''Commercial Breaks'', provisionally entitled Commercial Breaks' (doesn't it?)'', is the eighteenth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Roy Harper. It was recorded in 1977, intended for release in 1978/79, but not officially released in its entirety until 1994.

History

A dispute between

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

and Harper over funding and content prevented the planned release of this album (

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

(SHSP 4077)) though a few test pressings do exist. Of the originally intended ten songs, seven were eventually released on the 1988

Awareness Records Awareness Records was a record label founded in the mid-1980s by its owner, Andy Ware. The label was based in England and had Roy Harper and Michael Nesmith among its artists. Artists * Michael Nesmith * Roy Harper * Kurth & Taylor * James ...

release '' Loony on the Bus'' (AWCD1011). One track, "Sail Away", was released in advance as a single at the time of the release of ''

Bullinamingvase ''Bullinamingvase'' (a wordplay on "Bull in a Ming vase") is the ninth studio album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released in 1977 by Harvest Records. In the United States the album was released ...

'' (1977), the single's label noting that it was "Taken from the new LP "Commercial Breaks"", Harper's proposed next album. The 1994 Science Friction release (HUCD016), included the original track listing plus two bonus tracks, (both previously released on ''Loony on the Bus'') i.e. "Burn The World (Part 1)" and "Playing Prisons". Three of the album's songs ("I'm In Love With You", "Ten Years Ago" and "The Flycatcher") were re-recorded for Harper's 1980 release, '' The Unknown Soldier''. The

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

features logos, products and advertising, primarily from

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

of the era. Most visible are the Smash Martian,

Honey Monster Honey Monster Puffs are a honey-flavoured breakfast cereal made from sugar-coated wheat sold in the United Kingdom. The cereal was originally sold as Sugar Puffs, but was re-branded in 2014. It was labeled as Honey Monster Sugar Puffs for a ...

, Michelin Man and a large pack of Wrigleys gum.

Track listing

''All tracks credited to Roy Harper''

Unreleased album

Side One

# "My Little Girl" – 2:36 # "I'm In Love With You" – 4:07 # "Ten Years Ago" – 3:19 # "Sail Away" – 4:49 # "I Wanna Be Part of the News" – 3:32

Side Two

# "Cora" – 3:26 # "Come Up and See Me" – 4:21 # "The Flycatcher" – 3:55 # "Too Many Movies" – 4:14 # "Square Boxes" – 4:04

1994 CD release

# "My Little Girl" – 2:36 # "I'm In Love With You" – 4:07 # "Ten Years Ago" – 3:19 # "Sail Away" – 4:49 # "I Wanna Be Part of the News" – 3:32 # "Cora" – 3:26 # "Come Up and See Me" – 4:21 # "The Flycatcher" – 3:55 # "Too Many Movies" – 4:14 # "Square Boxes" – 4:04 # "Burn The World" (Part 1) – 5:06 (from '' Loony on the Bus'') # "Playing Prisons" – 4:22 (from '' Loony on the Bus'')

Personnel

* Roy Harper –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* John Leckie –

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Dave Cochrane -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* John Halsey -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Dave Lawson –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Henry McCullough Henry Campbell Liken McCullough (21 July 1943 – 14 June 2016) was a Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, The Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He also perfo ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

* Andy Roberts -

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

References

External links

Roy Harper Official Site

Roy Harper Biography and Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commercial Breaks (Album) Roy Harper (singer) albums 1994 albums