Believe (label)
03 October 2011 (released)
19 October 2011
Pinning down Roy Harper to a genre is a bit like picking your favourite child – he has touched on so many and stood aloof from all of them to be a unique and iconoclastic performer. At 70 years old he is still active and still relevant and brilliant.
This is the first set of albums to be reissued under the Believe Digital imprint but they have been available through Roy’s own website for a while – eventually there will be 20 albums released and I am really looking forward to getting my hands on them all.
These 4 albums are ‘Stormcock’, ‘Flat Baroque And Berserk’, ‘Bullinamingvase’ and ‘Sophisticated Beggar’ and they manage to show very different side of Harper. There really is no point in ‘reviewing’ them as they are all classic releases and stand up individually; better to describe the type of music that they represent and try and give a flavour of the width and depth of the music.
Harper is from a similar musical place to people like John Martyn, Donovan, Al Stewart etc, originating in Folk and adding touches of other genres to their music. John Martyn added electric and Jazz tinges, Donovan psychedelia and Al Stewart a world spread while Harper flirted with Rock and Blues and added delicate touches of English parlour music to his music.
‘Bullinamingvase’ is full of the elements that Harper made his own: touches of English whimsy and humour leading into a dark and powerful imagining of Middle-English revolution and some stunning playing from people dropping in on his sessions at Abbey Road such as Ronnie Lane and most of Wings (Jimmy McCulloch delivers some fine guitar).
‘Stormcock’ is his most famous opus I would guess and over 4 long tracks it incorporates many of the best elements of British art and society in a reflective album that draws you in to it and demonstrates just how much can be wrought from an acoustic guitar. Possibly one of the greatest progressive albums of all
Harper was probably in his most Blues and protest influenced period for ‘Flat Baroque & Berserk’, showing both his acerbic side and a real communication with his audience – ‘I Hate The White Man’ and ‘How Does It Feel’ demonstrate his ability as a solo musician and ‘Hells Angels’ brings in a full band (including David Bedford & Keith Emerson) but ‘Tom Tiddler’s Ground’ has the folk side to match.
Many more albums to come over the next 12 months but this is a heck of an opening salvo.
