Roy Harper - "Stormcock"

[zombywoof]

Hi friends,

I finally pulled the trigger on this after procrastinating on it for several years. Have to say, it took a few listens to click, but I'm totally in love with this work. The final track, "Me and My Woman" is 13 minutes of musical perfection and when it ends, the only thing I want to do is press play on the whole record. Powerful, powerful stuff. The last time I got into this kind of loop with a record it was Wyatt's Rock Bottom and Jack o' the Clock's All My Friends.

Thoughts?

[Scrotum Scissor]

Masterstroke!

One of THE landmark UK bonafide-singer/songwriter works from the early 70s, IMO. That desperately existentialist atmosphere is hard to beat. Especially the part with the sneaking Hammond organ in the first tune and the orchestrations of the closer. But it's all phenomenal.

[zombywoof]

Yeah!!

[NogbadTheBad]

It is indeed phenomenal, I haven't explored his discography extensively but really like this one, Lifemask & HQ. Though HQ is much more of a rock album than either of those. He seems to get the level of desperation beautifully balanced in Stormcock.

[dr wu23]

Even though Roy had been around for quite some time I did not hear his music until about 1980 courtesy of an old friend who sadly passed away from cancer over 10 years ago.
We, along with 4 other guys ,went to see Roy at the Abbey Pub in Chicago and we met him after the show and took a group pic with him.
Love all of his work but my personal favorites are Flat Baroque, Once, and Green Man. One of my favorite tracks by Roy....a more recent one.

[JKL2000]

Huge Roy fan - I pretty much love his whole discography. Storm clock (thanks, iPhone!) is great of course. Ian, i think you'll love the song 12 Hours of Sunset and I'd recommend trying to find the EP Burn the World.

[chalkpie]

Amazing...love it.

[strawberrybrick]

Been listening to this lately, bumping it up!

[Mister Triscuits]

Huge Roy fan - I pretty much love his whole discography. Storm clock (thanks, iPhone!) is great of course. Ian, i think you'll love the song 12 Hours of Sunset and I'd recommend trying to find the EP Burn the World.

I am Mister Triscuits and I endorse this message.

[RapidRefresh]

One of my older brother's favorite albums. Magnificent! But then I thought all of Harper's albums would be as good as this. No way, Stormcock takes the cake followed by the Green Man released just 30 years (!) later.

[Sordel]

If ever word masterpiece was deserved by an album, it's Stormcock. Only four tracks (and the first one I don't even like that much!) but it towers over the rest of Roy's career and elevates him into the company of the greats. There have only been about five albums that have ever been in my personal Top Three Of All Time, and Stormcock is one of them.

The contribution that the late, great David Bedford made to this (and to another Harper classic, Valentine) cannot be ignored; nor can the impact of Jimmy Page's uncredited acoustic guitarwork on 'The Same Old Rock'. But although it's exceptional it's not unique in Roy's work: he has several other albums (and many individual songs) of similar quality.

[GuitarGeek]

HQ.

A great, fantastic album. I have the US LP release, which was re-titled When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease (which always seemed strange to me, given that cricket is largely an unknown sport Stateside...maybe that's why there's an extensive and somewhat confusing explanation of the rules of cricket on the back cover).

I think I actually bought it because I saw David Gilmour's name amongst the musicians credited on the back cover. The funny thing is, there's no actual indication of which songs any given player appeared on, so for years, I always thought that was Gilmour playing those amazing guitar solos on Referendum (Legend). It wasn't until I got the CD, which gives more precise credits, that i realized it's actually Chris Spedding, apparently channeling his inner Gilmour. I always wondered if Roy didn't actually intend to have Dave play on Referendum, but when it came time for the session, Dave was unavailable, so he called in Chris and told to him to "do a Gilmour" or whatever.

(oh and or whatever it's worth, Gilmour is actually on The Game)

[syncopatico]

Even though it's much later, I think my favorite (live!) version of Me And My Woman is this one: just Roy solo (guitar and voice).
Great rendition that is only 'marred' by the tape running out near the end of the song, in the tape recorder (of the gentleman who recorded it--all thanks to him)!

recorded at the Cork Town Tavern, Hamilton, Canada, September 11, 1991

(Master Cassette Using Sony D-6 Recorder unknown Sony single Mic)


https://soundcloud.com/syncopatico/r...-tape-runs-out

[spacefreak]

Roy Harper is a phenomenal artist. And Stormcock sits among his greater albums.

[chalkpie]

Sounds great this morning. I always get such a strong parallel with Ian A here, its like his long-lost cousin performing music in the same general wheelhouse. His guitar work is also just top notch here. I love the orchestration on "Me and my Woman".

[zombywoof]

Sounds great this morning. I always get such a strong parallel with Ian A here, its like his long-lost cousin performing music in the same general wheelhouse. His guitar work is also just top notch here. I love the orchestration on "Me and my Woman".

Anderson has claimed Roy as an enormous influence in his formative years.

[JKL2000]

Roy covered the Tull song "Up the Pool" on a Tull tribute album ("To Cry You A Song – A Collection Of Tull Tales"), and Ian apparently mentioned it as his favorite cover of a Tull song. Roy and Ian both spent time in Blackpool.