ONCE AGAIN

I've always kind of wanted to try out Barclay James Harvest, mostly since they are kind of in the threshold within the more baroque side of the classic prog rock coin. In a way they are sort of the middle child between the early roots of prog with The Moody Blues and Procol Harum, as well as the more symphonically issued Renaissance and Curved Air. Such as this, I often find discussion surrounding the group...lacking for a better term. I mean, maybe you may hear word of mouth of Everyone Is Everybody Else once or twice in the prog rock community, but aside from that you kinda barely hear them. Heck I think I have heard more on the readily obscure acts like Devil Doll and Semiramis. Maybe it is just the circles I frequent. I mean, arguably their most popular record, Once Again, has about 804 ratings on RYM, and 302 ratings on ProgArchives. So, maybe they aren't as obscure as I thought, but rather simply underappreciated.

And underappreciated they are because Once Again, being my start to Barclay James Harvest's music, is an amazing introduction to the band. Maybe not a masterpiece per se, but it ain't no slouch either. The biggest things that draw me into this record is more of the fact the group is able to merge more popular genres within a symphonic pudding quite well, much like what some of their contemporaries have done, but in their own little way. They have elements of pop rock, and folk rock in their music within their proggy mix, creating a dynamic and lush environment for the group to play around with, almost to a point of rivaling some scores off of Days of Future Passed and Shine On Brightly.

I think the best track in this regard is Mocking Bird. It's the opening to the second side of the album, and for an opener it is amazing. Starting with this beautiful acoustic intro that fades into rather pretty singing from John Lees, as it progresses from a mere stream into an oceanic express of orchestral twiddling. The build up towards the orchestra is absolutely killer! It is extremely dynamic and lovely, while still keeping up the musical elements that persist throughout the song.

But the real kicker is the lyrics. Never in my life had I expected an album that sounds so pastoral and happy to have really dark, almost macabre lyrics. I mean, take Mocking Bird again for example. 'Bless the tears of love now gone, there's a mocking bird singing songs in the trees'. It is a song about lost love, and in an almost Raven-like sense, a mocking bird comes along and, of course, mocks the poor fool out of reach. The album is full of this kind of stuff. 'Forget the lives of others who are gone' off of Song for Dying being about...dying; 'For happiness I'm searching for in vain' off of Ball And Chain being about not being able to find the happiness you wish; 'Wake up in the morning, frown across your face' off of Vanessa Simmons being about living a life of depression. I can go all day. I think the band portrays these emotions of sadness and grief amazingly, to the point where they fit very well in their more happy musical direction.

Like Mocking Bird from a musical point of view, I think there is one track that is brilliant from a lyrical point of view, and that is Happy Old World. It starts off with the singer talking about feeling lost in a world of prejudice and disarray, almost as if they are in space while everyone else is blind worms, before realizing this song they are singing is not meant for their heart and mind, and so decides to end it all, asking the listener to close the blinds in privacy for their inevitability. It is a simple verse, chorus, verse, chorus song, but it feels almost self aware in a way, to an almost creepy level. It is like the song took a life of its own, possessed if you will, and sees not a happy old world, but rather a world slowly getting worse and worse. It is a subversion of those simple feel good songs from the 60s, and it is masterfully done.

In fact, and this is a little random, but Happy Old World reminds me of this indie horror game called Doki Doki Literature Club, particularly the character of Sayori. Maybe it is just because right now I am sort of in a hyperfixation with the game, but whenever I hear this song, I think of Sayori. I guess Barclay James Harvest is now related to a psychological horror dating sim to me. Not that I am complaining, I love merging prog with the other stuff I love. I mean, who doesn't?

This album does have one critique and that is simply put they do sort of sound like a Moody Blues clone here and there in the music. I wouldn't say to the extent of calling them a poor man's Moody Blues (see what I did there), but they do at least show their inspiration a bit on their sleeves in a few scenarios. Heck, their best song Mocking Bird sort of does sound like something you'd hear off of Days Of Future Passed, maybe a bit too much. While this isn't a big issue, it does sort of make me a tad miffed here and there.

While Barclay James Harvest may not be the most talked about group, they do know the right ingredients to satisfy a progophile's needs. I will check more of them out, heck I already have by listening to their self titled debut and Everyone Is Everybody Else the other day. Who knows, maybe one of their albums will end up being a masterpiece to my ears. I mean, if this album is anything to go off of it wouldn't be too far fetched...oh, anyhow, listen to this one if you wanna hear some greatly underappreciated early prog!

Best tracks: Happy Old World, Mocking Bird

Worst tracks: N/A