ROY HARPER 'LIFEMASK' W/JIMMY PAGE 

MINT 1st PRESSING 1973 HARVEST UK PROG FOLK!

SEE DISCOGS DETAILS & ALLMUSIC REVIEW BELOW

PRIVATECOL48 NOW SHIPS AROUND THE GLOBE 

VIA eBay's INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

EVERY DISK IS PRE-PACKAGED IN AN 'INVEST IN VINYL' OUTER SLEEVE. PROFESSIONALLY PACKAGED AND SHIPPED USING VALUE MAILERS' CARDBOARD LINERS AND RECORD MAILERS

Lifemask Review by Brian Downing

Courtesy of AllMusic.com

Lifemask was an emotional if not musical rebirth for Roy Harper, who nearly lost his life in 1972 due to a rare congenital circulatory disorder. When the album was released in early 1973, it showed Harper refining the acoustic music he had perfected on 1971's Stormcock. Some of the songs on the album previously appeared in a motion picture entitled Made, but the sound is nonetheless consistent throughout. "Highway Blues" and "South Africa" are the best-known songs on this set, and have remained concert mainstays for many years. The former is a strong opener and added a touch of synthesizer to Harper's instrumental stable, while the latter was a political comment on apartheid in the guise of a touching love song. "Little Lady" and "Bank of the Dead" (featuring Jimmy Page) are fairly similar in sound and context, but remain pleasant, if not classic, cuts anyway. The album-closing "The Lord's Prayer" is quite possibly the most confounding piece in Harper's catalog. It has all the benchmarks of one of his classics -- epic, album-side length, poetically obscure lyrics, many musical movements, and, as usual, guitar help from Jimmy Page. However, despite its potential, the song's a bit boring and doesn't approach Harper's former or future epics in terms of listenability. Despite that, Lifemask remains a strong album from Harper's progressive folk period, even if it is a notch below its predecessor, Stormcock.

DISCOGS DETAILS: Courtesy of Discogs

Roy Harper – Lifemask

More images

Label:

Harvest – SHVL 808, Harvest – 1E 064 ◦ 05232

Format:

Vinyl, LP, Album

Country:

UK

Released:

1973

Genre:

Rock

Style:

Folk Rock, Acoustic

Tracklist

Hide Credits A1 Highway Blues Drums – Laurie Allen* Guitar, Bass, Synthesizer, Vocals – Roy Harper Drums – Laurie Allen* Guitar, Bass, Synthesizer, Vocals – Roy Harper A2 All Ireland Guitar, Harp, Bells, Vocals – Roy Harper Guitar, Harp, Bells, Vocals – Roy Harper A3 Little Lady Guitar, Vocals – Roy Harper Guitar, Vocals – Roy Harper A4 Bank Of The Dead Bass – Brian Hodges (2) Drums – Tony Carr Guitar – Jimmy Page Guitar, Vocals – Roy Harper Bass – Brian Hodges (2) Drums – Tony Carr Guitar – Jimmy Page Guitar, Vocals – Roy Harper A5 South Africa Guitar, Vocals – Roy Harper Guitar, Vocals – Roy Harper The Lord's Prayer Bass – Brian Hodges (2) Bongos – Steve Broughton, Tony Carr Drums – Brian Davison Flute – Ray Warleigh Lead Guitar – Jimmy Page Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer, Bass – Roy Harper Bass – Brian Hodges (2) Bongos – Steve Broughton, Tony Carr Drums – Brian Davison Flute – Ray Warley* Lead Guitar – Jimmy Page Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer, Bass – Roy Harper Ba Poem Bb Modal Song Parts I to IV Bc Front Song Bd Middle Song Be End Song (Front Song Reprise)

Companies, etc.

• Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Record Company – EMI
• Published By – Coronado Music
• Published By – KPM
• Published By – Western Music Ltd.

Credits

• Engineer [Engineering Supported By] – Nick Webb
• Engineer [Responsible For Engineering] – John Leckie
• Lacquer Cut By – Chris Blair
• Producer – Peter Jenner
• Sleeve – Po*, Hipgnosis (2), Storm*
• Written-By – Roy Harper

Notes

First UK issue in a gimmick sleeve, opening at the front from the middle.
1st pressing : beginning of rim text is "The Gramophone ~". SEE PHOTO!

Two sleeve variations exist, differing by the inside flaps :
- This version has the beginning of the poem "The Lord's Prayer" on the right flap, and credits for this song + label and company logos on the LEFT flap
- Another version has the beginning of the poem "The Lord's Prayer" on the left flap and credits + logos on the RIGHT flap

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Side A label bracketed): SHVL.808A
• Matrix / Runout (Side B label bracketed): SHVL.808B
• Matrix / Runout (Variant 1 Side A runout stamped): SHVL 808 A - 5
• Matrix / Runout (Variant 1 Side B runout stamped): SHVL 808 B - 3
• Matrix / Runout (Variant 2 Side A runout stamped): SHVL 808 A - 4
• Matrix / Runout (Variant 2 Side B runout stamped): SHVL 808 B - 3