ROY HARPER

Roy Harper's Stormcock consists of a mere four extended tracks, and most of its running time offers the man and his guitar unaccompanied (with a few interventions from other instruments here and there, particularly on closing track Me and My Woman which benefits from some tasteful arrangements by David Bedford). Despite this the album never feels sparse or minimalistic, and Harper's song structures don't outstay their welcome either, working in enough progressive inventiveness that they are able to sustain their baroque charms over their full running times. Led Zeppelin fans will be interested to know that Jimmy Page guests here, though he doesn't make his presence felt that much.

If you'd only heard one of Roy's albums before, and enjoyed it, and then you sought out his 'biggest' work, what are your expectations? This was the quandry that confronted me.

The reality is, that the style is so very similar to that performed on the album 'Jugla', that I failed to find the 'groundbreaking' bit. That said, the original came from 1971, when things were a wee bit different. Typical Harper fayre, I'd call it.

Yet again, it's enjoyable, though perhaps not quite at the level of 'Jugla', although some 15 years did separate the albums.

So, for me, typical Roy Harper. Groundbreaking? I think not. Enjoyable, but brief. A variation on the Roy Harper theme, me thinks.

You can leave your hat on!

This album is considered to be something of a classic of its subgenre on this site, sitting alongside some of the most highly regarded albums by Jethro Tull and Strawbs in the Prog Folk top list. But while the (best) music of Tull and Strawbs is progressive Rock with Folk elements, Roy Harper's Stormcock is acoustic Folk music with little or no traces of Rock (despite the fact that according to one of the song titles Harper sees himself as a "one man Rock 'n' Roll band"). What we have here is basically four extended Folk tunes, strongly dominated by acoustic guitar and lead vocals. Harper's vocals are rather weak and anonymous to my ears. His voice reminds me slightly of that of Al Stewart, but Stewart's voice is stronger and more distinctive.

The presence of any other instruments is very subtle and discrete. As, such the nature of this music is rather minimalistic and monotonous. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin guests on the album, but his presence too is very discrete. The members of Led Zeppelin were reportedly impressed by Harper's music and even made a song in tribute of him called Hats Off To (Roy) Harper. Personally, I find it all rather one-dimensional and monotonous. The songs - even though extended far beyond your average acoustic Folk song - are not particularly progressive as such. And frankly, I find them rambling and lacking in melodic content.

I have given this album several chances and I guess I have to conclude that this is just not my cup of tea. I thus cannot really recommend it. I am familiar with one other album by Harper that I liked more, 1975's HQ. That one was a lot more interesting and diverse and more Rock oriented. Stormcock is not a terrible experience, it just fails to leave any mark on this reviewer.

Roy's follow-up to the magnificent Stormcock is a great album in its own right - for the most part, but it does have a significant misstep, closing piece 'The Lord's Prayer.' It's worth saying that I come back to this album nearly as much as Stormcock but it's for the first half not the wandering epic. But more on that later.

Instrumentally, Roy has expanded the palette on Lifemask to include the backing of a full band for some of the pieces, along with percussion, flute and a little synth - featuring perhaps most prominently on the excellent stop-start opener 'Highway Blues.' Probably the stand out piece, it's also available in an arguably superior live take on Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion but here it's still a great opener with a sense of restless energy and suspense that is finally resolved in Roy's wails to 'please give me a lift.'

'All Ireland' is a sombre, country-influenced strummer, brief and bleak: "Goodbye free Ireland / Try again soon / The tommies and sirens / Are wolves in the moon / Devouring your children / With the law's empty spoon" and is followed by 'Little Lady' which is not as successful. Not unpleasant, it simply doesn't stand out like other pieces, such as 'Bank of the Dead' which features old friend Jimmy Page on guitar (though in the liner notes Roy admits he had to try and redo some of Page's parts due to an accident with a magnet) and covers thematic territory familiar to those who are aware of Harper's views on the perils of the modern world. It's blessed with Roy's ever-effective riff work and a cynical vocal.

