FLAT BAROQUE AND BERSERK

I left my first experiences with "FolkJokeOpus" feeling rather buoyed with the independent path being forged by ROY HARPER, political but nuanced, intense but relatable, personal but lucid, in the tradition yet singular, OK enough already. I admit I peeked ahead to read impressions of the next couple of albums and even the negative reviews had me buoyed. That all came crashing down with "Flat Baroque and Berserk". I'm not crazy about the title but it might just be the high point.

Harper's got no urgency here, and in his more emphatic moments simply redoes DYLAN from 5 years earlier, right down to the harmonica, never a good idea for an artist establishing his own reputation. A few shorter length mellow tunes could be considered a cross of NICK DRAKE and CAT STEVENS, smooth and sweet without ever moving me, but when he goes long he strands himself in Dylanonymous1960s folk. He even seems to think that "I Hate the White Man" is a new blues for 1970, but it's more of a 6 minute admonishment from a gruff guilt-ridden preacher. I'm not saying it isn't also true, and maybe some people needed to hear it this way, but I'd rather be entertained by the likes of "Then Came the White Man" (1971) by the Canadian group THE STAMPEDERS (of "Sweet City Woman" fame), who get the message across without the self importance and minutiae.

The only normal length piece that represents him positively here is the gentle "Tom Tiddler's Ground", where he teams up with TONY VISCONTI on recorder to couch his love lost message in terms of an oid children's game. The closer is a hard rocker that is like a generous serving of forbidden fruit after all that came before, with Harper ripping it on electric and the raw brilliance of the NICE to back him up. I'd loathe an album of all tunes like this but it's a master stroke here, particularly if you were asleep when it starts, which I wouldn't bet against. I should know.

I am oh so praying that "Flat Berserk and Bankrupt" (sic) is an anomaly, as I had big plans for the next few albums, but there's still enough here to escape the dust bin, while still clearly flung in that direction.

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