Never got truly aquainted with Roy Harper. Though he's had a large cult following through the years and been acknowledged as infuence to bands as Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Who and others I've been much more interested in those he inspired than the man himself and the closest I came for a very long time was through his vocals on the Floyd song "Have A Cigar" and Zeppelin's tribute "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper". Feel I have to do something about that, so I'm making a small start with an LP I happen to have in my collection. This was his seventh studio album, apparently written and prepared at the same time as the two previous for Harvest - "Stormcock" and "Lifemask". Haven't heard any of his earlier stuff so I'm just diving right in without prejudice. The style is singer-songwriter and with exception of one cut - "Male Cahuvinist Pig Blues" - all support sounds acoustic, some tracks having orchestral backing. It's cool, melodic and very personal, sometimes with unexpected arrangements. I don't get all in at first listen and it'll probably take some time to connect 100%, but there are already a couple of cuts that feels good - the messy rocker "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues" where he's backed by Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and Ronnie Lane and the beautiful "Forbidden Fruit" with its soft strings and girlish background vocals. Thought I was making my final post on this, but as I'm listening right now I hear there's more to contemplate eventually so there will be a follow-up later. US and Canadian on Chrysalis (CHR 1163). UK 1989 CD on Awareness Records (AWCD 1015) came with three bonus tracks. First UK had label as shown here and thin matt cover. A corresponding photo/lyric/credit booklet wasn't enclosed, only sent by special request (see pic below). (HÄVL*)
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