The Passions of Great Fortune, Vol. 1

I am sure others of you have travelled the same path -- recently I finally set up equipment to transfer all my original vinyl LPs to iTunes. The delay was in finding a satisfactory import EQ that would do justice to the incredible tonal range locked up in all those disks. Well, waiting the wait also put me out of touch with a trove of musical thrills that filled my days during my 20s and 30s. Now I am rediscovering these gems of the 60s and 70s and their makers. Pearls Before Swine, St. Stephen, Lothar & the Hand People, to name a few. I am happy to see that Apple has pulled some of their work onto iTunes and made it available again. I, too, have a copy of "When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease," and it's in respectable condition, but definitely would buy it here in iTunes to save it and my other fragile disks. Spedding and Bruford do everything here we have come to expect from them - a work ethic that delivers an addicting groove. Buy this compilation and you will get a taste of Roy -- and a fair dose of his more laid back introspective side -- whiile we wait for the licensing wonks to give up their fraction of a cent per song that stands in the way of Roy's full disclosure here in iTunes! The recurring theme I keep reading in the fan reviews of interest to me is for pressing Apple to back up their incredible technological and marketing prowess with a serious reassuring commitment to musical eclecticism. Apple, be an agent for renewed curiosity on the part of today's listening youth! But we have to let our freak flags fly, too. Take down that soft top whenever possible on a sunny day and disturb the peace with some of these slightly off-kilter, often unfinished-sounding but seductive tunes! Or is that too "two thousand and early?"

i can't believe the years i've missed not listening to Roy 's music. hey...you guys if you don't have this yet, this is definitely a must have...gotta have it!!!

I haven't heard this album but RH is a five star musician. I used to go see him at Les Cousins when at univ in London. we all thought Al Stewart ok but Roy Harper had way more guts, guitar prowess and songwriting creativity. I agree with most of the other comments here. Roy Harper is another Nick Drake waiting to happen. My favorite album of his is "Come Out Fighting Genghis Smith". Nowhere in the USA can I find even mention of this gem. Please, iTunes, release the rest of this man's music to today's generation.

Listen, I have been trying to get into Roy Harper for a long while. But when I come to iTunes, they don't have any of his best work; all they have are compilation albums. I REALLY want to buy "Stormcock" and "HQ", but neither of them are available here, and on Amazon, they are only available new as pricy imports. Why can't you just put full, regular albums on here Apple? You have done this with many bands of mine, like Marillion and 10cc and The Buggles. It is really annoying that I cannot find much of what I am looking for. But, I suppose that it is my fault for liking obscure music. What I have heard of "The Same Old Rock" and "Me and My Woman" shows that both of these tracks are brilliant masterworks.

'Another Day', Me & My Woman', and 'The Same Old Rock' are essential Harper, and still haunting 30 years after I first heard them. Worth the price for these alone.

Definitely a great album by one of Britain's great song writers. But one thing bothers me. What ever happened to the album I had some years ago. When an old cricketeer leaves the crease? Sorry if the spelling is wrong. I really liked the game pt.1 among the other songs on the album. I really would love it if there were a copy of this album on this sight to download. Others would probably do the same to.

It is really amazing how unknown this guy is. How many millions of people bought Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" LP? And how many know that's Roy Harper singing the immortal lines "Come in here dear, have a cigar, you're gonna go far...the band is just fantastic, that is really what I think, oh by the way, which one's Pink?", not Gilmore, not Waters, Roy Damned Harper!! In 1985 he and JIMMY PAGE did an entire album together with Tony Franklin on bass called "Jugula" on Beggars Banquet label.Kate Bush cameoed on his IRS cd entitled "One". This Mortal Coil/Cocteau Twins covered "Another Day" for the 4AD label. The Zepplin part is easy, "Hats Off To Roy Harper" on Zep III. Absolutely one of the great unknows. This compilation is spotty, there's too much great work to choose from to make such a short compilation. Personally I like his most "electric" album called "When An Old Crickter Leaves The Crease", strangely called HQ on the German import cd. There is hard rockin', The Game-Parts 1-5 with Bill Bruford on drums, John Paul Jones on bass, Chris Spedding on guitar, as well as one of his finest sad,sad,sad songs, "Old Cricketer". A few songs from his awesome"Bullinamingvase" album/cd are present here in this collection but the full collection of songs on the original leaves this collection in the dust. Indeed, his early works are far more folky than these two finely polished studio gems. It's a shame they aren't all available on disc. Why don't they just put them all for sale through itunes, doesn't cost them 1/1000th of what it takes to manufacture a cd and they are so essential. OK< later....

Not a bad album but it's like most collections -not quite there. Check out Stormcock, Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion, Folkjokeopus, Flat Baroque and Berserk, Lifemask and Valentine. THe man is like most geniuses -many times brilliantly insightful in a way that only poets can know and shamelessly self-absorbed and pretty crap at other times. Explore this guy and if you dig it, he'll change your life. Rock on Roy. Have a piece of Clonakilty black on me.

If you only know the name Roy Harper from the Zep tune of that name, then do yourself a big favor and buy this record. It's simply beautiful. Zep wrote 'Hats Off to Harper' to salute the fact that this guy had not and will never sell out. He plays by his own terms. As for this disc, it's a fantastic place to start in terms of getting to know this guy. These are gorgeous songs with warmth, romance and drama plus great tunes and Harper's incredible voice. The production is outstanding too. iTunes was invented for discovering music like this.

-it's so worth it to get "The Same Old Rock" and "Me & My Woman." I was lucky to see him live, if you get a chance, go. Roy is an incredible talent. It is disappointing that ITunes only has this album; there's so many more gems to discover from his others.