Roy Harper- VALENTINE

Описание

Roy Harper- VALENTINE- CD- 1974/1994- My Music/Roy Harper/Science Friction- 5020522396622- 100 grn
DEDICATED TO BONZO, JIMMY, JOHN PAUL AND ROBERT.
VALENTINE is the seventh album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released on 14th February 1974 by Harvest Records. The album contains mainly love songs and was written whilst Harper was writing and recording his previous albums. The fact that this album somehow gels is testimony to just how talented Harper was at this point in his career. All Harper's albums have stellar cameos, and this one is no different. Jimmy Page adds devastating lead guitar to "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues", even though the acoustic version the duo released on Flashes From The Archives Of Oblivion is still superior. In addition, David Bedford continues his streak of outstanding string arrangements on Harper albums with particularly winning versions for "I'll See You Again" and "Commune". The instrumental "Che" is a reminder of Harper's astounding and influential acoustic guitar technique, while "Twelve Hours Of Sunset" one of most beautiful songs in the English language. Like most Harper releases, this one has a few weak songs. Especially the jazz throwaway "Acapulco Gold", but even the extra tracks from Flashes From The Archives Of Oblivion, included on the CD reissues, seem to fit in. VALENTINE can be numbered among Harper's best work during his heydey.
PERSONNEL: Roy Harper – guitar, vocals; David Bedford – orchestral arrangements; Keith Moon, Marty Simon, Steve Broughton – percussion; Ronnie Lane, Pete Sears – electric bass; Mike Gibbs – brass arrangement; Jimmy Page – electric guitar; Max Middleton – piano; Tim Walker – guitar; Ian Anderson – flute.
VALENTINE may be the summit of Harper's skills as a songwriter and for a very good reason. Aside from Harper commentaries on his feelings towards ''Magic Woman Liberation Reshuffle'', which is something along the line of you can't have your cake and eat it too, the other nine of the album's songs are about relationships past and present, and Harper is simply at his zenith when it comes to wearing his heart on his sleeves. The exception being ''Acapulco Gold'' in which Harper confesses love to both his lady and weed. Unlike the directness of Harper's 1970 album Flat Baroque And Berserk or the metaphorical obtuseness of Harper's material on Stormcock, from 1971, and Lifemask, from 1973, Harper combines the lyrical sensibilities of both styles on VALENTINE without becoming pretentious. ''I'll See You Again'' and ''Twelve Hours Of Sunset'' are among two of Harper's most potent and engrossing songs. The first about dismissing a lover because his feelings are unrequited and the second deals with longing compounded by a twelve hour flight from Europe to the US at twilight which seems to last an eternity as the never ending day prolongs and compounds the feelings of loneliness and longing for a loved one. The instrumentation on the former is sparse acoustic guitar with multiple and necessary vocal overdubs by Harper, along with a sublime orchestral score by the late David Bedford that deftly combines baroque with a sense of modernism. Bedford's score on ''Twelve Hours Of Sunset'' is even better with a string section that evokes both flight and loneliness. He is the album's unsung hero and almost bests himself with another ethereal score for Harper's take on the traditional ''North Country''. There is not much that is blatantly progressive on VALENTINE, except for what is implied by trying to move folk rock into fresh territory, in which Harper easily succeeds.
Replica From Original Austrian Edition.
Comes In A Orange Colour Standard Jewel Case With Yellow Transparent Tray And Includes Foldout Insert.
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