Folkjokeopus – McGoohan’s Blues

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Folkjokeopus was the showcase for McGoohan’s Blues – one of Roy’s masterpiece epics.

The debut album had shown great versatility and ambition both in terms of lyric writing and music. Instead of a straightforward solo acoustic album, the like of which we were hearing at his early gigs at Cousins and the small clubs, we were treated to a range of styles from psychedelic phasing on China Girl to out and out heavy metal on Committed.

The second offering was even more adventurous. There were no holds barred. We had poetry reading and the first of Roy’s sprawling epics with Circle.

By the time we were moving to the third album things had progressed even further. Roy was not courting commercial success even though he had by now firmly established himself as a force on the Underground scene. In many ways he was still finding his way.

I see this as a major experimental phase with Roy trying out different things – many of which would become cul-de-sacs. He was not only influenced by the audacity of The Incredible String Band but was still in the thrall of Jack Kerouac and Beat poetry.

He’d signed to Liberty and they’d retained the producer Shel Talmy – both of which were to prove problematical.

Shel had been used to creating hit singles for the likes of the Kinks and Who.

Liberty thought Roy had commercial potential.

Roy was not interested in playing that game. For him it was all about the integrity of the music. The songs he was writing did not conform to the two and a half minute pop treatment. He was still trying out different instruments and style. He fell out with Shel so that the album was basically produced as first takes, live performances in the studio. Shel was struggling with how to turn McGoohan’s Blues and She’s The One into commercial projects and Roy would not compromise. Liberty were MIA. The battle of the recording sessions took its toll. The range of instruments and styles were Roy’s forages into giving full rein to his creative juices.

I remember Roy introducing McGoohan’s Blues at its first outing – the Prisoner being about the only decent thing on telly at the time and very much a product of its time. Compulsory viewing. Sitting there in the gloom of a small club hearing McGoohan’s Blues for the first time was an experience that sticks with me. I was blown away by the scope, depth, poetry and meaning coupled to that musical intensity. I had never heard anything as powerful. The only thing that comes near for me is Dylan’s It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) and Buffy St Marie’s ‘My Country It Is Of Thy People You’re Dying’ both of which were epics of intense emotional impact.

At this time McGoohan’s and She’s The One were the centre pieces of Roy’s live performances. Both delivered with passion and incredible power.

I’ve searched for a bootleg from this period (without success) because in my mind nothing subsequently came near to the power of those early days. Roy was on fire.

The anticipation for the album mounted. I could not wait to hear the recorded versions of the stuff we were hearing live. It was going to be monumental.

Roy, at this time, had a foot both sides of a divide. He was gaining in popularity with long queues outside his gigs, being discovered by the media and being heralded as an emerging star. Roy was busy sabotaging all that. He tended to alienate the media and viewed commercial success with suspicion. He was determined to do it his way or no way.

The album cover was designed by Roy and serendipity. He wanted the album to be a diamond not a standard square. Liberty made it a square and Roy entered into a lengthy battle to have his diamond. Even at the end it isn’t quite right – just a little off. He portrayed himself eyes shut with face whitened and his pet monkey on his shoulder – the jester. Was he taking himself seriously? Yes he was. He was throwing the fireworks into the court.

The back cover sat on his sitting room table for friends to scribble on.

The release was frustratingly delayed and delayed (because of that cover) until the anticipation was unbearable.

I finally got it home and excitedly plonked it on the record player. I was disappointed. I wanted McGoohan’s to be perfect. It wasn’t. Instead of enhancing the power of the track I thought that the production (Roy doing 1 take in the studio with the addition of genius musicians like Nicky Hopkins) did not quite capture the passion of those electrifying live performances. But that was probably just me and the unrealistic expectations.

For me that album was a watershed and the transition to a brilliant set of albums.

I still play it regularly and love it – but I can’t help wondering what it might have sounded like with Pete Jenner at the helm and Harvest as the label.

That’s me with my original copy. It hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed too much inside.

Folkjokeopus – Roy Harper

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This album always takes me straight back to Greek Street and that basement club Les Cousins. Andy Matheou ran the place and it was a hotbed of musical talent. Roy was very prominent and often compered.

At the time 1968/69 Roy was a rising star. His popularity was taking off. He had two albums to his name and was taking his song writing to new heights. I was completely hooked. A kid of eighteen/nineteen. I had got to know him and was catching two or three gigs a week. Roy was playing all the small clubs, pubs and university circuit around London. He’d started to amass a sizeable following. When I first started going to his gigs there were sometimes only twenty odd people (they were all odd – like me (and Roy)). By late 68 that had grown. You had to queue!

