All Pearls, No Swine...Steady As They Go, Sir...

Back to All Pearls No Swine, shall we? The last episode was, I thought, a really nicely rounded mix of everything I like in my Seventies pearls, and held really well together. Today's episode is a little more mellow, overall, a little like Vol. 12. But when is it ever not time for some sweet, soothing music from the Seventies? Maybe the titles will give you a clue: "Honey Dew", "Moody Manitoba Morning", "East Texas Wind", "Slow Fade", "Osprey" - that all doesn't sound too violent, does it? Nope, that sounds rather mellow-ish, which this volume of All Pearls, No Swine is, highlighting the acoustic, folk and country side of things. 

Something not presaged by the opening, which is one of the hardest cuts that graced the 70s-set episodes of APNS, a piece of fuzzy gagare rock fire from Pecos, 7 AM, "I've Been Convinced". But the very next track, the ultra-lovely "Change It All" by the soon-to-be-featured Richard Goldman gives a better indication of what's to come. Folkies like Atlantis Lemuria, Dan Young, Keith Streid and Hunt & Dunk dominate proceedings. And David Bowie's one-time protegé/paramour Dana Gillespie is also in folky mode, with "Never Knew" a dramatic ballad. 

It's never wrong to illustrate a write-up with good ol' Dana...AmIRight or AmIRight? 

Listening back to this comp, I realize that the middle stretch is a little slower than I would prefer nowadays, with an uptempo song missing around the middle. "All Along The Watchtower" by Germany's best fingerpicker of the 70s, Werner Lämmerhirt, is a really good cover, but is mid-tempo, as is surrounding minor country rock gem "East Texas Wind" by Comfort Station. Christian rockers Hope with "Deliverance" (jeez, guys, a little obvious there, huh?) make things a little more lively just afterwards with a song that morphs into a rock'n'gospel song. And Richard Torrance and Eureka go a little up tempo with their cover of Lindsey Buckingham's minor classic "Don't Let Me Down Again" (from the Buckingham Nicks album). 

The biggest name of this edition also has one of the weirder songs on here: The song itself is a cover of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain", the very opposite of weird, and seemingly made or folkie tim Hardin. But this version comes from Hardin's last studio album, Nine, a record with an electric band, a ton of back-up singers and some overarrangements. It's not what you'd expect from Hardin, and probably not his best work, but I like the odd Las Vegas showtune/cocaine-fueled fever dream atmosphere these choices bring to the tune. Another folkie, Bert Jansch, closes things out with the lovely instrumental "Osprey", though that's really more of a coda. The inofficial closer is Rural's "Ships In A Bottle" which combines about two and a half minutes of a folk-rock tune with a groovy four minute plus run out groove. I had forgotten what a great little tune this is before relistening to it fo this write-up. Thumbs up to the Iowa's premier country-rock band! And the electric guitars that were a bit missing during All Pearls No Swine Vol. 26 make an appearance here! 

Seriously, guys, you didn't have to point out how rural you are with your band name, y'all look plenty like country yokels to me...

So, same as it ever was, a bunch of unknown highlights from mostly unknown artists, and as usual, well worth the time. So, go diving for pearls with me again, my friends...