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Man and Myth

Man & Myth
Man & Myth, album cover.jpg
Studio album by Roy Harper
Released 23 September 2013
Recorded Ireland, USA, UK
Genre Folk, folk baroque, indie folk
Length 51.29
Label Bella Union
Producer Roy Harper with additional production by Jonathan Wilson and John Fitzgerald
Roy Harper chronology
The Green Man
(2000)The Green Man2000
Man & Myth
(2013)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 85/100
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars
The Observer 4/5 stars
The Guardian 4/5 stars
Record Collector 5/5 stars
Daily Express 5/5 stars
The Australian 4/5 stars
Financial Times 4/5 stars
Uncut 4.5/5 stars
musicOMH 4.5/5 stars
Pitchfork Media 3.5/5 stars

Man & Myth is the title of Roy Harper's 22nd studio album. Released 47 years after his debut album, Sophisticated Beggar, it is his first studio release in 13 years.

When questioned during a Reuters interview about the time span between his album releases, Harper explained: "I thought I had retired...I was in one world, but the next world had found me, so I had to respond to it. That meant gathering my wits and going forward with a new record." "I've written poetry, prose, essays and articles and gone through the motions of being Roy, but I didn’t have the will to make another album until recently..." said Harper. "...I was inspired to write again around 2009, by many of the younger generation finding me and asking, who are you?".

Of the seven tracks, four were recorded with Jonathan Wilson at his Fivestar Studios in Echo Park. "Heaven Is Here", "The Exile", and "January Man" were recorded in County Cork.Pete Townshend plays lead guitar on "Cloud Cuckooland".

On 18 July 2013 Mojo magazine's website featured the track "Time is Temporary" as their Track of the Day.

""Time is Temporary" is the sound of a man who is capable of contemplating his mortality as well as musing on coincidence, convergence and circumstance" said Harper. The track is "based on a thought... that maybe I will pass you in the street, or in a train, or a restaurant, and we'll look at each other and have the same sort of feelings, but never take it any further, never take the next step that both of us seemed to want to, so we'll never know what might have been".

In the run up to the album's release, Harper was interviewed by Laura Rawlings on her BBC Radio Bristol show on 15 August 2013. The interview closed with the track "Desert Island", from Harper's 1988 release Descendants of Smith, being played.

On the album's release date, 23 September 2013, Harper played an in-store performance at Rough Trade East, London. A limited number of tickets were available to those who purchased the album in store that day, and the event was also streamed live to 1000 viewers who had pre-ordered the album and been given a pass.


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