What amazed me was his songs and that biting wit and commentary. The thoughts and ideas streamed out of him. Sophisticated Beggar and Come Out Fighting Ghenghis Smith had blown me away but the new songs seemed to take things to another level, one I hadn’t heard anybody attempt before. Sitting in a small, sweaty club listening for the first time to the twenty minute epic McGoohan’s Blues was a stunning revelation. This was poetry. This was explosive – social commentary like nobody was writing (not even (dare I say it) Dylan). And Roy was the fiery rebel, the messianic fury. Every line gave me food for thought. Roy was mirroring my young mind, putting into words the feelings I had been harbouring. I came out of those gigs glowing with an inner ecstasy like Roy had opened a door, burst a dam. Talking to him was just as wild, intoxicating.

With McGoohan’s Blues and She’s The One as new tours de force in his set it felt like we were entering a new era. Roy was no ordinary singer songwriter; he was something on a grander scale than that; a philosopher, commentator, social commenter, activist. For me it was new horizons.

At the time there were many elements to Roy’s set and they were all finding expression on the new album. It’s interesting to study that format –

There was what Roy referred to as his George Formby’s – the humorous tracks that he broke up his act with – Exercising Some Control and Manana. These were light-hearted, comical and made a good contrast to the stronger, deeper numbers. They certainly worked in the club setting and created much hilarity as Roy gooned them up.

There were the jazz instrumental pieces in which Roy showed off his idiosyncratic guitar skills, splattered with jazz chords and speedy notes – One For Al(l) – (for the jazz musician Albert Ayler). They demonstrated his tremendous guitar virtuosity.

There were the Beat/Freak numbers that centred around marijuana and the outcast bohemian beatnik culture that his audience and Roy identified with – Sgt Sunshine.

There were the experimental numbers (inspired by the likes of the Incredible String Band) in which Roy played around with different instrumentation – psaltery and sitar. (I only ever saw Roy do Composer Of Life once accompanying himself on that psaltery in Hyde Park.) Most of these were dead-ends but none-the-less valid cul-de-sacs.

There were the incredible love songs, often heartrendingly beautiful, expressive, delicate and lilting with fabulous melodies. While there were none featured on the album She’s The One, a number based on late-night conversations with Andy Matheou regarding the crumbling relationship with Mocy, is kind of a love song and once again demonstrates Roy’s unique approach to honest songwriting, poetic description and great melody.

Then, the real powerful kernel of Roy’s creative power, the incredible epic masterpieces with their sprawling indictments and polemic regarding civilisation and society. Epics in which he eviscerates, exposes and dissects the hypocritical absurdities of our culture(s). Circle had been a precursor, McGoohan’s Blues nailed it. It still stands today as graphically honest as it did in 1968 when he first penned it.

So when Roy signed to Liberty (as the new label that was going to give him full creative expression and propel him into orbit) it looked good. Liberty were a good label. Shel Talmy, despite the difficulties of working with Roy on Come Out Fighting, was a top, proven producer. There was a fabulous new set of songs. Roy was poised. Uncompromisingly riding on the new underground wave. Everything was coming together. This was the big breakthrough.

Except it wasn’t. Shel and Roy weren’t hitting it off. Liberty was described to me as a distant monolithic structure. He said you went into a room and talked to a wall.

It ended up with the album largely being recorded in first takes. I reckon Shel just wanted to get it over and done with and so did Roy. Even fabulous musicians, like Nicky Hopkins, Ron Geesin, Clem Cattini and Jane Schrivener were not deployed as well as they could have been.

The songs deserved more attention and better production. The quality could have been enhanced. For me it fell between stools. It lacked the raw power of Roy’s live performance and lacked the sophistication of brilliant production.

Even the cover was a battle (That’s Roy’s pet monkey BTW). Roy had wanted it as a diamond. The company turned it into a standard square. There ensued a running battle. In the end Roy actually paid for it to be turned into a diamond. The end result was not quite right! Enfuriating!

Roy had that back cover on his coffee table for friends to scrawl on. For some reason I didn’t.

The expectations were so high. This was going to be the greatest album of all time. It was, because of the cover dispute, delayed and delayed. When it finally saw the light of day and I put it on the turntable I was so disappointed. Every flaw glared at me. I wanted perfection. It deserved perfection.

In hindsight, my expectations were probably too high. It stands the test of time as a testament to brilliance. I just wish I had a recording of McGoohan’s from those early days in the clubs.

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.TitleLength
6.“Exercising Some Control”2:50
7.“McGoohan’s Blues”17:55
8.“Manana”

This is me holding that original album. A prized possession.

She’s The One – Roy Harper

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She’s The One

‘She’s The One’ had become an important highlight of Roy’s live act. When I first listened to this album it was a shock to hear the song with full band treatment instead of how Roy used to sing it as an acoustic solo. The stereo separates out Roy’s guitar from the backing. The drums, bass and piano drive the track forward at pace to give more energy but I feel it has less impact than in live performance. The driving pace tends to give a hurried feel as if charging along at too much of a gallop.

   Roy’s voice, particularly on those high notes, is crystal clear. His falsetto is a strength that gives the track an added dimension.

