Stormcock is the fifth studio album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. First released in May 1971 by Harvest Records, it is widely considered his best record.
Harper was inspired by a trip to, and time spent in, Big Sur, California. "Me and My Woman" is a love song backed by David Bedford's orchestral arrangements (Bedford would also collaborate on some of Harper's later releases). "Hors d'Oeuvres" was inspired by the fate of Caryl Chessman who spent nearly 12 years on death row – at the time the longest ever in the United States – before being executed in a gas chamber in May 1960. "One Man Rock and Roll Band" is a critique on the pointlessness of violence.
"The Same Old Rock" is an attack on government, the history of war, and organized religion featuring guitar work and a solo by Jimmy Page.
The album's four extended songs showcase Harper's talents, both as a songwriter and guitarist. But, Stormcock "...epitomized a hybrid genre that had no exclusive purveyors save Harper — epic progressive acoustic."
At the time, the album was not particularly well promoted by Harper's record label. Harper later stated:
They hated Stormcock. No singles. No way of promoting it on the radio. They said there wasn't any money to market it. Stormcock dribbled out.
Nonetheless, Stormcock would remain a favourite album of critics and Harper's fans. The Times commented on the album in 2011, calling it a, "masterpiece of eccentricity". In October 2013, NME placed Stormcock at number 377 in their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
Although Jimmy Page performs on the album, he was credited as "S. Flavius Mercurius" for contractual reasons
Stormcock is a progressive folk album by Roy Harper. It contains just 4 very long songs. In some of the songs that's fine as they have some evolution during the song and dynamics change. The first song of the album on the other hand is for the most part a three chord progression that is rather boring, but it like the theme about Caryl Chessman. The album also shows Roy Harper is an excellent guitar player. Most of all I learned what a stormcock is. So my dirty bird name collection is ever expending and it deserves it's rightful place next to the Great Tit.
There’s some great guitar buoyed by solid production on this LP, but thematically it’s a bit of an odd one. Harper has an ear for enchanting melodies, but letting the tracks run 10-12 minutes means those progressions are beat to death. Would’ve much rather heard 8 x 5 minute tracks with varied ideas than 4 x 10 minute epics that get stuck in a rut.
The fact that every song on this album is already on my liked songs playlist should give you an idea of how I feel about this album. I went on a big Roy Harper kick a few years ago, when it dawned on me how much influence he had on other bands I loved, especially Jethro Tull and Led Zeppelin. In fact, you could say that so many of my favorite Jethro Tull songs that I've loved most of my life owe a direct debt of gratitude to Roy Harper. As I dug into Roy's catalog, I started appreciating him for himself, not just the influence he had on others. This album is one of his best. 5 stars.
I can admit with some embarrassment that this is an artist name I pretty much recognized solely from a Led Zeppelin song title. Very strong material in the guitarist singer-songwriter field and the influences on a lot of artists I admire is immediately evident. Gets into some into some wierd territory lyrically and the vocals are sometimes on the edge of going off the rails. But it is a bold and individualistic wierdness.
I imagine if I had stumbled across this when I was a dj at a college radio station I would think it was the coolest little find ever. Sounds very Gensis-esque. I think the pressure of me asking myself “does this belong on this list?” Makes me over think some of my rankings on here. This was pretty good! I’m glad I listened and I wouldn’t have heard it if not for this website. Isn’t that enough?
January 15, 2026
HL: "The Same Old Rock", "Me and My Woman"
Hats off to Roy! I'm sorry it took this long to hear this.
I've been guilty of "one and done-ing" a lot of these albums, but this one took 2 full listens just to process what I was listening to.
That is, some dense, tangled, proggy folk. And I am here for it! Have a cigar, boy
Fun to learn he is the source of the Led Zeppelin song and also sung Have a Cigar. Didn't know that. Kinda interesting stuff but I feel like the music has been adequately covered by other artists.
My personal rating: 4/5
My rating relative to the list: 4/5
Should this have been included on the original list? No.
Honestly never really looked into Roy Harper before, but had come across his name like many due to the Led Zep. This really deserves to be on the list, great album from clearly a hugely influential and underrated artists.
Pretty nice, dreamy quality to this album of very long songs. I wasn’t able to totally get into it on the first listen but I wouldn’t object to hearing it again. I can see why this album did not achieve wide appeal but then again not all good things should.
Sometimes the album title just makes no sense. I’d say that’s accurate here. Roy Harper created what I would call prog folk rock. Not many try it because it sounds looney but this was the best way I could describe this 4 song album of real world rock. It was different and pretty enjoyable. It’s not remarkable but it’s cool. 6.6/10
Not really sure how I feel about this. It's very folky and the songs are a bit too long. The guitar is great, but it's buried beneath other stuff I don't care for. Shame.
So I heard this one on another long list but if left not lasting impression. Listening to it for the second time now I feel I see why someone would suggest this. Very good record. Great writing and execution on all tracks.
Stormcock is a bit twee, too folksy and whimsical for me and doesn't really feel like it's a 50-year old album worth listening to, though I guess it has meaning to some people. If each track was shorter it'd be more imnpressive but it gets boring because there is too much of a good thing, so when it hits the right notes, it really doubles down and drags it out far too much. Last track is nice. 2/5.
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