ROY HARPER
Stormcock (Harvest, 1971)
This album is an excellent introduction to the music of Roy Harper, best known as a friend of Jimmy Page (the song 'Hat’s of To (Roy) Harper' can be found on Led Zeppelin 3) and singer of ‘Have a Cigar’ from Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. This critically acclaimed epic, sometimes described as ‘progressive acoustic folk music’ contains only four songs, the shortest of which clocks in at 8.35 minutes. Each track contains Harper’s vocals, revelatory acoustic guitar playing and very little other instrumentation. The second song, ‘The Same Old Rock’ is an extended musical poem about the narrow-mindedness of organized religion and features several movements, including one of Jimmy Page's best solos, even though the sleeve notes list Page as S. Flavius Mercurius.
The album concludes with ‘Me And My Woman’, a perfect example of thought-provoking acoustic music as you could ever wish for. If you have never heard this record, please give it a listen.
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