BULLNAMINGVASE

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When the initial shock of seeing Roy Harper labelled as 'prog folk' had worn off (one usually thinks of Harper as a 'stoned beat poet singer-songwriter') it seemed 100% fair that at least SOME of his work be described as 'prog folk'. The label seems especially apposite to BULLINAMINGVASE, which is roughly contemporary with Jethro Tull's MINSTREL and shares many of its features, especially the 'streaky bacon' technique of alternating lyrical, acoustic passages with heavier, electric ones. Both albums share a similar mixture of angry (or indignant), playful and melancholic tunes; melancholy being the dominant mood. Both Ian and Roy have a habit of writing lyrics which are usually meaningful but sometimes wilfully obscure: the simpler the emotion they are trying to convey, the more convincingly they come across. Finally, Harper's ten-part suite 'One of these Days in England' is similar in its structure and its changing moods to Ian Anderson's 'Baker Street Muse', although the Tull piece has a 'city' theme and Roy H.'s creation talks about the English countryside. So it's a fair guess that most admirers of folksy Jethro T. will admire this (minor) Roy Harper masterpiece. One major difference: BULLINAMINGVASE is, of course, free of the extended instrumental variations (dominated by flute, lead guitar, bass and exhilerating drumming) which are, in my opinion, one of the main glories of MINSTREL (especially its original A-Side). BULL is predominantly vocal, but it does contain some (a lot!) of the freshest and loveliest acoustic guitar playing I am aware of. As a singer, Roy Harper is particularly gripping when he sounds wistful or sad. 'These last days', for example, is a wonderfully melancholic ballad, and 'One of these days...' contains some beautiful passages which evoke the feeling of everything slipping into History.

Roy Harper always had moments of pure grandeur and other times inconsistency. For me 'Bullnamingvase' is one such album. The album opens with the very English "One of Those days in England" (part one I guess!) which canters along at a medium pace, overall a pleasant enough track but nothing earth shattering. The follow up song is beautiful "These Last Days" as is the concise "Naked Flame". The album ends with the 19 minute continuance of "One of Those days..." with Harper's poetical lust in abundance. Noteworthy contributions from Alvin Lee of Ten Years After fame on guitar and a certain Paul McCartney. I would recommend this for collectors only with 2 and a half stars.

also titled One Of Those Days In England, this is almost the last classic album of his. As the rest of his discography will be much wiser and conventional. Dave Lawson (Greenslade) on keys. Ambitious work that had to censored for defamation, this album is not really up to par with its predecessor