| Folkjokeopus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 June 1969 | |||
| Recorded | England | |||
| Genre | Folk, progressive folk, folk baroque | |||
| Length | 47:57 | |||
| Label | Liberty LBS 83231 (UK) / World Pacific WPS 21888 (US) Science Friction HUCD009 | |||
| Producer | Shel Talmy | |||
| Roy Harper chronology | ||||
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Folkjokeopus is the third studio album by the English folk musician 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 the lead vocalist on Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar.”
Three Week Hero is an album released by rock singer P.J. Proby on April 8, 1969, by Liberty Records. The album contains a mixture of dramatic pop, blues, rock, and country style songs. While it did not succeed commercially, it is best remembered today as the first time all four members of Led Zeppelin recorded together in the studio. The album was reissued on CD in 1994.
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.
Slapp Happy is a studio album by German/British avant-pop group Slapp Happy, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor Studio in 1974.
The Kink Kontroversy is the third studio album by the English rock band the Kinks. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 November 1965 by Pye Records. Issued in the United States on 30 March 1966 by Reprise Records, it was the Kinks' first American album to feature an identical track listing to its British counterpart. It is a transitional album, with elements of both the earlier Kinks' styles and early indications of the future direction of Ray Davies' songwriting styles. The liner notes were written by Michael Aldred.
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.
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.
"You Got the Silver" is a song by the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album Let It Bleed. It was also released as the B-side to the "Let It Bleed" single in Japan.
The Pentangle is the 1968 debut album of the band Pentangle: Terry Cox, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, John Renbourn and Danny Thompson. It brought together their separate influences of folk, jazz, blues, early music and contemporary songwriting. One of the band's most commercially successful albums, it reached number 21 in the British charts.
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.
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.
Fred Neil is the second album from Fred Neil, a pioneer folk rock musician, recorded and released in 1966. The album has a more laid-back sound than his debut, and contains his best-known songs; "Everybody's Talkin'" and "The Dolphins". It was re-released in 1969 under the title Everybody's Talkin' in response to the international success of the soundtrack of the movie Midnight Cowboy, which made a hit of the new title track for Harry Nilsson. Music journalist Richie Unterberger characterizes the album as Neil's best, and it was listed in the first (2005) edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery.
"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.
Folk, Blues and Beyond is the second studio album by British musician Davy Graham, originally released in 1965. It has been considered Graham's most groundbreaking and consistent work and a defining record of the 20th century. It has also been a primary influence on some of the most popular musicians in Britain ranging from Bert Jansch to Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.
Ultimate Spinach is the 1968 self-titled debut studio album by the American psychedelic rock band Ultimate Spinach, and was released on the MGM Records label (E/SE-4518) simultaneously with the debut LP of two other Boston-area bands, Beacon Street Union and Orpheus. Both albums were heavily promoted by the label as being representative of the "Bosstown Sound". The commercial ploy was heavily driven in psychedelic music that attempted to replicate the San Francisco Sound.
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.
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.
