Folkjokeopus

This Shel Talmy-produced album is as sprawling and unwieldy as its title. Always a determined eclectic, Harper tries to cover a lot of ground here, and while his effort is impressive, the result is unnervingly inconsistent. The influences of Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch, Donovan, and maybe even early Al Stewart hover over most of this folk-rock. Harper tries to cram too many musical and (especially) lyrical ideas together here, and several of his heart-on-the-sleeve narrative folktales ramble on for too long, with an obscurity that verges on maddening. Some pretty, melodic passages here and there, with adequate folk singing that cracks when he even approaches the upper register. The acoustic guitar work is uniformly excellent, making this confused late-'60s timepiece sound rather more impressive than it should. ~ Richie Unterberger