Stormcock [Import]

Stormcock [Import]

Track Listings

1. Hors d'Oeuvres

2. Same Old Rock

3. One Man Rock and Roll Band

4. Me and My Woman

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Reissue of 1971 EMI album by the great English folk singer/ songwriter. Four tracks. Includes the original artwork. 1994 release.

Tracks:

Hors d'Oeuvres
Same Old Rock
One Man Rock and Roll Band
Me and My Woman

Album Description

Reissue of 1971 EMI album by the great English folk singer/ songwriter. Four tracks. Includes the original artwork. 1994 release.

Customer Reviews:

All of the five star reviews are dead right.......2006-08-16

It's wonderful to see so many uniformly enthusiastic reviews of this album. It's truly a classic album from a classic time, albeit unfortunately obscure.

Harper was a "musician's musician". never achieving (undoubtedly never striving for!) top ten fame. His folksy, soft approach ensured that. However he was rightly recognized by his peers at the time, including Jimmy Page and the rest of Led Zep, and Pink Floyd, as a consummate songwriter, singer, arranger, and all-round musician.

I had the great pleasure of seeing Harper live one evening, back around 1986. He played (of all places!) McMaster University's Rathskeller pub in Hamilton, Ontario. The Rat was a decent folk pub for those who didn't want to get their eardrums blasted out by second-rate bands at the other University pub. But it was certainly their all-time coup to land Harper one summer evening.

I dragged fellow grad students out to see him. They had no idea who he was, although I did my best to explain that they were seeing and listening to an icon. Much of the rest of the audience was the same -- they just happened to be there that night, or they were dragged along by their own fanatical friend.

To be fair, there were a respectable number of other Harper fans there that evening, who must have caught wind of his appearance one way or another.

I drank too much. And I (to my later chagrin) pestered Roy too much with requests for "Me and My Woman", which was my wistful romantic anthem for many years. He finally, somewhat begrudgingly, indulged me. I sang along (not too loudly!).

Every few months or so, I hit his website, hoping that he might venture to "the colonies" another day. Probably not. I fantasize about taking a trip to England to see him.

Part of me is happy that Roy Harper will always remain somewhat obscure -- appreciating him boosts you into an elite category (or so I like to pretend, anyway). The rest of me wonders why he isn't played regularly on better classic rock stations.

NOT The Same Old Rock.......2006-05-25

I ordered this from Amazon UK and had it sent to my brother-in-law's home. My wife picked it up when she went for a visit. All the reviews you read here are spot on. this is a great, classic record with some fabulous vocal and orchestral overdubbing. I don't play this CD constantly but everytime I do pull it out I find myself amazed by what Harper and his engineer achieved way back in 1971. Anyone interested in the music of Pink Floyd will want a copy of this. It isn't a synthesizer-electronica-laden as Pink Floyd but clearly Pink Floyd and Roger Waters were heavily influenced by this CD. Waters could have written the lyric here 'round about the time of his Brick in the Wall period. This is mostly an acoustic release but, my God! It's heavy in places! By the way, Harper had a guest spot on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. Jimmy Page appears on Stormcock under a psuedonym playing some great acoustic guitar along with Harper.

Follow up note: I see that Jimmy Page will be appearing with Roy Harper at Festivals this year playing all of the material from Stormcock - awesome.

this is the one.......2005-06-30

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.

SO good, I can't recommend it enough.......2004-11-12

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.

Weathercock Points to Superb.......2004-04-12

Back in the day, you could actually buy this LP as a cut-out for $3.49 or less. When you hear it, and reflect on the fact that we now have to pay $$13.00 for the CD, you will feel sick. Of course he was under-appreciated then. Yeah, like he is appreciated now. DO NOT be mis-led by the fact that the down-load for pay services don't have his early stuff. Bullinamingvase, Folkjokeopus, are the princes in Harper's discology, where Stormcock reigns as king. Not exactly representative of his work, it is not a radical departure, a blending of jazz vocal stylings with his innate British folk sensibilities and a pinch of rock stylings thrown in for good measure, it compares more to John Martyn than anything, except more folky. It is very hard to describe, you have to hear it, because "unique" truly fits this one. Another comparison might be Tim Buckley. Get the picture? ....other uniques? Very intense: if anything in the rock genre brings tears to you, this might; if anything inspires you this will; it's in my top 10 all-time along-side the likes of Buddy Holly, David Bowie, Beatles. 5 stars because I can't give 10. If you still don't get it, stop reading reviews.

