Flat Baroque and Berserk

Last updated

Flat Baroque and Berserk
HarperFlatBaroque.jpg
Studio album by
Released15 June 1970
RecordedAugust – September 1969
Studio Les Cousins, Abbey Road Studios, London, England
Genre Folk, progressive folk, folk baroque
Length55:06
Label Harvest SHVL 766
Chrysalis CHR 1160
Science Friction HUCD003
Producer Peter Jenner
Roy Harper chronology
Folkjokeopus
(1969)
Flat Baroque and Berserk
(1970)
Stormcock
(1971)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Flat Baroque and Berserk is the fourth album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper, and was first released in 1970 by Harvest Records.

Contents

History

Flat Baroque and Berserk was the first of Harper's recordings to enter the charts, reaching number 20 in the UK album chart in January 1970. [2] Produced by Peter Jenner and recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Flat Baroque and Berserk was the first of eight albums recorded for EMI's Harvest label. Harper has said of the album, "for the first time in my recording career, proper care and attention was paid to the presentation of the song." [3]

The album contains some of Harper's best-known songs. "I Hate the White Man", in particular, is noted for its uncompromising lyrics, and Allmusic described the song as

certainly one of his most notable (and notorious) compositions, a spew of lilting verbiage that's hard to peg. It could be irony, it could be ironic self-hatred, it could be muddled reflections on the chaos that is the modern world, or it could be a combination of all of them. [4]

Harper described the song as

a testament to my lifelong devotion to espousing equal rights for all humans. I have long since wondered about the wisdom of stating that you have more than the capacity to hate your own race for it's[ sic ] misdemeanors, but as a polemic it has been both an effective tool and somewhere of a place to stand. [3]

The album also features "Another Day", a song of regret for lost love. The lyrics are written from the point of view of a man looking back with regret upon a missed chance that might have led him to a love he has searched for. The song was covered as a duet by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel in her 1979 television special, [5] and later by This Mortal Coil on their 1984 album It'll End in Tears . The cover by Bush led to collaboration with Harper in 1980; he singing backing vocals on her song "Breathing" and she duetting on the track "You" on Harper's album The Unknown Soldier . [6]

"How Does it Feel" is used in the closing scene of episode 3 of the third season of The Handmaid's Tale .

A studio conversation with Tony Visconti is heard before "Tom Tiddler's Ground", on which he plays recorder.

The album closes with one of Harper's most rock-based tracks, "Hell's Angels", on which backing is provided by progressive rock band The Nice and features the unusual combination of acoustic guitar played through a wah-wah pedal. [6]

Two of the album's tracks "I Hate the White Man" ("Den hvite mann") and "Don't You Grieve" ("Kjære ikke gråt") were later covered by Norwegian singer Finn Kalvik whom Harper had met and performed with in Oslo in 1970. Following the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020, Harper wrote a blog post breaking down the inspiration for "I Hate the White Man" and why he believes the song remains relevant. [7]

Tracks on compilation albums

One of the album tracks, "Song of the Ages" appeared on the 1970 Harvest Records sampler album, Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air . However, the inclusion of the previously unreleased Pink Floyd song, "Embryo", considered unfinished by the band and used without their permission, saw the album's withdrawal from sale.

A similarly entitled retrospective compilation album, A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology 1969–1974, was released in 2007. This three-disc compilation contained only three tracks in common with its precursor. Harper's "Song of the Ages" was dropped in favour of "Francesca" and "Don't You Grieve", and two other Harper tracks were also included; "South Africa" from his 1973 release Lifemask and "Twelve Hours Of Sunset" from his following 1974 album Valentine .

