ALBUM REVIEW: Roy Harper - Stormcock

    Hats off to Harper - Roy Harper had developed a seriously great reputation in Britain by 1971, influencing the likes of Robert Plant, Jimmy Paige, Pink Floyd, and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull with his distinctive guitar playing and compelling lyricism. While Harper had been around the block in music, it seems that Stormcock serves as the most complete encapsulation of Harper's influence and style. Only four songs long and at 40 minutes, Harper's brand of folk is expansive, sometimes meandering, and certainly creative enough to warrant the respect and reverence that other musicians hold for Harper. The material on Stormcock isn't always the finest that folk or even progressive folk has to offer in my eyes (Comus' First Utterance, my beloved), but Harper proves himself to be an undoubtedly creative mind through and through.

    The strongest aspect of this album is undoubtedly Harper's ability as a guitar player - you can definitely hear the influence that he had on people like Ian Anderson. His finger-picking serves both a colorful background rhythm and also flourishing lead licks all at once, and his overdubbed parts create what can only be described as a layered guitar wall that results in instrumentation that is both simple on the ears and yet with a certain complexity and richness throughout. On first impression, I didn't necessarily find Harper to be the sharpest singer or lyricist, and in some ways I still am not quite convinced - opening the album with "Hors d'Oeuvres" probably wasn't the best first impression, though, as I think this displays pretty much the worst of the aforementioned complaints. Harper's voice on that song is too harsh sounding, and the high-pitched harmonies don't help anything, and I found the lyrical contents to be exceptionally weak; luckily, the rest of the album is a 180 in quality. The rest of his songs are painted in more flowery language and rich poeticism, such as the immediately following "The Same Old Rock," which probably sits as the album's highest moment.

    Harper's talent is on full display, though, with the 13-minute "Me and My Woman" that ends the album. Compared to the other songs which generally follow along the same musical motifs and ideas throughout, "Me and My Woman" is segmented, layered, and goes through many ideas, building in intensity and experimenting with other musical backdrops - from horns to back-masked guitar licks. The resulting rich styles and ideas ends up being Harper's pinnacle in my mind, and a brilliant piece from start to finish. Even more direct moments like the sharp "One Man Rock and Roll Band" showcase a greatness to Harper - an anti-war song that has enough subtlety as it does beauty and impact, speaking of everything from the mistreatment of veterans to the brutality and hypocrisy of those who continuously support war after once fighting "for peace." It's a strong number.

    Harper's brand of folk isn't the most out-there that I've heard, but it's not the most grounded, either. Stormcock sits somewhere in the middle with its vast expanses and bold meandering nature, while also carrying a certain ornate quality to the language and poeticism of Roy Harper's songs. The result is certainly a great folk album that showcases exactly what makes Harper as respected of a musician as he is, showcasing all the qualities that one could want from his music.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Stormcock.