Folkjokeopus [Import]

Folkjokeopus [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
'McGoohan's Blues' is the featured song on this 1969 release, inspired by the cult T.V. series The Prisoner.

Tracks:

Sgt. Sunshine
She's The One
In The Time Of Water
Composer Of Life
One For All
Exercising Some Control
McGoohan's Blues
Manana

Album Description

'McGoohan's Blues' is the featured song on this 1969 release, inspired by the cult T.V. series The Prisoner.

Album Description

Reissue of the idiosyncratic British singer/songwriter's 1969 album. Eight tracks including, 'Sgt Sunshine', 'She's The One' & 'In The Time Of Water'. 1999.

Customer Reviews:

Not his best, but it has a couple stunners.......2007-05-20

Roy Harper's third album, Folkjokeopus, is everything its three-part title makes it out to be. Yep, it's mostly folk music (cut sometimes with a bit of folk rock), it contains a song that can only be described as an "opus," and it's full of jokes. In many ways, this formula isn't very different from most Roy Harper classics, but this time around the joke material is spotty and, while the opus is classic, Folkjokeopus is wanting for more strong songs than it actually has. It's massively flawed, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a first Roy Harper purchase, but it's invaluable for its opus, "McGoohan's Blues."

The album opens with "Sergeant Sunshine," a folk rocker that finds Roy duetting with a female vocalist. A band back's Harper's typically soaring and impressive vocals, but his female accompanist isn't nearly as talented a singer, and the band plays pretty sloppily. Really, what's lacking is the depth and profundity that Roy showed he was capable of on his debut, Sophisticated Beggar. The second track, "She's the One," is one of the album's best songs, with Harper's almost violent falsetto dominating the song. This time the band arrangement works a bit better, and the lyrics' message of romantic uncertainty are somewhat more accessible. Up until "McGoohan's Blues," though, the songs (though experimental) aren't too well-written--the water sound effects on "In the Time of Water" are just kind of annoying (unlike on the Incredible String Band's similar but earlier and better, "The Water Song"), and "Composer of Life" is a bit forced, with Harper's falsetto sounding about as silly as it possibly could, and "One For All" sounds like a less deft version of his excellent "Blackpool," from Sophisticated Beggar, with more words and less creative guitar that is noticeably out of tune. "Exercising Some Control" is the album's first complete joke song, like some sort of weird vaudeville number. Usually I'm a big fan of Harper's extreme, irreverent humor, but this one just doesn't really seem that funny, especially not after the first listen. "Mañana" is somewhat better, with a couple lines that actually poke some sarcastic fun at Americans but, compared to some of his classic throwaways ("Grown Ups are Just Silly Children," "Watford Gap," or "Kangaroo Blues," for example), it just doesn't have any staying power.

What really saves Folkjokeopus and make it unquestionably worthwhile to initiated Roy Harper fans is the nearly 18-minute "McGoohan's Blues" (misspelled "McGoogan's" on the Science Friction CD reissue). It's a sprawling opus indeed, beginning with Roy's contemplation of his son's future life in an uncertain and hostile world, and expands to make sweeping, cutting, and mind-blowing revelations as the epic track unfolds. The song includes such classic lines as "the world that Christ fought is supported by using his name," and "the wet politicians and clergymen have much to say/ Defending desires of the sheep they are leading astray." Harper's epic succeeds where the long songs on his last album, Come Out Fighting, Genghis Smith, failed. The words are evocative, the singing is impassioned, and the band at the end of the song actually adds to its impact. "McGoohan's Blues" has become a classic in the Harper canon, and for good reason, standing up in quality next to his classic epics on Stormcock, and later songs like "One of those Days in England" and "The Game," as fully-realized and excellent examples of Harper's unique vision. Sometimes it's tough for me to make it through the rest of the album to get to "McGoohan's Blues," but I'm sure glad I bought it for that song alone. A better place to start for new listeners might be his next album, Flat Baroque and Berserk, which is light years ahead of Folkjokeopus in nearly every respect, and also marks the beginning of Roy's classic period, which spanned almost all of the 1970's.

