Go on, try and pigeon hole this one. Whatever has been written about Roy Harper will have been undertaken by literary genius’ far above my pay grade. I have nothing to add in that respect. But if you want to hear an LP whose roots lie in one place, around the folk clubs of London, but are moving towards the land of rock ‘n roll, then there is no finer place to start than this offering.
‘Highway Blues’ and ‘Bank of the dead’ in particular stand out on Side 1 like beacons of light. Jimmy Page plays on Bank of the dead (he also features on Side 2) and has a major influence, in my mind, on the sound on display. Oh please, how I wish it would go on for at least 5 more minutes. It finishes almost as soon as it just starts to warm up.
And then you get hit by Side 2. It was quite popular to have full length tracks cover a side in 1972, but there cannot have been much like this released. Written as a poem but with the final version broken down into 8 pieces, as the sleeve notes tell us….Don’t be scared of it, it’s just a movie.
This man is almost 70 years of age and today was the first day I had ever listened to a Roy Harper LP. Sorry Roy. It won’t be the last.
I can’t add anymore. Just lie back and listen to a genius at work.
