)
  9. Florence Nightingale (0:17)
  10. Ring Thing (3:32)
  11. Translucent Carriages - Long Version - Balaklava Out-Takes (4:05)
  12. Ring Thing - Balaklava Out-Takes (3:42)
  13. The Cowboy Who Ate Vietnam - Balaklava Out-Takes (1:44)
  14. I Saw the World - Balaklava Out-Takes (3:40)
  15. There Was a Man - Live at the Jabberwock Club, 1971 (3:34)
  16. Images of April - Balaklava Out-Takes (4:48)
  17. Guardian Angels - Balaklava Out-Takes (4:10)
  18. Suzanne - Live at WNIA Radio, 1971 (5:45)
  19. Translucent - Alternative Version - WUSB Radio Session, 1971 (3:21)

Credits

  • Pearls Before Swine - primary artist
  • Wayne Harley - banjo, harmony vocals [harmony], written-by
  • Lane Lederer - bass, guitar, horn [swinehorn]
  • Maureen Kintz - design concept [cover concept], music consultant [musical advisor], artwork [art research assistant]
  • Tom Rapp - guitar, vocals, voice [breathing], written-by
  • Jean Cocteau - illustration [back cover drawings]
  • Jim Bohannon - organ, piano, clavinet [clavinette], marimba
  • Pieter Bruegel the Elder - painting [front cover]
  • Mel Zimmer - photography by [back cover photo]
  • Richard Alderson - recorded by [aerialvaced out of onlyville by]
  • Herodotus - written-by
  • Joe Farrell - guest [guest artist], flute, guest [guest artist], english horn
  • Warren Smith - arranged by [string arrangement]
  • William Salter - guest [guest artist], bass
  • Lee Crabtree - guest [guest artist], piano, organ, guest [guest artist], piano, organ, flute
  • Selwart Clarke - arranged by [string arrangement]
  • Leonard Cohen - written-by
  • Al Schackman - guest [guest artist], guitar
  • J.R.R. Tolkien - lyrics by

More from Pearls Before Swine: full discography