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Stardancer [Reissue]

Tom Rapp
1 disc

1. Stardancer
2. Marshall
3. Why Should I Care [from the Entertainer]
4. Touch Tripping
5. Ans, Les
6. Fourth Day of July
7. For the Dead in Space
8. Baptist, The
9. Summer of '55
10. Tiny Song
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 128
Credits

Producer Peter H. Edmiston
Engineer Rex Collier; Gene Eichelberger
Personnel: Tom Rapp (vocals, guitar); Charlie McCoy (guitar, dobro, tenor banjo, harmonica, toy piano, organ, vibraphone); Harry Orlove (guitar, mandolin, background vocals); Steve McCord (guitar); Jim Colvard (electric guitar); Weldon Myrick (steel guitar); Sheldon Kurland, Brenton Banks (violin); Buddy Spicher (electric violin, fiddle, electric viola); Gary VanOsdale (viola); Bill Rollins (cello, background vocals); Byron Bach (cello); Mike Leech (strings, bass guitar); Art Ellis (flute, congas, wind chime, background vocals); Bobby Wood (piano); Jim Isbell (vibraphone, drums, congas, bongos, dumbek, shaker); Florence Warner (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Rex Collier; Gene Eichelberger; Tom Rapp.
Liner Note Author: Malcolm Dome.
Recording information: Quadrafonic Sound, Nashville, TN (08/29/1972-09/12/1972); Quadrafonic Studios, Nashville, TN (08/29/1972-09/12/1972); Woodland Sound Studios, Nashville, TN (08/29/1972-09/12/1972).
Tom Rapp's first album for Blue Thumb was in some ways an improvement over the disappointing final pair of records he did for Reprise. In title and cover art, it harked back to Pearls Before Swine's classic first two albums for ESP-Disk, complete with another painting by Breughel the Elder on the sleeve, but the album was produced in Nashville and features the usual local session crew: pianist David Briggs, fiddle player Buddy Spicher, multi-instrumentalist Charlie McCoy, and the like. They're undeniably fine players all, having worked with everyone from Elvis to Mike Nesmith, but Rapp is a special case. The best Pearls Before Swine songs were simply, almost starkly arranged, often with only guitar or harp, and sometimes with Rapp's delicate voice by itself. There are some excellent songs on STARDANCER, particularly the mournful title track and "For the Dead in Space" (later the title of an excellent Tom Rapp tribute album), and "Fourth Day in July" is one of Rapp's most meaningful anti-war songs.
Critic Reviews

Record Collector (magazine) (p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[With] Rapp's songs and gentle vocal delivery as main elements washing over you, leaving you relaxed and contemplative."