Track listing

All tracks written by Roy Harper, though upon the original 1970 release, all tracks except "I Hate the White Man", "Francesca" and "Hell's Angels" were credited to H. Ash, an alias of Harper. [8]

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Don't You Grieve"5:43
2."I Hate the White Man"8:03
3."Feeling All the Saturday"1:56
4."How Does It Feel?"6:29
5."Goodbye"5:42
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Another Day"2:57
7."Davey"1:30
8."East of the Sun"3:02
9."Tom Tiddler's Ground"6:48
10."Francesca"1:19
11."Song of the Ages"3:52
12."Hell's Angels"7:46

Personnel

Technical

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Harper (singer)</span> British singer-songwriter (b. 1941)

Roy Harper is an English folk rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has released 22 studio albums across a career that stretches back to 1966. As a musician, Harper is known for his distinctive fingerstyle playing and lengthy, lyrical, complex compositions, reflecting his love of jazz and the poet John Keats. He was also the lead vocalist on Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Have a Cigar</span> 1975 single by Pink Floyd featuring Roy Harper

"Have a Cigar" is the third track on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. It follows "Welcome to the Machine" and on the original LP opened side two. In some markets, the song was issued as a single. English folk-rock singer Roy Harper provided lead vocals on the song. It is one of only three Pink Floyd recordings with a guest singer on lead vocals, the others being "The Great Gig in the Sky" (1973) with Clare Torry and "Hey Hey Rise Up" (2022) with Andriy Khlyvnyuk. The song, written by Waters, is his critique of the rampant greed and cynicism so prevalent in the management of rock groups of that era.

"The Man Who Sold the World" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The title track of Bowie's third studio album, it was released in November 1970 in the US and in April 1971 in the UK by Mercury Records. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was recorded at Trident and Advision Studios in London in May 1970, towards the end of the album's sessions; Bowie recorded his vocal on the final day of mixing for the album, reflecting his generally dismissive attitude during the sessions. Musically, it is based around a "circular" guitar riff from Mick Ronson. Its lyrics are cryptic and evocative, being inspired by numerous poems including the 1899 "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns. Bowie's vocals are heavily "phased" throughout and have been described as "haunting".

<i>Whatever Happened to Jugula?</i> 1985 studio album by Roy Harper & Jimmy Page

Whatever Happened to Jugula? is the 13th studio album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released on March 4, 1985, through Beggars Banquet Records. Jimmy Page contributes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Prettiest Star</span> 1970 song by David Bowie

"The Prettiest Star" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, originally released on 6 March 1970 through Mercury Records as the follow-up single to "Space Oddity". A love song for his soon-to-be wife Angie, it was recorded in January 1970 at Trident Studios in London and featured Marc Bolan on guitar, who was brought on by producer Tony Visconti. Despite praise from music journalists, the single flopped and failed to chart. Years later, Bowie rerecorded the track for his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. A more glam rock influenced take with lyrics matching themes on the album, Mick Ronson recreated Bolan's guitar part almost note-for-note. The remake was more well-received.

<i>T. Rex</i> (album) 1970 studio album by T. Rex

T. Rex is a 1970 album by Marc Bolan's band T. Rex, the first under that name and the fifth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968. It was released on 18 December by record labels Fly and Reprise. The album continued the shift begun by its predecessor from the band's previous folk style to a minimal rock sound, with an even balance of electric and acoustic material.

<i>Counter Culture</i> (album) 2005 compilation album by Roy Harper

Counter Culture is a 2005 compilation double album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter Roy Harper featuring 25 classic Roy Harper songs, cherry picked according to his mood in April 2005. This collection spans 35 years of song writing and is intended as an introduction for anyone who's not sure where to start with Harper's music. This compilation features a number of guest musicians, including; Jimmy Page, Bill Bruford, Ronnie Lane, David Gilmour, Kate Bush and Nick Harper.

<i>East of the Sun</i> (Roy Harper album) 2001 compilation album by Roy Harper

East of the Sun is a 2001 compilation album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter Roy Harper featuring 15 of his love songs.

<i>Hats Off</i> (Roy Harper album) 2001 compilation album by Roy Harper

Hats Off is a 2001 compilation album by Roy Harper featuring 14 of Harper's own songs "...accompanied by some of rock's most legendary performers.".

