Stormcock (album)
| Stormcock | ||||
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| Studio album by Roy Harper | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Recorded | July 1 - December 20, 1970 Abbey Road Studios, London |
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| Genre | Progressive folk, folk baroque | |||
| Length | 41:25 | |||
| Label |
Harvest SHVL 789, Chrysalis CHR 1161, Science Friction HUCD004, HUCD047 |
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| Producer | Peter Jenner | |||
| Roy Harper chronology | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Stormcock is the fifth album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released in 1971 by Harvest Records and is widely considered his best record.
Harper was inspired by a trip to, and time spent in, Big Sur, California. "Me And My Woman" is a love song backed by David Bedford's orchestral arrangements (Bedford would also collaborate on some of Harper's later releases). "Hors D’Oeuvres" was inspired by the fate of Caryl Chessman who spent nearly 12 years on death row - at the time the longest ever in the United States - before being executed in a gas chamber in May 1960. "One Man Rock’n’Roll Band" is a critique on the pointlessness of violence.
"Same Old Rock" is an attack on government, the history of war, and organized religion featuring both guitar work and a final intense solo by Jimmy Page.
The album's four extended songs showcase Harper's talents, both as a songwriter and guitarist. But, significantly, Stormcock "...epitomized a hybrid genre that had no exclusive purveyors save Harper — epic progressive acoustic.".
At the time, the album was not particularly well promoted by Harper's record label. Harper later stated:
They hated Stormcock. No singles. No way of promoting it on the radio. They said there wasn't any money to market it. Stormcock dribbled out.
Nonetheless, Stormcock would remain a favourite album of Harper's fans. In October 2013 NME placed Stormcock at 377 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time"
Although the album features Jimmy Page on guitar, upon its release, Page was credited as "S. Flavius Mercurius" for contractual reasons.
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Wikipedia