Sunforest (album)

Last updated
Sunforest
Rappsunforest.jpg
Studio album by
Released2 January 1973
Genre Folk rock, art rock
Length36:43
Label Blue Thumb BTS-56
Producer Larry Butler, Peter H. Edmiston
Tom Rapp/ Pearls Before Swine chronology
Stardancer
(1972)
Sunforest
(1973)
A Journal of the Plague Year
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Sunforest was the ninth album recorded by American singer-songwriter Tom Rapp (either with or without his group Pearls Before Swine), his second for Blue Thumb Records, and his final record before his lengthy retirement from the music industry after the mid-1970s.

Contents

Sunforest was released in 1973 and was credited to "Tom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine". Like its immediate predecessor, Stardancer , the album was recorded with members of the touring group Pearls Before Swine (Art Ellis and Bill Rollins), supplemented by a selection of prominent Nashville session musicians.

The content of the album, which is not generally regarded as one of his best, is very varied, but generally more upbeat than most of Rapp's work, with the up-tempo "Comin' Back" and "Someplace To Belong" almost rating as pop songs. "Love/Sex" is a riposte to Stephen Stills' "Love The One You're With", containing the line "Love will get you through times of no sex / Better than sex will get you through times of no love", while the title track "Sunforest" is an attempt at a traditional folk ballad. "Forbidden City" and "Blind River" show some jazz influences. "Sunshine & Charles" is one of Rapp's own favourite songs [2] and contains the classic line: "She was 16 when she found Jesus / He was a Puerto Rican kid and he lived next door".

The sleeve design showed a cover painting of Rapp, and two small reproductions of paintings by Henri Rousseau were included on the back cover.

Sunforest was reissued on CD by Demon Records in 1998, and again by Lemon Records in the UK in 2009. [3]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Tom Rapp

  1. "Comin' Back" - 2:59
  2. "Prayers Of Action" - 3:05
  3. "Forbidden City" - 2:51
  4. "Love / Sex" - 4:04
  5. "Harding Street" - 3:40
  6. "Blind River" - 4:57
  7. "Someplace To Belong" - 2:53
  8. "Sunforest" - 6:19
  9. "Sunshine & Charles" - 4:55

Personnel

Other credits

Related Research Articles

Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp in 1965 in Eau Gallie, which is now part of Melbourne, Florida. They released six albums between 1967 and 1971, before Rapp launched a solo career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Rapp</span> American singer-songwriter (1947–2018)

Thomas Dale Rapp 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 voice and apocalyptic vision", he also released four albums under his own name. He later practiced as a lawyer after graduating from University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1984.

<i>Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash</i> 1973 studio album by Michael Nesmith

Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash is American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith's sixth album of his post-Monkees career. Released in September 1973, it was his final album for RCA Records and did not chart.

<i>The Use of Ashes</i> 1970 studio album by Pearls Before Swine

The Use of Ashes was the fourth album made by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and the second on Reprise Records after their move from ESP-Disk.

<i>Rose of Cimarron</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Poco

Rose of Cimarron is the ninth studio album by the American country rock band Poco, released in 1976.

<i>Balaklava</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Pearls Before Swine

Balaklava was the second album recorded and released by psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine in 1968.

<i>Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin</i> 2007 live album by Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin is a 2007 video and audio offering that captures in-concert performances from the Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour recorded in November 2006 at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. The release consists of a concert DVD, a Blu-ray Disc, and separate two-CD audio set. A "special edition" of the CD set includes the concert DVD as well. The album is dedicated to friend and Irish show-business giant, Jim Aiken.

<i>One Nation Underground</i> (Pearls Before Swine album) 1967 studio album by Pearls Before Swine

One Nation Underground is the debut album by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine. It was released on the ESP-Disk label in July 1967.

<i>These Things Too</i> 1969 studio album by Pearls Before Swine

These Things Too is the third album by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and their first for Reprise Records. It was released in 1969.

<i>City of Gold</i> (Pearls Before Swine album) 1971 studio album by Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine

City of Gold was the fifth album made by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and their third on Reprise Records. It was released in 1971.

<i>Beautiful Lies You Could Live In</i> 1971 studio album by Tom Rapp/Pearls Before Swine

... Beautiful Lies You Could Live In was the sixth album credited to American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and their fourth on Reprise Records. It was released in 1971.

<i>Familiar Songs</i> Album by Tom Rapp

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. It was presented as his first solo album, although several previous albums credited to Pearls Before Swine had actually been recorded by Rapp with session musicians, rather than by a working group. The album is also sometimes known simply as Tom Rapp, because its title does not appear on the front sleeve.

<i>Stardancer</i> 1972 studio album by Tom Rapp

Stardancer was the second solo album credited to American singer-songwriter Tom Rapp, the leader of folk-rock group Pearls Before Swine, and his first for Blue Thumb Records. It was recorded and first released in 1972.

<i>A Journal of the Plague Year</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Tom Rapp

A Journal of the Plague Year is an album released on CD in 1999 by American singer-songwriter Tom Rapp, leader of the 1960s/70s psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine. It was his first new album for 26 years, and included collaborations with Damon and Naomi and Nick Saloman.

<i>Thats Why</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Craig Morgan

That's Why is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Craig Morgan. It was released on October 21, 2008 by BNA Records after his exiting Broken Bow Records earlier that same year. As with his first two Broken Bow albums — 2003's I Love It and 2005's My Kind of Livin' — Morgan co-produced the album with Phil O'Donnell. They co-wrote the lead-off single "Love Remembers", which became Morgan's sixth Top Ten hit on the Hot Country Songs charts in November 2008. Following this song was "God Must Really Love Me", which became his first single to miss the Top 20 since "Look At Us", which peaked at number 27 in 2004. A May 21, 2009, reissue replaced two songs with new songs, including "Bonfire", which was released that month as the third single. As of September 18, 2010, the album has sold 60,868 copies in the U.S.

<i>Glitter Grass from the Nashwood Hollyville Strings</i> 1977 studio album by John Hartford

Glitter Grass from the Nashwood Hollyville Strings is an album by John Hartford, Doug Dillard, and Rodney Dillard, released in 1977.

<i>Wabash Cannonball</i> (album) 1977 compilation album by Various

Wabash Cannonball is an LP record album produced in 1977 by the National Geographic Society. The album was part of a series of sound recordings called "An American adventure" which also included "Barbershop Days" (1977), "Song of the Cumberland Gap in the days of Daniel Boone" (1977), "Westward Ho!" (1977), and "In the good old summertime" (1979).

<i>Buddy & Soul</i> 1969 live album by Buddy Rich

Buddy & Soul is a 1969 live album by the Buddy Rich Big Band, recorded at the Whisky a Go Go club in West Hollywood, California.

<i>Safety Zone</i> (album) 1975 studio album by Bobby Womack

Safety Zone is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bobby Womack. The album was released on October 27, 1975, by United Artists Records. The album debuted at number 147 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Carolina Cousins</i> 1975 studio album by Dottie West

Carolina Cousins is a studio album by American country music artist Dottie West. It was released in May 1975 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Billy Davis. Carolina Cousins was West's 24th studio recording and contained a total of ten tracks. It would be her final album release with the RCA label before moving to United Artists Records in 1976. The album contained one single, "Rollin' in Your Sweet Sunshine," which became a minor hit in 1975.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Sleevenotes to Sunforest CD reissue
  3. Lemon Records - 2009 reissue Archived 2009-10-01 at the Wayback Machine