Next comes a beautiful love song, with echoes musically from 'The Same Old Rock' but which has more in common with one of his songs from two years prior, 'I Hate the White Man,' and is actually intended for South Africa. It is the last moment of brilliance on the album, as the next piece, despite some nice lead work from Page toward the end, is a little too meandering for my taste.

"I had always regarded Tim Leary as half a charlatan, Allen Ginsberg as a quarter, and Byron as a smidgin or two. My heroes were Shelley, Kerouac, Miles Davis and Keats...In the light of these admissions, it may not be too difficult to see where the major work on 'Lifemask', 'The Lords Prayer' is coming from... The song catalogues spontaneous interpretations of how we are inter-acting with the planet. It was never aimed at mass market and is just a poem for friends and kindred spirits."

The above quote from Roy's website may well contextualise the piece. Even with some a fine vocal performance from Roy in his upper register, the piece suffers from what sounds like a 'throw in a bit of everything' approach and ends the album on a (compositionally) down note. Lyrically, the Beats' influence is clear on the poem that opens it, rhythmically certainly, and also through the playful studio trickery it employs. The song ends on a sincere plea:

is it too late/ to create/ a world made with care/ Is it there/ or fleeting/ here today and gone/ tomorrow's child/ looking so wild and free/ are we a choice/ with no voice/ can it be/ great heart, mean streak/ spare part speed freak/

If the closing 'Lord's Prayer' wasn't unsatisfying to me, I'd have no qualms giving Lifemask four stars. What is superb about it remains superb, but with a side long piece pulling it down, and something that represents half of the entire album, it's three stars only. Still one of my favourite of Roy's but not a track-for-track knock out. His progressive approach to folk music, or simply music in general, is on display, but his shining moments here appear to be gleaned from the moments where he remains a little more conventional.

This is the debut of the guy I adore so much. The singer-songwriters are not so popular here on PA, and that's for a reason. And this album is not something you could call progressive anyway. But Roy Harper is on this site for a good reason too! His songwriting is so strong, he tries some new stuff on every album and he is known for his experimenting. Or I'm just makig that up. Welcome to the internet where anyone can say things like they are the expert!

His acoustic guitar playing is superb. He really puts his soul on the way he present his melodies and strumming and all with a great guitar technic. A truly talented man and he's crazy! So we "easily considering people" can easily consider him as a genious.

This album is full of eastern influences. His song-writing and lyrics are so powerful. You wouldn't even believe. I mean till you listen to it. Then you would become a believer and thank Mr Harper for his musicianship and poetry.

Roy Haper is truly an inspirational man. I recommend this album to any fellow who loves acoustic guitar and singer-songwriter business.

Hardly progressive folk, Stormcock consists of four extended folk tunes. The songs are as long as they are because the music serves as a foundation for numerous lines of lyrics (that more or less maintain the same melody). While Roy Harper has an okay singer-songwriter voice, I don't enjoy his occasional caterwauling. The falsetto isn't very good. Fans of folk or acoustic music in general will enjoy this album, but Stormcock might not prove interesting enough for the typical progressive rock lover.

"Hors d'Oeuvres" Using a simple descending bass note chord progression, the opener mostly consists of repetitive acoustic guitar and intermittent howling, including lyrical clichés ("Well you can lead a horse to water, but you're never going to make him drink").

"The Same Old Rock" The second song is more layered than the overly simple first one, offering dark twelve-string and six-string interactions. Perhaps the most interesting tune on the album (even if it retains the repetitive element of plainness), the first half is performed in a light major key, while the second half is murkier, with coatings of ominous vocalizations and percussion.

"One Man Rock and Roll" Harper offers another minimalistic song featuring acoustic guitar and his distinctive vocals. It's the most forgettable track.

"Me and My Woman" Light resonant singing and acoustic guitar open the final song of this folky quartet. The fingerpicking is the best here, and the light saxophone beneath the vocal is a welcome addition, as are the strings. However, the falsetto is at its worst.

