Roy Harper isn't a household name--unless, perhaps, the house you're talking about is one of those palatial country estates favored by English rock stars of the '60s and '70s. This wide-ranging career overview includes contributions from Harper champions such as Jimmy Page (yes, Led Zeppelin III's "Hats Off to [Roy] Harper" tips the ol' derby to the cult folk-rocker), David Gilmour (Harper guests on Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar"), Kate Bush, Keith Moon, and Paul McCartney. Which isn't to imply that Hats Off is a star-studded tribute. Contributions by the peripatetic singer-songwriter's famous friends never overshadow Harper's piercing vocals and turbulent lyrics; it's striking that the players on the 1974 track "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues" are Page, Moon, and Ronnie Lane, but it's Harper's raw outburst ("I can destroy you with ease, that's plain / So why don't you leave me in peace, in pain") that carries the day. With tracks dating from 1970 to 1998, this 14-song retrospective offers entrée into the riveting works of a gifted outsider, though intrepid explorers are encouraged to throw themselves into his 1971 masterpiece, Stormcock. --Steven Stolder

Label:      The Right Stuff – 72435-27640-2-0

Format:     CD, Compilation

Country:    US

Released:   Jun 19, 2001

Genre:      Rock

Style:      British Folk-Rock, Psychedelic/Garage, Singer/Songwriter

TRACKLIST:

1           Death Or Glory?   5:05

2           Commune     4:34

3           Me And My Woman 3:52

4           Male Chauvinist Pig Blues 3:32

5           Highway Blues 6:32

6           You 4:33

7           1948ish 5:27

8           Another Day (Live) 3:58

9           Don't You Grieve  2:33

10          Ten Years Ago     3:21

11          These Fifty Years 6:33

12          One Of Those Days In England (Part 1) 3:24

13          Same Old Rock 11:36

14          The Game 6:55