"A gem of it's era..classic Harper!".......2005-11-07

Despite what other reviewers here have said, .....i have always adored this Roy Haroer gem...ALL Harper's albums are classics, let's get that straight!!Quirkier than most of his other works, maybe so , but there's really not one bad/weak track here ..the whole album "Folkjokeopus",is a beautiful milestone in Harper's illustrious career..surely the single most talented& definitive English singer/songwriter(Martyn & Drake close 2nd.!)
Sgt. Sunshine is a n unforgettable opener , with it's dope-head connotations, acoustic guitat to the very front in the mix..excellent (silly)song.."She's the one" seems to be accepted as a Roy Harper classic.it was when i first heard it 30 odd years back!!!!Only R.H. can write such songs as these ..it's why he's such a genius..what a grreat great singing voice he had/has ..totally unique!!"Composer of life ! i've always loved ..clever rhyming words here , with an eastern musical slant..again , phenomenal guitar , acoustic that is!!
Harper , on this excellent album, was really finding his forte on the nylon strings here!!"McGoohan's Blues", really this song so impressed me , way back when , it made me into a total Roy Harper fan , the rest of my life!!!!The words to this song are priceless , who else could write such a condemnation of the Establishment/World System/Hypocricy we all live in, except ofcourse Bobby D. !!
"Exercising some control"..grrreat, grrrreat song --classic!!!About his dog AND himself ..very clever pun....great humour , which Harper had in great abundance""Again, Harper's sense of melody, his unique & devastating acoustic -guitar playing , and that unmistakable vocal, all conspired to make Roy Harper probably England's greatest siunger-songwriter!!!!!This album"Folkjokeopus" is up there with his finest moments!!!BUY!!!!

A couple of gems.......2002-04-01

Being the first Roy Harper LP I purchased I have an emotive attachment to it, however, while it may not be his best or most consistent work it does contain a couple of superb tracks. "Seargeant Sunshine" (yes, spelled "Seargeant") a worthy and energetic opener is followed by my personal favourite "She's the One" featuring a vocal performance brimming with hostile emotion. Side two boasts the majestic "McGoohan's Blues" (my vinyl copy cleary states "McGoohan's") a sprawling epic of a song. Interspersed are some fabulously silly songs. Classic Roy Harper this is not, but the album is exclusively acoustic and has enough highlights to make it a worthy addition to your Harper collection.

A couple of gems.......2002-04-01

Being the first Roy Harper LP I purchased I have an emotive attachment to it, however, while it may not be his best or most consistent work it does contain a couple of superb tracks. "Seargeant Sunshine" (yes, spelled "Seargeant") a worthy and energetic opener is followed by my personal favourite "She's the One" featuring a vocal performance brimming with hostile emotion. Side two boasts the majestic "McGoohan's Blues" (my vinyl cleary prints McGoohan's) a sprawling epic of a song. Interspersed are some fabulously silly songs. Classic Roy Harper this is not, but the album is exclusively acoustic and has enough highlights to make it a worthy addition to your Harper collection.

The least of Roy.......2001-11-07

This is by far Roy's least impressive work. Still, with its unabashed experimentation, perhaps it was an essential "transitional" album, because the one that came after, Flat Baroque and Berserk, was a watershed that exceeded his previous work exponentially.

Some of the tracks on this one are painfully dated and/or just plain bad. "In The Time Of Water" comes to mind. Still, some tracks are amusing ("Exercising Some Control"), while McGoohan's Blues (misspelled as McGoogan's Blues, which for some reason was never corrected) is his first venture into the epic-length piece. The latter is the track to get this album for, with its howling vocals, inventive lyrics, and interesting guitar work. It's a tribute to Patrick McGoohan's classic TV experiment "The Prisoner," and like that show, it's dated, mysterious -- and brilliant.

Album Description

'McGoohan's Blues' is the featured song on this 1969 release, inspired by the cult T.V. series The Prisoner.

Album Description

Reissue of the idiosyncratic British singer/songwriter's 1969 album. Eight tracks including, 'Sgt Sunshine', 'She's The One' & 'In The Time Of Water'. 1999.

Customer Reviews:

Not his best, but it has a couple stunners.......2007-05-20

"A gem of it's era..classic Harper!".......2005-11-07

A couple of gems.......2002-04-01

Being the first Roy Harper LP I purchased I have an emotive attachment to it, however, while it may not be his best or most consistent work it does contain a couple of superb tracks. "Seargeant Sunshine" (yes, spelled "Seargeant") a worthy and energetic opener is followed by my personal favourite "She's the One" featuring a vocal performance brimming with hostile emotion. Side two boasts the majestic "McGoohan's Blues" (my vinyl cleary prints McGoohan's) a sprawling epic of a song. Interspersed are some fabulously silly songs. Classic Roy Harper this is not, but the album is exclusively acoustic and has enough highlights to make it a worthy addition to your Harper collection.

The least of Roy.......2001-11-07

Music Review: