Review Summary: Hats off.
As a genre, singer-songwriter folk has a certain nakedness about it, particularly in the way that it allows the listener almost inside the mind of the artist as they deliver their lyrics in the most intimate way possible. The often stripped back nature of the way it is performed makes it the perfect means of expression for a songwriter who has something to say, something that they feel needs to be said in a sense that goes beyond the simple means of creating a song. Roy Harper is one such songwriter and this is perhaps why he seems at his best on albums such as this, where the lyrics are very much at the forefront of everything and delivered for the most part with very little accompaniment other than the strumming and finger picking of his acoustic guitar.
Flat Baroque and Berserk, Harper’s fourth album, is very much a culmination of the acoustic singer-songwriter folk sound of his first three albums. Previous album
Folkejokeopus may have hinted at a more “progressive” direction with a few short experimental pieces, but it’s most ambitious piece was the sprawling Desolation Row-esque
Mcgoohan’s Blues, which was more adventurous lyrically than it was musically. Similarly, with the exception of closing track
Hell’s Angels, this album’s most ambitious tracks are most notable for their lyrical content rather than any musical complexity or experimentation, and if anything, for the most part this albums sees Harper dial back the experimentation that was seen on
Folkjokepous in favour of a consistent run of conventional singer-songwriter folk songs.
If one song could define a particular side of Harper’s song writing, that which finds him at his most outspoken and his lyrics tinged with social commentary, then it would be the album’s second track,
I Hate the White Man. Harper’s poetic, passionate and controversial lyricism is made even more effective by his ever-charismatic vocal delivery, with the passion behind his words matched by the emotional intensity of his voice. The spoken word introduction that precedes the track provides an interesting insight into his reasons for writing the song (and also into his song writing approach in general), as he references how he felt that the words
needed to be said as well as citing the inspiration behind them.
Elsewhere, songs like the delicate
East of the Sun and the beautiful
Another Day show a different, lighter side to Harper’s song writing. The latter is one of the highlights of the album and of Harper’s discography as a whole, standing as perhaps the best “love” song he ever penned. The song’s light orchestration provides a tasteful backdrop to Harper’s heartfelt vocals and gentle acoustic guitar playing which in turn complement his evocative and nostalgic lyrics. Another high point comes in the form of
Tom Tiddler’s Ground which finds subtle flute lines adding further depth to the composition, much like the string arrangements in
Another Day. However, these tasteful moments of musical decoration don’t at any point detract from the intimacy of the traditional singer-songwriter folk combination of voice and acoustic guitar.
The one and only song to stray from the album’s folk sound is closing track
Hell’s Angels, a song that foreshadowed Harper’s further flirtation with prog and more band-orientated rock that would appear on later albums. Performed with early prog rock band The Nice, stylistically
Hell’s Angels sticks out like a sore thumb but fortunately doesn’t affect the flow of the album too much thanks to its positioning. The song itself, which is definitely worthy of its surprising inclusion, features some typically charismatic vocals from Harper before moving into an intense jam section led by Keith Emerson and company, although thankfully the aforementioned keyboard wizard’s organ is kept relatively low in the mix for the most part.
Whilst not the most fitting of closers for a folk album,
Hell’s Angels is an oddity that shouldn’t detract from what is an exceptional singer-songwriter folk album, which shows Harper’s song writing and lyrical prowess in the best possible light.
Flat Baroque and Roll is the best overall representation of Harper as an artist and shows why he is regarded by some as one of the very best lyricists to emerge from England. Later recordings such as this album’s successor, the highly praised
Stormcock, would see Harper take on a more musically progressive approach but it’s here we find him doing what he does best, creating relatively simple folk songs that above all serve as a vehicle for his lyrical expression.