   Once again this song would have made a brilliant single if it had not been seven minutes long with a number of sex and drug references.

   The song is about the break-up of his relationship with Mocy. During this period of time Roy had many late night discussions with Andy Matheou who was the owner of Les Cousins. Andy thought Roy was mad to be breaking up with Mocy and told him so. Roy wove their conversations into the lyrics.

   Regardless of my personal preference for the live acoustic version, the recording is a tour de force.

Today’s Music to keep me SssSSAaaAANnnnNeEEE in Isolation – Roy Harper – Folkjokeopus.

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I’m going on a long car journey today. I shall take Folkjokeopus with me and sing along to McGoohan’s Blues at the top of my voice as I hurtle down the motorway.

Somehow it will seem appropriate. It will take me back to all those times I hurtled down that same road heading for a Harper gig. It will also resonate with the symbolic fact of being on a sophisticated highway – a symbol of our great society and its aims – speed, progress and cash.

HARPER, Roy – Folkjokeopus (1969) – YouTube

Roy Harper – One For All

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Another brilliant one from Folkjokeopus. This is Roy showing off his guitar skills on a fabulous instrumental.

Roy Harper – In The Time Of Water

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Another interesting track from Folkjokeopus. The only time Roy has played a sitar. A bit influenced by the Incredible String Band.

Roy Harper – Sgt. Sunshine

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The first track on the Folkjokeopus album – his third.

Roy Harper – Folkjokeopus the album

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Folkjokeopus

Folkjokeopus was a poorly recorded album made up of largely first-takes with an unsympathetic producer who Roy did not get on with. The quality of the songs wasn’t the issue; it was the production. But I still love it!

 

When Liberty signed up Roy they thought they could turn him into a Pop Star. They brought in Shel Talmy, the American producer who had made bands like the Kinks and the Who into international stars. It was a mistake right from the start. There was no understanding or communication between Roy and Liberty. I remember Roy telling me that there was no human touch. He went into a room and talked to a machine equipped with deaf ears. Nobody was interested in what Roy wanted. They had a vision of making him into a Pop Star. But Roy was young, idealistic and had rejected all that. He saw himself as a poet/musician of the Underground. He was totally opposed to the whole money-grabbing business that showbiz was (and still is). It smacked of everything he stood against. The idea of ‘selling out’ for money or fame was contrary to everything Roy stood for. That isn’t to say he didn’t want to make it and get the recognition; it meant that he wanted to do it on his terms; he wanted to be successful because of his songs and musicianship not as some watered down smiley-faced Pop Star. You could say that he was a tad uncompromising.

 

I wasn’t there for that first meeting with Shel Talmy but I bet it was a bit frosty and antagonistic. Roy could clearly see what Shel was about. He was in the business of producing nice catchy two and a half minute hit singles. Roy was into producing twenty two minute epics packed with vitriol and angst. I think I know what Shel would have thought about that. He must have been apoplectic when confronted with the array of songs that Roy had written for the album. How was he expected to turn any of them into Pop singles? There was the twenty two minute McGoohan’s Blues, an eight minute instrumental, a seven minute song about a relationship break-up, a couple of experimental pieces and a couple of Roy’s humorous crowd pleasers. The only really commercial possibility was a song about smoking dope on the steps of City Hall and that was never going to get played on radio. On top of that he was confronted with a hostile Harper who was suspicious of everything Shel wanted to do with his precious songs and only wanted to be in control of his own material.

 

A great recipe for a total disaster – and thus it turned out. The studio was a battlefield and even with great musicians such as Nicky Hopkins and Ron Geesin it was going nowhere. Roy and Shel were never going to get along.

 

Folkjokeopus was hurriedly churned out with a series of first-takes, little rehearsal and the mistakes and glitches left in. Even the cover was a battle. Roy had this idea of making it into a diamond instead of the normal square but Liberty chose to reorientate the cover photo into a standard format. An incandescent Roy went in to Liberty offices to object to what they had done and get it put back to how he wanted it. He told me he was shown into a room and spoke to a monolith. Eventually he had to pay out of his own pocket to get the photo turned how he wanted it and even then they did not do it right and it isn’t quite a diamond as he’d envisaged. I think that summed up the relationship. I think all three parties – Liberty, Shel and Roy – were glad to see the back of each other.

 

I had been going along to as many Roy gigs as was humanly possible to fit in and by this time had become a personal friend. So I had been transfixed by the likes of McGoohan’s Blues, One for All and She’s the One. I knew what powerful songs they were. I couldn’t wait for the album to finally get released following a number of delays, such as the travesty over the cover. When I finally got my hands on it I was so disappointed. I’d probably been expecting too much. This wasn’t as good as what I had been hearing live. Roy was left angry and frustrated and I was left wondering about what might have been. I kept wishing that Roy had brought the whole thing out as a live album. I think that would really have suited all the songs.