STORMCOCK

Roy Harper's 'Folkjokeopus' from '69 is one of my favorite folkrock albums and I expected the celebrated 'Stormcock' to be at least halve as mind-piercingly energetic as that energy you find on songs like 'She's the One' and 'McGoohan's Blues'. I was quite surprised to find four low-energy songs that drag on endlessly. No arrangements, no band, no variation, nothing particularly psychedelic or progressive, no mad performances by Harper. The sharp and harsh recording sound isn't that good either. Roy Harper has never been a very subtle or technical singer and without his eccentric enthusiasm he's just mediocre, to the point of singing out of tune way too much for my taste. Perhaps this is an extraordinary singer/songwriter album of sorts, but after listening to it a couple of times I had to restrain myself from lifting the needle and putting on something else. I like nothing about this record and I just can't get my head around how people might actually prefer it over 'Folkjokeopus'. I guess that without knowledge of its legacy (which can't be denied), I would have given this album a single star.