Roy Harper - Folkjokeopus (1969)

This really is something! I had never heard a single song of the good man, but bought a record of him anyways because of the enthusiastic reviews on progarchives. I was blown away on the first spin.

Roy Harper plays a hybrid style of psychedelic beat (which gets as bizarre as Syd Barrett), folk-rock (ranging from Dylanesque to prog-folk to eastern styled folk) whilst laying as much an emphasis on his brilliant poetry as did the great song-writers of the late sixties (think of Cohen, Dylan en Donovan). Whilst the arrangements are usually simplistic (acoustic guitar, bass, drums, piano) Roy Harper makes the impression of singing in front of a full-blown orchestra with his extremely motivated performing style, daring vocals (singing in pitches he almost can't reach) and amazing 'attack' (which means the notes he sings are on full volume from the moment he makes them). At first you won't understand what kind of bombastic vocals start blowing from you speakers, but soon after that you'll start laughing and enjoying your life intensely. This man is reckless! The compositions and lyrics are very strong, so the 'artistic' performance is easily justified. The recording sound is very good and the vocals just sound amazing.

Thought the vocals of Harper are the main attraction, this album also has some eclectic traits. The opening track is an up-tempo prog-folk track with great vocals and some progressive harmonic chord progressions. If you hadn't been convinced by know, Roy Harper launches 'She's the one' - a masterpiece of music in general. The extremely catchy and slightly psychedelic line 'she's the one' sung in his high pitch vocals cuts through metal whilst the complete song has that exciting atmosphere you'll rarely see know-a-days. With 'In the time of water' Harper introduces his eastern folk sound with great success. 'The composer of life' is a gentle, mellow psychedelic folk song with Roy Harper singing high pitched folk vocals accompanied by an (to me) unknown high pitched string-instrument giving the music a slight Chinese folk sound. After that, 'One for all' is an extended track with folky instrumental sections in which Harper shows to be a real acrobat on the instrument, whilst giving us atmospheric music with both Irish and Indian influences. Around three minutes there are also some nice pastoral vocals.

On side two Harper introduces his psychedelic/beat style with the extremely funny and sarcastic 'Exercising some control'. Then starst the 17 minute 'Mc Goohan's Blues' on which Harper takes his artistic vision to the maximum. The first 10 minutes (at least) are made of couplets and refrains of which the lyrics and vocals are so brilliant that the excitement never wears of. His psychedelic poetry about all faces of our society are filled with criticism, humor and frustration. This is like 'The End' of The Doors, an seemingly endless song that never bores! The second part of 'Mc Goohan's Blues' is more poppy and has arrangements with piano, bass and drums joining in. 'Manana' is the ending track, with yet some more psychedelic/beat style with silly lyrics and enthusiastic performances.

Conclusion. This psychedelic/folk/songwriter's album has it all; musicianship, composition, song-writing and above all; maximum performance and artistic recklessness. The sound is extremely well for a recording dating from 1969 and the lyrics are still valid for today's problems. Well... Hat's of it is! I definitely want to search for more vinyls of this unique artist. Five screaming madmen for this one.

While i'm far from being a fan of Folk music I can't deny that this is one of the classics. Released in 1971 this is considered to be Roy's high water mark. Harper certainly had his fans and that included many musicians. LED ZEPPELIN would name a song after him on their "III" album called "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" while PINK FLOYD would bring him in to sing on "Have A Cigar" from their "Wish You Were Here" record. Kate Bush,THE WHO and many others have pointed to him as an influence. Whenever you see quotation marks (other than around the song titles) i'm quoting from the article on this album in the Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine. "Stormcock" seems like an odd title to an album doesn't it ? Apparently this came from "The Mistle Thrush, whose habit of singing into the teeth of a gale offered Roy Harper what he thought was a suitable analogy for his own career". "He emerged from London's Boho Folk circuit of the 60's as a singer-songwriter of alarming intensity, motored by a terminal mistrust of authority and an inalienable belief in everyone's basic right to individual freedom.While other folkies were protesting the Vietnam War, Harper was railing against deeper society ills... "Shaped by a traumatic early life-a fanatically religious step-mother, homelessness, prison, a spell in a mental institution-his music avoided the easy route too." This album touches on several subjects."There were savage attacks on war, the judicial system, rock critics and religious dogma, among other things, alongside an anguished plea to save the planet".Jimmy Page plays acoustic guitar on one track while David Bedford adds some organ and orchestration.

