BURN THE WORLD

Burn The World is a multi suite song by Harper that he has bemoaned since is was given a less than stellar reception by EMI Records when Roy presented it them, in demo form, back in 1988. Roy claims the reaction was due to the song's long length and less than commercial stance. That said, I feel that EMI probably rejected the 20 minute song based on the fact that it is disjointed and not one of Roy's more melodious works. Judge for yourself to see if it's par with Roy's 70s output like Stormcock or even Jugular form the 80s. This CD contains only the demo of the song and a live solo version. Both start promisingly enough with rapid sing-song rhyming verses, with Roy bemoaning the brutal state of the world before devolving into more obscure lyrics and musical themes that are not very riveting. Flashes of synths, percussion and proto electronica supplement this acoustic guitar based song. Roy even throws in a piece of music that he had been chucking around for awhile called "Desert Island" in the hope of adding some spice, but this upbeat section, with a Caribbean feel (!), seems totally out of place both lyrically and musically. Even a scorching brief lead guitar solo by Roy's son Nick (not credited), after the first two sections, can't add excitement to the confusing meandering that follows.

The live version is preferable over the home studio demo as it helps to showcase Harper's impressive guitar skills but that's all. Sometimes Roy, the record people are right. 2 stars.