Customer Reviews

Stormcock

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Roy's 1971 album Stormcock is underrated but every bit as classic (and more so in my opinion) as albums like Zoso, Who's Next, Dark Side of the Moon, and Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Why, you ask? I'll try to distill it in a short synopsis: The album opens with Hors d'Oeuvres, a beautiful track showcasing Roy's poetic, clever and biting lyrics as well as his exellent voice and vocal arrangements (just listen to the chorus). The Same Old Rock, track 2, is regarded by many to be Roy's best song--a beautifully cutting critique of religion set to exquisite acoustic guitar backed by Jimmy Page (who lays down some blistering lead parts that really complement Roy's inimitable style). The last 3 minutes of the song are priceless for Roy's riff and Jimmy's bluesy solo. Track 3, One Man Rock n'Roll Band, is a piece played in open guitar tuning and has an otherworldly air about it. It's a comment on war and displays some of Roy's very unique and skilled (take it from a fellow guitar player) guitar playing. The final track, Me and My Woman, has multiple parts in which Roy displays his AMAZING singing and lyrics, is backed by an orchestra, and plays some sweet riffs on the acoustic guitar. Unfortunately for me and you, the text-based Amazon review can't convey the fantastic experience that Stormcock is. The record's overall sound and feel, Roy's "A-ha" inducing lyrics, and the quality of the playing makes it a record I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of classic rock, folk, psychadelia, British music, etc. Don't be tricked by the track count; the album is over 40 minutes (the songs are long). My other top recommendations from Roy's collection are Valentine (shorter acoustic songs with a broad range of styles) HQ (more classic rock, and every bit as good as Stormcock) and Bullinamingvase (very similar to HQ in quality and rockingness). You can also find these records at royharper.com. Discover Roy Harper's music--you won't regret it.

This is an amazing album- every song is relavant and it is definitly Roy Harper's masterpeice. Whether back by a strings or just Jimmy Page the music just flows with intelligent emotional expressions- Me and My Woman especially does that. The album goes through so many deeply moving changes that it expresses a lifetime of experience. Unfortunately most of his work including this album are very hard to find and most people think I mean Ben Harper when I talk about him- but ROY Harper was a very important artist with a very distinct and original vision. He was and is a very respected musician in the UK but never got the proper respect in the States besides being recognized as the guy how sang Have A Cigar on Pink Floyd's Wish you Were Here or the respectful recognition on Led Zeppelin's III Hats off to Roy Harper. HQ, Stormcock, Flat Baroque and Berserk, and any of the BBC tapes I strongly recommend. You can buy any of these at the Roy Harper Web Site.

"Stormcock" is my favorite Roy Harper cd- without question. For those unfamiliar with Roy Harper's music, this album may very well come as quite a shock. From the opening track of "Hors D' Oeuvres" to "Me And My Woman"(there are only 4 songs- yet each is rather long in length), you might find yourself wondering why these songs aren't more popular. Well, for one reason, they are very unusual and, as I mentioned, quite long. This album was released in 1971(31 years ago!!) and yet it still hasn't lost any of it's beauty. I first listened to "Stormcock" in 1995 and I was utterly floored! The beauty of his songs and the manner in which he sings them is really something to behold! What a voice! This album changed my life in such a positive way and I have always held an inner loyalty and affection for it ever since. I hope it changes your life for the better as well! By the way, Jimmy Page who is a longtime friend and admirer of Roy Harper and his music(remember "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" from Led Zeppelin III?) plays on the 2nd track of this album("The Same Old Rock") under the pseudonym "Flavius Mercurius." Highly recommended!

