Pre-orders are now being accepted online for a newly remastered CD version of Roy Harper's 1971 album, which features Jimmy Page on one track.
This month marks the second time the album Stormcock will have been available on CD – it was first available in 1994 on Harper's label, Science Friction – although this new reissue improves on the old one sonically.
"Certain lines and certain words will not chop your ears off at high volume any more," says a quote attributed to Harper himself, displayed at a fan discussion site named after the album. "Bottom end is taken care of properly."
Recorded in 1970, the album's four tracks include the 12-minute opus "The Same Old Rock." It is the cut that includes Page's guitar solo. The album, originally issued on the Harvest label in 1971, credited the solo to the pseudonym S. Flavius Mercurius.
Preorders for the remastered disc and expanded 20-page booklet of expanded liner notes and photographs are now being accepted online at the Roy Harper Shop. Unexpected delays prevented the artist's official store from offering the album on the previously announced date of Oct. 15.
Harper has long been a friend of Led Zeppelin's members, becoming one of only two actual people named in a Led Zeppelin song title. Led Zeppelin III, released in 1970, closes with a blues medley titled "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper." (The other actual person named in a Led Zeppelin song title is Ian "Stu" Stewart, who contributed piano to Zep's "Boogie with Stu.")
Page also played on Harper's 1973 disc Lifemask, and Harper's 1975 album HQ includes John Paul Jones on bass. Harper and Page released an album together in 1985 called Whatever Happened to Jugula? Science Friction reissues of these albums are all available at the Roy Harper Shop.
As reported earlier on LedZeppelinNews.com, the new Stormcock disc is also said to contain at least one hidden surprise fans might appreciate. "There are one or two secrets," Harper said of the reissue. "You may eventually spot them. It won't matter much to the general public that much, but it sure does matter to me."
Jason Bonham
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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Pre-orders accepted for remastered Roy Harper album with Jimmy Page solo
About the author
Steve "The Lemon" Sauer is a writer and musician based in Boca Raton, Fla., who has dedicated a portion of his life researching the history of rock group Led Zeppelin and monitoring the ongoing careers of the band's surviving members. Although he was barely a year old when Led Zeppelin broke up and it took him until his teen years to appreciate the music, it didn't take long to make up for it.
In 2007, Steve launched Lemon Squeezings: Led Zeppelin News to cover the lead-up to the band's reunion concert at the end of that year. Since then, he has closely examined every rumor of a followup tour since then, often dispelling or clarifying misinformation perpetrated by the mainstream media. Using his journalistic training, Steve has also uncovered some facts and accounts previously unreported elsewhere.
At age 18, he began publishing On This Day In Led Zeppelin History, a daily newsletter detailing the interactions of members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, and their manager, Peter Grant. The newsletter is located at www.OnThisDayInLedZeppelinHistory.com.
He enjoys uncovering stories and has employed various methods to communicate those stories to Led Zeppelin's vast fan base, utilizing terrestrial radio and the many facets of the Internet: from Usenet newsgroups to plain e-mail and now Facebook and Twitter. Steve also connects with live audiences when performing as a backup vocalist and keyboard player with various bands, including past onstage appearances with three cover or tribute acts performing the music of Led Zeppelin.
Do you have a news tip to share with Steve? Do you have something you would like him to write about? Would you like to book him for a speaking engagement? He can be contacted by e-mail at Steve at LedZeppelinNews.com.
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