At last we get to hear a track from Roy Harper's much anticipated new album 'Man And Myth', his first for 13 years.. It's the first one he's allowed to be previewed from what the critics are describing as a 5 star release.
Back a year ago their had been an idea to performing some of the songs when they had recorded in the States but that was shut down.
Harper explained when he spoke in an interview with Folk Radio UK around that time.
-
"Whatever you do nowadays, it’ll be on YouTube the next day, we're under-rehearsed, we haven’t seen each other for months, and we’re not going to present something that’s half-cocked for people to see on YouTube. I hate seeing something on YouTube I’ve done the next day, something that’s not quite right. I can’t blame them, they’re fans, but those like us who like to get things right are horrified! So the short answer is no. But that was the plan…"
Anyway that's a year ago, now the track being let go for us is "Time is Temporary". A melancholy lament that reminds a little of Leonard Cohen's delivery but with Roy you always get a musical twist with careful punctuation and an unexpected chord sequence, and of course the guitar playing is in top form. Folk fans will approve the master.
There's just a few select gigs this autumn for those in the UK.
Tue 22 October – LONDON – Royal Festival Hall
Fri 25 October – MANCHESTER – Bridgewater Hall
Sun 27 October – BRISTOL – Colston Hall
Anybody else think that widget picture looks like Willie Nelson?
