''Stormcock'' is the fifth studio album by English

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. First released in May 1971 by

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

, it is widely considered his best record.

History

Harper was inspired by a trip to, and time spent in,

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur ha ...

, California. "Me and My Woman" is a love song backed by

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

'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 Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts a ...

who spent nearly 12 years on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

– at the time the longest ever in the United States – before being executed in a

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Histor ...

in May 1960. "One Man Rock and Roll Band" is a critique on the pointlessness of violence. "The Same Old Rock" is an attack on government, the history of war, and organized religion featuring guitar work and a solo by

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

. The album's four extended songs showcase Harper's talents, both as a songwriter and guitarist. But, ''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: Nonetheless, ''Stormcock'' would remain a favourite album of critics and Harper's fans. In October 2013, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' placed ''Stormcock'' at number 377 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Although Jimmy Page performs on the album, he was credited as "S. Flavius Mercurius" for contractual reasons.

Reissue

The album was

digitally remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

in 2007 by Science Friction. The package included a 20-page case-bound booklet with new pictures, prose and poetry, and Page's name was added to the album's credits.

Influence

In 2006, 35 years after its initial release,

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

of English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

said:

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Northern California, Newsom was classically trained on the harp in her youth and began her musical career as a keyboardist in the San Francisc ...

cited ''Stormcock'' as an influence upon her 2006 release '' Ys,'' which likewise contains lengthy songs with dense orchestral arrangements, and in 2011,

Robin Pecknold Robin Noel Pecknold (born March 30, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, who serves as the principal songwriter and vocalist for indie folk band Fleet Foxes, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. He is known for his distinct bariteno ...

band

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes is an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals), Ch ...

stated that he took inspiration from ''Stormcock'' when recording Fleet Foxes' second album ''

Helplessness Blues ''Helplessness Blues'' is the second studio album by American band Fleet Foxes, released on May 3, 2011, by Sub Pop and Bella Union. The album received universal acclaim from critics, going on to be nominated for Best Folk Album for the 54th G ...

''.

Title

The album's title, ''Stormcock'', is an old English name for the Mistle thrush (''Turdus viscivorus''). The male of the species is most vocal in the early morning and has a tendency to sing after, and sometimes during, wet and windy weather which led to the name 'Stormcock'. Harper has an appreciation of birdlife and has made reference to many birds in his songs.

Track listing

Personnel

* Roy Harper – vocals, 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars, piano *

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, orchestral arrangements *

(credited as "S. Flavius Mercurius") – acoustic guitar on "The Same Old Rock" ;Technical *John Barrett –

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, ...

*Peter Bown – sound engineer *Richard Imrie – photography *

Peter Jenner Peter Julian Jenner (born 3 March 1943) is a British music manager and a record producer. Jenner, Andrew King and the original four members of Pink Floyd were partners in Blackhill Enterprises. Early career Peter Jenner is the son of Willia ...

– producer *

John Leckie John William Leckie (born 23 October 1949) is an English record producer and recording engineer. His production credits include Magazine's ''Real Life'' (1978), XTC's ''White Music'' (1978) and Dukes of Stratosphear's '' 25 O'Clock'' (1985), t ...

– sound engineer *Phil McDonald – sound engineer *

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

– sound engineer *Nick Webb – sound engineer

References

External links

Roy Harper Official SiteThe Stormcock Community fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stormcock (Album) Roy Harper (singer) albums 1971 albums Chrysalis Records albums Harvest Records albums Albums produced by Peter Jenner