Average customer rating:

masterpeice
Chillingly beautiful
Harper's best
thank you roy
A True Work of Heart

Stormcock
Roy Harper
Manufacturer: Griffin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001LG9
Release Date: 1994-10-25

Amazon.com

This is Roy Harper's masterpiece. With the anger and unharnessed passion of his previous albums more in check, it is a more mature work. David Bedford's orchestration lifts "Me and My Woman" to epic heights. Jimmy Page, on board for the first of many sessions for Harper, does the same with some marvelous lead guitar on the antireligious tract "Same Old Rock" as Harper flails brilliantly on 12-string. The understated opener, "Hors d'Oeuvres," rests upon a choral-and-keyboard bed. Harper's brash-yet-vulnerable signature tune, "One Man Rock and Roll Band," boasts a sinewy intensity as it completes the four-song cycle. The ambition and adventurousness of Stormcock justifies its rank alongside Van Morrison's Astral Weeks as the finest folk-rock album of its time. --John Sutton-Smith

Album Description

Roy Harper still rates this album as one of his finest. A more mature work given added distinction by sympathetic, evocative string arrangements from David Bedford. It also saw the start of a musical relationship with Led Zeppalin's guitarist Jimmy Page, who features on the track 'The Same Old Rock'.

Customer Reviews:

masterpeice.......2000-12-09

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.

Chillingly beautiful.......2000-07-05

How this album did not elevate Harper to the commercial status of his mates in Zep and Floyd is almost as mysterious as the music contained herein. Everyone knows about the collaborators on this album but the likes of Page and Bedford combined with some inspired production to produce an album of such supreme originality that I guarantee you'll never have heard anything quite like it before. Gothic, but not in the rediculous melodramatic sense, there is such a tangible sense of foreboding on this album that it really could have been the soundtrack to one of those atmospheric early 70's horror films, and I mean the Wicker Man and not some dodgy Vampire pic. The last six minutes of The Same Old Rock is possibly the most spine chilling passage you're likely to hear, but there's also the beautifully orchestrated Me And My Woman, an epic love song with some superb seasonal metaphors. All the tracks are over 8 minutes long but when you hear them, you'll be glad that record companies were once so indulgent.

Harper's best.......2000-06-11

Sort of a cult figure, Roy Harper has been active in London's folk scene since 1965. 'Stormcock', easily his best, was released in 1971 following his drugier 1970 effort 'Flat,Baroque and Berserk' (which, by the way, desrves to be re issued)

All 4 songs are personal and moody, yet mature both lyrically and musically. True, Jimmy Page is featured here, but make no mistake, Harper himself is an acoustic guitar wizard.

This is one of those albums that you will never get tired listening to. It kind of rubs on you with each listening.

Essential for folk lovers and guitar players.

thank you roy.......1999-11-26

I can only say that every record/ cd collection of every person on the planet earth should have this in it. the world would be a better place.

A True Work of Heart.......1999-09-28

What can be said about Stormcock? "Masterpiece"? "Work of Genius"? Sure, its all this and more. I loved Roy's earlier albums, especially "Flat Baroque" (saw him perform "White Man" and "Hell's Angel's" at Bath Blues/Folk Festival in 1969)so I knew him as a brilliant and brave lyricist and guitar player. Even so, nothing prepared me for the sublime experience of hearing "Stormcock" for the first time. Its a total experience, more of a mystical journey than just listening to an album of "songs". Also its different every time - I must have heard this music thousands of times over the years and it still suprises, confuses, challenges, delights and encourages me each time I hear it. Background music it ain't: this demands your full attention, ideally on headphones late at night. You can have a go at interpreting the "clues" or you can just float along the dreamscape of this seamless music. Good to read Roy's own thoughts on this music, which is an astonishing achievement even by Roy's standards. Great to know that it came from the heart (not that I ever doubted that) of a true artist - thanks Roy!

Average customer rating:

Stormcock
Roy Harper
Manufacturer: Science Friction (topic)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002B64YS
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Average customer rating:

masterpeice
Chillingly beautiful
Harper's best
thank you roy
A True Work of Heart

Stormcock

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004TETV
Release Date: 1994-10-01

Tracks:

Hors D'oeuvres
The Same Old Rock
One Man Rock And Roll Band
Me And My Woman

Amazon.com

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

masterpeice.......2000-12-09

Chillingly beautiful.......2000-07-05

Harper's best.......2000-06-11

All 4 songs are personal and moody, yet mature both lyrically and musically. True, Jimmy Page is featured here, but make no mistake, Harper himself is an acoustic guitar wizard.

This is one of those albums that you will never get tired listening to. It kind of rubs on you with each listening.

Essential for folk lovers and guitar players.

thank you roy.......1999-11-26

I can only say that every record/ cd collection of every person on the planet earth should have this in it. the world would be a better place.

A True Work of Heart.......1999-09-28

Music Review: