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Valentine
Studio album by Roy Harper
Released	February 14, 1974
Recorded	Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre	Folk rock, progressive folk, folk baroque
Length	41:58
Label	Harvest
Producer	Peter Jenner, Roy Harper
Roy Harper chronology
Lifemask (1973) Valentine (1974) HQ (1975)
Alternative cover
1989 Awareness Records release artwork
Alternative cover
1994 Science Fricton release artwork

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Valentine is the seventh album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released in 1974 by Harvest Records.

History

The album contains mainly love songs and was written whilst Harper was writing and recording his previous albums (Stormcock and Lifemask).

Promotional material at the time included full-page advertisements, in magazines such as ZigZag, of Harper wearing only a pair of socks and the words "music to droop your drawers to".

Tracks on compilation albums

A retrospective compilation album A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology 1969–1974, was released in 2007. This 3-disc compilation contains the album track "Twelve Hours Of Sunset".

Album cover

The album artwork has altered over the years according to the release label. The original release featured a carbon portrait of Harper erasing himself with a rubber. It was drawn by Joe Petagno whilst working for Hipgnosis The 1989 Awareness Records release featured a portrait of Harper by his then wife. In 1994, the Science Friction release reverted to a portrait of Harper, very similar to the original release, this time drawn by an old friend of Harper's, James Edgar. The most recent release reverts to the album's original Petagno drawn artwork.

Cover versions

David Bedford, who orchestrated the album, composed a 35-minute choral suite, commissioned by the BBC, "Twelve Hours of Sunset", based on Harper's song of the same name, which was given its live premier at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 8 August 1975, by the BBC Singers, BBC Choral Society and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with Simon Lindley on organ, conducted by John Poole, as part of the 75th Proms. Another performance for BBC Radio was on 29 August 1997, on BBC Radio 3, by the Crouch End Festival Chorus and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with Jacques van Steen conducting, as part of a 60th birthday tribute to Bedford, who was also interviewed.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Roy Harper, except "North Country" (Bob Dylan) arranged by Harper

Personnel

• Roy Harper – guitar and vocals
• David Bedford – orchestral arrangements
• Steve Broughton – percussion
• Pete Sears – electric bass on "Forbidden Fruit" and "Acapulco Gold"
• Mike Gibbs – brass arrangement on "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues"
• Ronnie Lane – electric bass on "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues"
• Keith Moon – percussion on "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues"
• Jimmy Page – electric guitar on "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues"
• Max Middleton – piano on "Acapulco Gold"
• Marty Simon – percussion on "Acapulco Gold"
• Tim Walker – guitar on "Che"
• Ian Anderson – flute on "Home" (studio)

Technical

• John Leckie – sound engineer

References

1. http://www.petesears.com/1994/04/1994-roy-harper-valentine/
2. Valentine at AllMusic
3. http://endofanearrecords.blogspot.com/ Promotional photo
4. http://itemequalstotem.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html Artwork by Joe Petagno / Hipgnosis
5. "Proms 75: Part 1". BBC Genome. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
6. "Hear and Now". BBC Genome. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
7. David Bedford - "Twelve Hours of Sunset" (1974) on YouTube

External links

• Roy Harper official site
• Excellent Roy Harper resource

• Roy Harper (singer) albums
• 1974 albums
• Chrysalis Records albums
• Harvest Records albums
• Albums with cover art by Hipgnosis
• Albums with cover art by Joe Petagno
• Albums produced by Peter Jenner