Flat Baroque & Berserk [Import]

Roy Harper | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 15, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Science Friction
• ASIN: B00000DHY6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,051,092 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Our most defiant singer-songwriter, December 11, 2000

By 

Bob Wilkinson (Coventry, W. Midlands Great Britain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flat, Baroque And Berserk (Audio CD)

Here is a musician and poet who has travelled a long way from his acoustic rootes. This album represents the acoustic side edged with an electro quality that at certain moments simply lifts it out of the familiar and into a more dynamic landscape. Flat Baroque and Berserk came out so long ago now, and yet it is as relevant now as it was in 1970. This album represents a groundshift in Roy's writing, due in part to the luxury of recording in a quality studio, but also because at this time Roy Harper was writing and playing with a confidence only hinted at in his earlier Folkjokeopus. From the opening lines of 'Don't you Grieve' through to the preamble this man is famous for leading into 'I Hate the Whiteman' we get the feeling that this is personal. And it certainly is. Harvest had a knack of putting out good albms that spoke from the heart during this period, (Kevin Ayers; Pink Floyd's 'Meddle') and Roy harper was the spokesperson for a generation who would later take environmental issues, metaphysics and the death of politics seriously. 'How Does it Feel' is a wonderful song. But so are 'East of the Sun - a summery song that captures a moment, and 'Tom Tiddler's Ground' - playful and evocotive. This album comes immediately before Stormcock, which is possibly one of the most carefully crafted albums to date, despite its age. But I love Flat Baroque and Bezerk because it is an album in the widest sense - with images, themes, ideas and poetry. If you like English music with a seriously defiant edge from a singer-songwriter who has a lot to say and play, then give this a spin. Roy Harper is one of England's finest songwriters. Sample the magic.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trustworthy Harper, March 3, 2004

By 

Agustin Criollo "Baader-Meinhof" (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flat, Baroque And Berserk (Audio CD)

I just got the CD release on the mail and I am hearing it right now as I write these words.
I am a big acoustic music fan (from the Likes of C,S,N & Y; woodie and Aerlo Guthrie, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Country Joe McDonald, Silvio Rodriguez, Roy Brown, Pablo Milanes etc.)and this is the first time I come across Roy Harper's music although I have known about his existance since...say...forever.

I must say that a man who writes lyrics like this and plays music as honest and intense as this must be a trustworthy person and deservers my total admiration and respect. Men like these are so in need in these desperate days we are living (specially here in america). The music is intense, roughly honest but, at the same time humble and sweet. The music is huge, important and still relevant although this album dates back to 1970.
I only compare his to the writing and performing skills of cuban protest singer Silvio Rodriguez.
Harper makes Dylan seem like a washington burocrat with nothing important to say ( no offence to Bob fans).
A must have to all those interested in 60's and 70's british rock.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Roy Harper finally gets it right., April 18, 2008

By 

Joao Nunes (Portugal) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flat, Baroque And Berserk (Audio CD)

After a brilliant start with Sophisticated Beggar, it took a while for Roy Harper to get it right. Ghengis Smith was a messy affair and although things started shifting with Folkjokeopus, it was with Flat Baroque and Berserk that Roy cleared the table and nailed an album that proved the amazing songwriter that he was. For the first time Roy forgot about pop psychedelia or trying to get his songs played on the radio and focused his music within the folk framework where it always worked better. Not only we get more focused (and better) songs but, thanks to the striped to essential arrangements and production, there is more room for Roy's voice and guitar playing to breath. If Roy could be an excellent guitarist with a quite distinctive style, it is his singing that really shines throughout this album.

The album has two obligatory songs in the Roy Harper songbook. The album's centrepiece is "I Hate The White Man" and the title says it all - this is not the average hippy throw at capitalism, society or whatever. The song works on the thematic palette Roy had developed on "McGoogan's Blues" but with more effective results. The intro speech is a must, with a semi-stoned Roy giving a small lecture to his audience and saying how much better it is in the poor countries "with the dogs in the sun and the kids in the dirt". Personally, I find the song a bit boring but "White Man" became one of Roy's most well-known songs and its importance in his body of work is undeniable.

The other classic on the album is "Another Day" which is simply one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. It's also a requiem for an old failed relationship. Roy sings the characters' love, angst, tenderness and resignation with an outstanding, subtle performance. The self-contained emotion in Roy's singing gives the song a false calm that doesn't overshadow its drama and tension. It's a sad song but in the end it leaves you with a peaceful feeling.

Along with "White Man" the album has a number of long semi-epic songs that I find more rewarding than the former, such as "Tom Tiddler's Ground", "Goodbye" and, specially "How Does It Feel" which I would rate as the best song of the album. With lyrics that could cut through the bone of the most cold-blooded yuppie and another dramatic vocal performance, this is the kind of song that leaves you thinking. "How does it feel to be completely unreal?" he asks - "You can feel bona fide if you ride with the tide, but it's not real." Like someone wrote, Dylan was never so brutally honest.

Along the bigger tunes Flat Baroque and Berserk has a handful of lovely little songs like "Francesca" and "East Of The Sun" that balance the album toward perfection.

The only flaw on the album is the final "Hell's Angels". Not that it is a bad song. It just doesn't have anything to do with the rest. After this string of beautiful, intense songs, something I don't need is 7 minutes of psychedelic wah-wah.

In spite of the awkward final, Flat Baroque and Berserk is a masterpiece in its own right, only surpassed in Roy's catalogue by its follower Stormcock.

One last thought: the crazy sleeve photo would make a very nice double gatefold special edition. So I hope Roy finds the money to continue the work he has done with Stormcock and HQ. He certainly deserves it.