"Hors D'Oeuvers" is a rant against both the judicial system and rock critics of the day. Mostly acoustic guitars and vocals. We do get some backing vocal melodies before 3 minutes. "The Same Old Rock" is the anti-religion song although Harper says it's not that specific but "a discourse on the constrictive nature of any kind of dogmatic institution you care to name". Jimmy Page plays on this track.This is Harper's personal favourite from this album. "Jimmy is so intuative", he explains "He finds things he can identify with and that's what he did on that song. It was just an atmosphere he created and is one of those things you just remember forever in your life. Jimmy elevated it into something else entirely"."It's an astonishing piece of work all around, both men spinning soundwebs as complex as they are complimentary".

"One Man Rock And Roll" "is both a meditation on the madness of war and the peace movement's propensity for breaking out into full scale riots". "Me And My Woman" has orchestration that comes and goes throughout from David Bedford. Bedford says this is "like an opera"."The themes and basic riff keep recurring". It's a song about Roy's ex wife but also the enviroment.

If your a Folk fan this is a must but even if your not that big a fan of that style you need to check this out.

Sometimes a compilation works much better than single albums. I had listened to some of Roy Harper's albums before, but this 2-CD made me really appreciate him. This musician has always been reluctant of being popular, and Counter Culture is a very fitting title. I guess many of us have first heard him singing lead vocals of 'Have A Cigar' on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here album (in fact I only later learned the name of the singer; as a teenager I probably thought it was Waters...). His output from mid-60's to this Millennium is vast, and perhaps to some degree uneven, so I'm probably not the only one here who after hearing just one or two albums haven't been enthusiastic about him. Or is it just my taste grown warmer towards the man & guitar artists utilising minimal arrangement?

That's what Harper is, basically. Voice and acoustic guitar (most of the tracks don't have any other musicians), and yet he's far from the folk troubadours like Donovan or Tim Hardin. First of all, his sound is much deeper and exciting than one would expect. Maybe it's the way it is recorded. He also is, to a certain degree, a progressive artist (with some long compositions to his credit, featured here too), unlike folk singers in general. Tim Buckley is one of the few exceptions beside Harper (and John Martyn, whom I got to know better at the same time and therefor closely associate him with Harper).00

This set represents Harper at his best, covering over four decades. His first recordings are somewhat rougher folk but quite soon he developed a mellower sound with a strong echo feel. His voice reminds a bit of Peter Hammill's softer side. Highlights are too numerous to mention! I can listen to these discs completely without getting bored. 'When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease' is a melancholic ballad Roger Waters might have written. 'You' is a duet with Kate Bush and is also otherwise one of the fullest track in sound - which doesn't necessarily make it one of the best tracks. But if you're interested in this artist, there's no better place to start than this set.

Damn it, I wanted to be careful and as objective as possible about this record, but seems like it's not possible. Maybe because of how good this album is, therefore my 5 star ratings would be justified.

Nevermind. This album caught my eye by its very high rating. I thought that it's one of these not well known (and if it is, then only by fans, who are usually not that critical), but how wrong I was. I had to understand this mystery, but my conclusion is: This album is perfect. Such crude statement states it all. It's weird, but it does.

Guitar, that's the main thing here. So many wonderful positions to which you can bend guitar sound, so many warm tones. Of course, there are other instruments, but they're only accompanying g. And of course, Roy Harpers vocals, can't forgot to mention his voice, because it has lion's share on whole impression.

5(-), this will left you wondering how the hell you got into listening this, but you will be happy.