It's late at night, and I should be asleep, but I've been listening to the second track on this classic album, over and over, for the last half hour. The song in question--"The Same Old Rock" --is anything but the "same old" stuff. It's the work of a genius/madman named Roy Harper, and Roy 's old pal Jimmy Page contributes some incredible acoustic guitar playing to this song (and one other track on the album) that equals and, dare I say it, surpasses his acoustic excellence on many a Led Zeppelin album (and I'm a huge Zep fan). But Jimmy is just a sideman on a record that is all about Roy, and his amazing ability to meld English folk with many other genres, into one incredibly cohesive, romantic and sonically excellent collection of songs (Songs? Mini-symphonies is more like it). Hard to believe this was recorded over 30 years ago---this CD release sounds as fresh and vital as the day it was newly minted. Some say this is Harper's best. I have--on the strength of the great music here---purchased four other Harper albums, and each one has its strengths, so I won't get into nit-picking here. Bottom Line: Anyone who enjoys acoustic Zeppelin, classic Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention, Richard and Linda Thompson, Bert Jansch, etc. needs to have this in their collection. Harper was (and is) an unsung genius who influenced the likes of Ian Anderson, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, and other great musicians, and the reason why is here, on "Stormcock." Don't worry that your friends will call you some dated ol' hippie stuck on Prog-rock if you show up with this CD at the next all-nite beer-fest. Just put this disc on and you (and all others within earshot) will be greatly rewarded. One of the few good things I've done for myself in the last year was to find this CD, buy it, and play it endlessly.

It's late at night, and I should be asleep, but I've been listening to the second track on this classic album, over and over, for the last half hour. The song in question--"The Same Old Rock" --is anything but the "same old" stuff. It's the work of a genius/madman named Roy Harper, and Roy 's old pal Jimmy Page contributes some incredible acoustic guitar playing to this song (and one other track on the album) that equals and, dare I say it, surpasses his acoustic excellence on many a Led Zeppelin album (and I'm a huge Zep fan). But Jimmy is just a sideman on a record that is all about Roy, and his amazing ability to meld English folk with many other genres, into one incredibly cohesive, romantic and sonically excellent collection of songs (Songs? Mini-symphonies is more like it). Hard to believe this was recorded over 30 years ago---this CD release sounds as fresh and vital as the day it was newly minted. Some say this is Harper's best. I have--on the strength of the great music here---purchased four other Harper albums, and each one has its strengths, so I won't get into nit-picking here. Bottom Line: Anyone who enjoys acoustic Zeppelin, classic Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention, Richard and Linda Thompson, Bert Jansch, etc. needs to have this in their collection. Harper was (and is) an unsung genius who influenced the likes of Ian Anderson, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, and other great musicians, and the reason why is here, on "Stormcock." Don't worry that your friends will call you some dated ol' hippie stuck on Prog-rock if you show up with this CD at the next all-nite beer-fest. Just put this disc on and you (and all others within earshot) will be greatly rewarded. One of the few good things I've done for myself in the last year was to find this CD, buy it, and play it endlessly.

I first listened to this album nearly 30 years ago when I was a teenager in Liverpool, UK. I played it so much I wore the vinyl LP out and now after a long interval I intend to buy the CD (together with Harper's "Lifemask") and revisit tracks I consider old friends. Harper recorded these songs at the height of his powers and his genius shines through in every haunting track. A rare gem.

I purchased Stormcock (on vinyl) when it was first released many years ago. Fortunately I owned a good turntable, so even though I played the LP for years it is still in good condition (but now in storage). Now we are blessed by the wonders of technology ... no longer do we have to worry about wearing out our precious relics from the past ... I have the CD, and I intend to give it a darn good thrashing for a good few years to come!
I was (and am) a quietly dedicated Roy Harper fan, and I purchased all his releases that were available to me in Australia. Of these many recordings, Stormcock is the star... This is Roy Harper at his absolute best ... his tour de force if you like.
When they ship me off to the nursing-home (and that might be sooner than I like to think), what will I take with me? ... Well, my Bible of course, and I like to imagine that I'll have the Stormcock CD tucked away there as well - if my ears have packed up by then, I'll get an 'audio in' socket hard wired directly into my brain ...
If you don't own this CD, you are a lesser person than you should be - buy it - create a demand - put Roy in the top 100!
Listen to Stormcock - you will grow from the experience!

This quite possibly one of my favorite records of all time. It shouldn't work but it does. Songs don't end so much as drift into one another. Comprised of 4 sprawlingly epic tracks, it all sounds rather daunting but is really quite simple. Eccentric to be sure, but as accessible as anything by The Beatles.

