Audio CD review:
Roy Harper - Introduction to Roy Harper

Roy Harper - Introduction to Roy Harper

Band: Roy Harper Title: Introduction to Roy Harper Rating: Release Date: 1995-01-17 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Legend 2: She's the One 3: Tom Tiddler's Ground 4: Highway Blues 5: Che - Roy Harper, 6: Hallucinating Light 7: One of Those Days in England 8: You 9: Nineteen Forty-Eightish 10: Pinches of Salt 11: Ghost Dance - Roy Harper, 12: The Tallest Tree 13: Miles Remains

Does exactly what it says ...... The highlights for me are Legend (very catchy theme, reworked as the rather more upbeat Referendum on HQ), Tom Tiddler's Ground (the epitome of gentle lovey-dovey hippiness), Highway Blues (powerful song revealing Roy in surprisingly aggressive mood), Hallucinating Light (hippy-trippiness par excellence!), One of Those Days in England (evocative cosiness) and the show-stopping magnificence of She's the One (memorable evolving tune and Roy's vocals at their vibrant best). I'm not normally a great devotee of the compilation album, but, as an introduction to Roy's early and mid-career material, this CD serves its purpose admirably, providing a diverse collection from almost pure folk through to more psychedelic rock songs. Listen to this great music. Then go and buy the original albums and enjoy the songs in their proper context. Also check out Roy's later material, which doesn't feature here, especially the Dream Society and Green Man albums. When will 'Stormcock' get here? "Me and My Woman", "Tom Tiddlers Ground" etc, etc. For many years, with only the wherewithal for 'RH 1970-1975' (vinyl only), I considered the guy a genius. With a little recent 'wherewithal', I've branched into another 'greatest hits': "An Intro To RH": Jesus, but the guy IS a genius. I'd not heard 'Legend' or 'Miles Remain' before, but they make your heart sing. OK, so there's a few ordinary tracks as on any CD, but only a few. The rest are magnificent. As my 'wherewithal' comes through, it's gonna go on just one thing:- Roy Harper CDs. So thanks, for "Flat, Baroque & Besek", but where is 'Stormcock'?. short comment on album 'in question' This compilation focuses too much on Harpers later work. I think that a good introduction to Roy Harper should include more of his earlier stuff. You can see a complete list of all Roy Harper discography, or go back to the Roy Harper tabs