| Folkjokeopus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 June 1969 | |||
| Recorded | England | |||
| Genre | Folk, progressive folk, folk baroque | |||
| Length | 47:57 | |||
| Label | Liberty 21888, Science Friction HUCD009 | |||
| Producer | Shel Talmy | |||
| Roy Harper chronology | ||||
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Folkjokeopus is the third album issued by English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was produced by Shel Talmy and was first released in 1969 by Liberty Records.
The album is notable for the lengthy track "McGoohan's Blues", which Harper states was "inspired by actor Patrick McGoohan's depiction of the establishment rebel in his TV series, The Prisoner ". [1] An extended, Dylanesque strophic form accompanied only by Harper's guitar ("how the sea she roars with laughter/And howls with the dancing wind/To see my two feet standing here/questioning") suddenly segues, after over ten minutes, first into a brief, new and quieter theme and then into a full-band coda.
The searing falsetto of "She's the One" makes for one of Harper's most intense and moving recordings[ citation needed ] as manic guitar-strumming accompanies his scornful upbraiding of an acquaintance for his self-pitying insensitivity to a "wonderful wife" whom the singer sees and apparently loves as "a very beautiful young woman". Like "McGoohan's Blues", this track seems to merge two related but distinct songs.
"One for All" was dedicated to tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler, whom Harper had known in Copenhagen. [1] It includes a lengthy acoustic guitar solo. "Exercising Some Control" and "Manana" may be numbered among Harper's light-hearted crowd-pleasing songs, while "In the Time of Water" and the Incredible String Bandish "Composer of Life" are more experimental, the former featuring the sound of water and Harper's sitar. The opening "Sergeant Sunshine" features the voice of Jane Scrivener [2] while other contributing musicians include Nicky Hopkins, Ron Geesin, "Russ" on bass guitar and drummer Clem Cattini. The American release swaps in two tracks, "Zaney Janey" and "Ballad of Songwriter", [3] for the original UK album's track, "One for All". [4]
The album title, along with the title of the Skip Spence record, was borrowed to provide the name of a Minneapolis record store, Oar Folkjokeopus.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [5] |
Richie Unterberger reviewing for Allmusic 40 years later noted "influences such as Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch, Donovan, and possibly Al Stewart" and praised Harper's "uniformly excellent" guitar work but criticised Folkjokeopus for being "sprawling and unwieldy". [6]
All songs written by Roy Harper
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sgt. Sunshine" | 3:04 |
| 2. | "She's the One" | 6:55 |
| 3. | "In the Time of Water" | 2:16 |
| 4. | "Composer of Life" | 2:26 |
| 5. | "One for All" | 8:11 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Exercising Some Control" | 2:50 |
| 7. | "McGoohan's Blues" | 17:55 |
| 8. | "Manana" | 4:20 |
The United States pressing on World Pacific replaces One For All with two other songs - Zaney Janey and Ballad of a songwriter.
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.”
Music from The Body is the soundtrack album to Roy Battersby's 1970 documentary film The Body, about human biology, narrated by Vanessa Redgrave and Frank Finlay.
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Sunday Concert is Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot's first solo live album, released in 1969 on the United Artists label. Lightfoot's last recording for United Artists, it was also his first live album and until the release of a live DVD in 2002 remained Lightfoot's only officially released live recording. The album was recorded at Massey Hall in Toronto.
"After All" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1970 for the album The Man Who Sold the World, released later that year in the United States and in April 1971 in the UK. One of a number of Bowie songs from the early 1970s reflecting the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche and Aleister Crowley, it has been described by biographer David Buckley as "the album's hidden gem", and by Nicholas Pegg as "one of Bowie's most underrated recordings".
"Like a Rock" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger. The single peaked at No. 1 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart.
Stormcock is the fifth studio album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. First released in May 1971 by Harvest Records, it is widely considered his best record.
"Heart of Stone" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, credited to the songwriting partnership of Jagger/Richards. London Records first issued it as a single in the United States in December 1964. The song was subsequently included on The Rolling Stones, Now! and Out of Our Heads.
Would You Believe is an album by Billy Nicholls released in 1968.
Songwriter is the debut solo album by Justin Hayward released in February 1977.
Ultimate! is a comprehensive career retrospective album by English rock group the Yardbirds. The 52-song two–compact disc compilation was released in 2001 by Rhino Records. The tracks span the period from the group's first demo recordings in 1963 to the last singles in 1968. They include all 17 of the group's singles, both A-side and B-sides, supplemented with more than a dozen album tracks, their performance for the film Blow-Up, and three early solo numbers by singer Keith Relf.
Work of Heart is the 11th studio album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper and was first released in 1982.
Born in Captivity is the 12th studio album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released in 1984. Essentially, Born in Captivity is the demo tape for his previous 1982 release, Work of Heart.
"Jigsaw Puzzle" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.
In the Tradition is a 1963 album by American folksinger Dave Van Ronk and The Red Onion Jazz Band. It is unusual in that the tracks are evenly split between Van Ronk and the Red Onions.
Sophisticated Beggar is English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper's debut album. It was released in 1966.
Solitaire is the thirty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the fall of 1973 by Columbia Records and was an attempt to move away from his formulaic series of recent releases that relied heavily on songs that other artists had made popular.
Man & Myth is the title of Roy Harper's 22nd studio album. Released 47 years after his debut album, Sophisticated Beggar, it is his first studio release in 13 years.
Live at Les Cousins is a 1996 double live album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter Roy Harper.
No Introduction Necessary is a "super session" studio album. Initially it was conceived as debut album by Keith De Groot, a new singer discovered by producer Reg Tracey. It featured Albert Lee and Big Jim Sullivan on guitars, John Paul Jones on bass, Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, Chris Hughes on saxophone and Clem Cattini on drums. The sessions took place at Olympic Studios in London. Nine songs had been completed when neither Lee nor Sullivan were going to be able to take part in next booked session. Tracey called Jimmy Page for the last round of recordings. Page's participation likely took place in either September or December 1967 during breaks from touring with the Yardbirds.