At heart, this is a Folk album, coming out of the same English scene that spawned the likes of Fairport Convention, Davy Graham, John Martyn & of course, Bert Jansch. Strings, vocal effects, piano & come in & out, but at the root is Harper's acoustic guitar & a seemingly endless flow of stream-of-concious lyrics.

With a voice that faintly resembles John Lennon, Harper lays it all on the line here. It's very difficult to describe these songs, but it's sort of like David Bowie's "Bewley Bros" going on for 40 spellbinding minutes.

"Hors d' Ouevres" starts things off lamenting over that sad old cliche, "You can't lead a horse to water" & "Me & My Woman" ends it all on a surrealistically epic note, keeping the listener on pins & needles with some truely dramatic shifts in time &rhythm.In between both tracks outbursts like, "you don't need a gun man, cos' we're already dead" are sure to keep you on your toes.

Pink Floyd famously paid their respects to Harper with "Hats Off" but if the famously uncredited presence of Jimmy Page isn't enough indication, on Led Zepplin as well. He certainly also seems to have made quite an impression on the likes of Nick Drake & Robyn Hitchcock.

Though a far more well known & respected figure in England, Harper has recieved scant recognition on these shores. And I have to confess, with the exception of the recommended FLAT BROKE & BAROQUE,I haven't heard much of his previous or subsequent work. After listening to this, I'm loathe to. I can't imagine he could top this & judging from his liner notes, he humbly seems to admit the same.

Believe any hype, this is a masterpeice. As T.S. Elliot once said, a stunning "raid on the inarticulate".

Stormcock is Roy Harper's best album and one of my favourite albums of all time. His previous effort, Flat Baroque and Berserk, is already a brilliant album but Stormcock is a major leap forward. Here there is no fooling around (something Roy had always a penchant for in one way or another), the lyrics are carefully thought and the music if not complex in its structure, comprises some brilliant guitar work. It's clear that Roy invested a lot in this one. The epic scale Roy had tried before is fully achieved without sounding pompous. Composed by four very distinctive songs, each a gem in its own right in Roy Harper's catalogue, Stormcock is quite an unique piece of work.
From the opener "Hors d'oeuvres" that builds upon a simple circular guitar line, to the more complex "Me and my woman" with its different sections and tasteful strings arranged by David Bedford, each song has a strong identity, musically and thematically. Roy's lyrics are not the easiest to follow but they evoke powerful imagery when Roy takes his stabs at judges/critics, religion and war - by turns in the first three songs - or writes a masterful treat on love and relationships in the album's tour-de-force "Me and My Woman".
"The Same Old Rock" has Jimmy Page on a guitar duet that has some amazing playing - just check the part with the percussion when both guitars start tripping or Page's final mutant-flamenco solo - music like this leaves me speechless. More great guitar work from Roy himself on "One man rock and roll band" a song that remained obligatory in Roy's shows for many years.
This may seem like progressive folk but I would rate it as something else, an album in a league of its own. And never would Roy match this genius again.

all of a sudden, i can't stop listening to roy harper. i guess i go through it every so often, but i've got a bad case of it right now. thank god, there is a lot of roy harper to choose from. i bet i have played flashes from the archives of oblivion twenty times in the past two days. today i loaded flat, baroque, and berserk and stormcock into the player. all three of these pieces of work are 5-star albums...and he's got several more that would qualify as well. but, the bottom line is that, if pressed, i'd have to say stormcock is the one. one can easily understand how his name showed up on albums by led zeppelin, pink floyd, and kate bush. one can easily understand how he warranted contributions from jimmy page, kate bush, paul mccartney, bill bruford, dave gilmour, and the rest of his "famous" friends. what one can not understand is how he avoided the trappings of mega-stardom.... even if this particular album had been the only one he recorded, his name should have/could have been a household name. this album is a true treasure... only four songs (long ones), but in those four songs are all the qualities for which one listens to roy harper: the intense vocals; the layering of voices; crazy, wonderful, and perfect (atypical/close/shocking) harmonies; that ringing guitar; the sheer poetry of the lyrics. this is one of the albums i most treasure. do yourself a favor. listen to this one. listen closely. you'll be glad you did.
i've already got bullinamingvase and HQ ready to load when i'm finished with these two.