757 Roy Harper - Stormcock (1971)

 757 Roy Harper - Stormcock (1971)

Studio Album - Epic Progressive Acoustic



About the Act:

Roy Harper in an English Folk Singer/Songwriter from Manchester. He started his career in 1964 and has released 22 studio albums, 13 live albums and 12 compilation albums. He has been lauded as an influence by artists as diverse a Kate Bush, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Marr and Joanna Newson.

About the Album:

This was Roy's fifth studio album. His label hated it because it lacked radio-friendly songs, so it hardly got any promotion. It is critically regarded to be his best album.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

Roy Harper seems to be a secret. I had heard his name before, in the title of the Led Zeppelin track "Hats off to Roy Harper", but I did not know what to expect when I started to listen. It surprised and delighted me. In some ways it is quite a simple album, but there is quite a lot to dig into.

There are four long tracks, and the two tracks on each side blend into each other. He likes to take his time. The last track is a multi-part kind of affair which has sudden shifts in style, tempo and mood (Bohemian Rhapsody is the best known song of this kind). At core it is Roy singing and playing an acoustic guitar. Actually most of the time there are two acoustic guitars. This sounds quite simple, but it is not. He obviously is used to doing these songs live with just him and a guitar, but in a studio, multi-layering comes in. The guitar parts are complex, like a cross between chors-strummed rhythm and riff-based playing (not quite tunes, most the sort of thing a bass might play). The riff-based stuff reminded me strongly of Led Zeppelin's acoustic work, and early Queen. I take it Roy inspired them rather than the other way around. There are often complex and shifting rhythms and time signatures. It's varied and strong and really interesting. There are other things as well, quite a bit of studio trickery (It was recorded at Abbey Road) - there times when you get phasing effects, multi-layered vocals, an acoustic guitar solo by Jimmy Page, and the last track has snatches of orchestral string and brass arrangements. All of these things are definitely in supporting roles, and fit really well with the album and the music, such that if you listen casually, at the end your impression would be of complex acoustic folk and you might not remember the orchestra.

The musicality is strong, and sometimes uses the kind of blues harmonic structures that filtered through into Rock (again I'm particularly reminded of Led Zep) and ultimately into heavy metal. Don't get me wrong, this is not heavy metal. Sometimes it reminds me of Bob Dylan in the structures and the way the lines fit together (especially the first song). 

The vocal delivery - again Bob Dylan comes to mind, and other singer-songwriters of the time. His tone of voice reminds me strongly of somebody - but I cannot place it. It's clear and competent and meaningful. The lyrics are generally quite dark and cryptic. I read the wikipedia page so I know what some of the tracks are actually about - I might not have guessed. There is quite a bit of word-play.

It would be easy to pass over this album. I had two aborted attempts at listening while I was doing other things (aborted because I was interrupted, not because I wanted to stop). At that point my impression was of acoustic guitar and singing. My latest listen, I stuck it on headphones as I washed up, and really listened. It rewards really listening, there are layers in there and a lot to dig into.

I really enjoyed it, I definitely want this to get into my normal listening pile. Is it genius? Maybe. It's certainly right up my street.

8.5/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2sEwph7Jl4lG5kHqegjnOO

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kDlJHYCqCWzN82YCsGJiAF6cd0yfOqmZk

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormcock_(album)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

724 Queen - A Day at the Races (1976)

Image
 724 Queen - A Day at the Races (1976) Studio Album - Art Rock About the Act: Queen were and kind of still are, a mega-rock band from England. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. They were formed in 1970 and took the world by storm, but especially the UK and Japan. Freddie famously died from HIV-related issues in 1991, but before he died they had been working on a last album with him, and their 15th studio album. After that, they continued after a fashion, with first Paul Rodgers, then Adam Lambert taking over vocals, I think officially as guests. John Deacon left in 1998, so Queen are now effectively Brian and Roger. About the Album: This was their fifth studio album, the first without long-term production partner Roy Thomas Baker, and the first after they had smashed the world with Bohemian Rhapsody. My History with this Album: I first heard this album aged about 13 or 14, with my schoolfriend Tim. We started a pact, savin...
Read more

785 Jackson Browne - The Pretender (1976)

Image
 785 Jackson Browne - The Pretender (1976) Studio Album - Rock About the Act: Jackson Browne is an American Singer/Songwriter. He wrote some songs, and did some singing, and played guitar and piano, and seemingly still does all of those things, but maybe not right now. He started in the late 60s in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, then writing songs for other people, and finally recording them himself. He has won awards, sold lots of records, been an activist and done charity stuff. In 2015 Rolling Stone ranked him as 37th in the list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.  About the Album: This was his fourth studio album. There are 32 different musicians credited over the 8 tracks. My History with this Album: None Review: In 1976, if you were doing singer/songwriter rock then it was popular, but that also meant there was a lot of competition. I don't know this album, and Jackson Browne has not been particularly on my radar. On this album I cannot help but be reminded o...
Read more

661 LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (2010)

Image
 661 LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (2010) Studio Album - Electronica About the Act: LCD Soundsystem are an American Dance-Punk band from Brooklyn, who have existed from 2002, with a gap between 2011-2015. They are led by James Murphy, who is also the co-founder of the DFA Records label. About the Album: This was their third studio album My History with this Album: None Review: I'm not going to be able to describe them without referencing other bands, sorry. They are kind of a mix of electronic dancy stuff with 80s retro dance electronic, and a bit of indie and more modern sounds. When he sings, Mr Murphy can sound like a turn-of-the-80s robotic kind of person, like David Bowie, Gary Numan or The Human League. A lot of the backing sounds are kind of 80s too, with some drum machines and analog-style synths. When he talks, it sounds more like Talking Heads. One song really reminds me of Eurythmics.  Musically, it's pretty simple, using a lot of repetition. Why use 50 notes ...
Read more