<i>An Introduction to .....</i> 1994 compilation album by Roy Harper

An Introduction to ..... is a 1994 compilation album by Roy Harper.

<i>Boulders</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Roy Wood

Boulders is the debut solo album by English musician Roy Wood, recorded from 1969 to 1971 and released in July 1973 by Harvest Records. Wood began work on the album as a whimsical side-project away from his band the Move, and conceived it to explore numerous instruments he had collected in the 1960s but felt unable to use in the Move. Nonetheless, its release was delayed for several years due to his busy schedule with the Move, Wizzard and the Electric Light Orchestra. Apart from harmonium on one song played by John Kurlander, all the instruments on the album, including guitars, cello, saxophones, bouzouki, banjo and recorders, were played by Wood, who also wrote, arranged, and produced the whole record, in addition to providing all the vocals. The musician also painted the unfinished self-portrait on the cover.

Brian Davison, was a British musician. He is best known for playing drums with The Mark Leeman Five, The Nice, Brian Davison's Every Which Way, Refugee and Gong.

Hells Angels is a motorcycle club.

Tom Tiddler's ground, also known as Tom Tidler's ground or Tommy Tiddler's ground, is a longstanding children's game. One player, "Tom Tiddler", stands on a heap of stones, gravel, etc. Other players rush onto the heap, crying "Here I am on Tom Tiddler's ground, picking up gold and silver," while Tom tries to capture, or in other versions, expel the invaders. By extension the phrase has come to mean the ground or tenement of a sluggard, or of one easily outwitted; or to mean any place where money is picked up and acquired readily. The essence of the game lives on in more modern versions such as steal the bacon and variants of tag.

<i>Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air</i> 1970 compilation album by various artists

Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air is a sampler issued by the Harvest Records label, originally released in 1970 and notable for including the previously unreleased Pink Floyd song, "Embryo".

<i>Sophisticated Beggar</i> 1966 studio album by Roy Harper

Sophisticated Beggar is English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper's debut album. It was released in 1966.

"Cherry Blossom Clinic" is a song by British rock band The Move, written by their lead guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter Roy Wood, intended as the follow-up single to their hit "Flowers in the Rain", which reached number two in the Record Retailer chart. Like many of Wood's other songs, "Cherry Blossom Clinic" deals with clinical insanity and loneliness, and makes several pop culture references throughout, which he largely credits to an ambition for writing a children's book. The track was initially recorded in August 1967 at Advision Studios, but was abandoned for three months before being re-recorded in November of that year, and lacks a production credit.

"Another Day" is a song by Roy Harper from his album Flat Baroque and Berserk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diddy Wah Diddy</span>

"Diddy Wah Diddy" is a song written by Willie Dixon and Ellas McDaniel, known as Bo Diddley, and recorded by the latter in 1956. The song shares only its title with Blind Blake's song "Diddie Wah Diddie" recorded in 1929. Over the years, the Bo Diddley song has been covered by many bands and artists, including the Astronauts, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, the Remains, the Twilights, Taj Mahal, the Sonics, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ty Segall Band, and the Blues Band among others.

<i>Live at Les Cousins</i> 1996 live album by Roy Harper

Live at Les Cousins is a 1996 double live album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter Roy Harper.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. "Roy Harper | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Flat Baroque And Berserk – CD". Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  4. "Flat Baroque and Berserk" . Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  5. "Rock Cafe 2000, Stourbridge". Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  6. 1 2 "Roy Harper Biography". Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  7. Harper, Roy (12 June 2020). "I Hate The White Man – Pt. 1". Roy Harper's Blog. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  8. "H.Ash, Harper's alias". Discogs . Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  9. Beaumont, Peter (2 June 2012). "Old music: Roy Harper – Another Day". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  10. Savage, Jon (2 January 2011). "Jon Savage on song: Roy Harper serves up Hors D'Oeuvres". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2 February 2019.