Roy Harper is an English folk artist that recently came to my attention when an album of his was suggested to me by Apple Music. Harper was mostly an acoustic guitarist, but also played piano on this album, on top of vocals as well. He also plays the harmonica, according to his Wikipedia page. Harper’s been acknowledged as an influence to members of groups like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Kate Bush, and Jethro Tull for his work as a progressive acoustic artist and songwriter. Stormcock (1971) is Harper’s fifth album, which was recorded in Abbey Road Studios in 1970, and then released in 1971. Jimmy Page plays on the album, but was credited under a pseudonym for contractual reasons. I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Hors d’Oeuvres” starts out with a really pleasant, soft descending line on the acoustic guitar, which seems to gradually get a bit more complex as the tune gently continues. The vocal performance matches the intensity of the guitar super nicely. Oh wow, this song is quite pleasant. The strumming of the chords between the descending lines moves the tune along really nicely. Oh wow, the falsetto background vocals come on really nicely, and nearly breathe a new intensity to the tune. Holy smokes this is sweet, the tune really is some sort of progressive acoustic tune. There are some light organs in the background that started some indeterminate time ago, and have been working to gently seemingly bring the tune to new levels. It seems extremely easy to close your eyes and let the music envelop you as it gently progresses on. Wow, absolutely awesome track, and I’m super excited for the rest of the album.
Oh wow, “The Same Old Rock” fades in super nicely off the heels of the previous track, bringing a somewhat desperado folksy sound to the mix, with the intro guitar work falling somewhere between a soundtrack to a medieval knight traveling through the foothills of an English countryside and a cowboy traveling through a western desert back in 1850. Oh wow, the guitar work changes up really nicely when the vocals come on, which changes the mood to something relatively more optimistic than the introductory part. Oh wow, the mood changes back to the desperado sound a bit again. Harper’s vocals have such a smooth, comforting quality about them. Oh wow, this song once again seems to beckon you to let the music envelop you as the tune progresses along. Oh wow, the instrumentation drops out for a moment, leaving just the vocal performance from Harper, which keeps the tune moving forward. Oh wow, the instrumentation gives the soundscape the quality of being a soundtrack to some sort of epic journey. Holy smokes, the strangeness of the chorus vocals almost seem to beckon at you from another direction as they make a ghostly breeze through the soundscape. Oh wow, the percussion in the track seems to echo this ghostly breeze idea with a super sweet strange sound that I really dig. Oh wow, this acoustic guitar solo is awesome, I think it’s Jimmy Page playing but I’m not too sure – there’s a super interesting baroque quality to the playing while almost taking a sort of European acoustic folk rock sound between the nearly galloping background chords and the super tasty acoustic guitar solo on top of the whole soundscape. Another awesome track, wow.
Oh wow, “One Man Rock and Roll Band” starts out with some super interesting acoustic guitar chords that almost sound like they’re being played through a fan or something of the sort, and when the vocals come on the vocals also take on this quality of sounding like they’re played through a fan. Holy smokes, this is sweet. The organ seems to gently drone on in the background, though it could be a piano or even some sort of orchestral arrangement. Holy smokes, this song is sweet. There’s almost a bit of a bluesy quality to the folksy guitar playing in the background, and the vocals could easily be from an electrified progressive rock album, which produces super interesting and tasty contrast when both are combined with the droning organs in the background. Wow, this song is awesome. The vocals sound like they’re got so much thought put into them. Wow, this song is making me audibly gasp as I listen to it. Holy smokes, the slam of the piano creates such a flavorful, ominous sound, like a strange fog rolling into town after a large strike of lightning and the subsequent clap of thunder. The tune slowly fading out on the slam of the piano is super awesome. Wow, another awesome track.
“Me and My Woman” starts out with a nearly dark folky guitar sound as things seem to be winding down to some degree. The chorus sound of the vocals also keeps up this somewhat dark sound from the guitar. Oh wow, some super sweet orchestral strings come on, almost like a bright light cutting through the fog that rolled in at the end of the previous tune. Holy smokes, the playing on this tune with the acoustic guitar has so much feeling in it, and is only echoed further by the vocal performance from Harper. Oh wow, some orchestral instrumentation gently comes on from the side, bringing a sort of baroque sound to the soundscape. Holy smokes, the orchestral strings seem to suddenly smoothly fade in from the background and amplify the feeling produced by Harper’s vocals and guitar in a super sweet manner and adds a ton of dimension to the soundscape, though it’s difficult to write about the music as I’m constantly entranced more and more by the playing. Oh wow, the current guitar lines remind me of the second track and a bit of the first. Wow, this is sweet. The album feels like it’s gradually coming full circle. Holy smokes, there’s a bit of a blues-tinged acoustic folk rock sound that reminded me of Bob Dylan a bit for a second, especially as Harper’s vocals got a bit nasally. Holy smokes, this tune is awesome. Everything seems to weave back around full circle, with Harper really taking these progressions pretty far out at times in a super wholesome and natural sounding way. Wow, awesome track and a really awesome way to end this album.
Wow, this album is awesome. If you enjoy folk music at all, especially that involving the acoustic guitar, I recommend that you check out this album. If you like progressive rock at all, you might get even more enjoyment than you otherwise would. The light baroque accentuations really add a lot of dimension to this weaving folk album, which features superb guitar work, songwriting, and vocal performances throughout. It felt like only 10 minutes passed from when I started the album as the final song came to a close, as I was engulfed by the music more and more as the album continued playing. This is an album I definitely want to get on vinyl. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A