BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST

When I got to know Barclay James Harvest (BJH) in the late seventies I obviously bought a number of lp's from the British quartet. My favorite in particular was "Once Again" (1971), with its colorful cover showing a figurative half butterfly on it. Each side of the lp opened better than good. She Said and Mocking Bird, I have listened to them over and over again. And the other songs? Because of my enthusiasm, they effortlessly went along in the same gulp.

Over the years BJH has had to deal with many lawsuits and keyboardist Woolly Wolstenholme and drummer Mel Pritchard have passed away as well. Personally, I have been busy gathering their oeuvre together.

The remaster, which was released by EMI in 2002, has re-awakened my interest in the album, in fact: I am more enthusiastic than ever. I can say that over the years I have started to listen to music with more depth and that clearly has an impact on my findings regarding "Once Again". Especially the combination of sixties with progressive and symphonic rock is beautifully portrayed.

Opener She Said is special in terms of composition. Two premature songs, Miss Bailey and And I Will Always Love Her, were merged into a new song and no, the songs were not just glued together. From one song the verse was taken and from the other the chorus. Ingenious. Due to its nice guitar runs it has resulted in one of BJH's most powerful songs. It also has a remarkable mood tilt when peacefully a solo occurs on the recorder. Les Holroyd sings this song which makes it a really nice piece.

The next three songs all manage to hold the atmosphere well, despite the fact that the powerful band sound of She Said has made way for more moody sounds. For example, Happy Old World has an almost pastoral glow that is reminiscent of the light-hearted material of Genesis from that time. The keyboard work sounds very inspired, especially the organ in the choruses. With Song For Dying, the band makes it crystal clear that the Moody Blues were their great source of inspiration. It's Mellotron all over the place.

Since the album was recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studio, John Lees was able to use John Lennon's Epiphone guitar. The instrument can be heard in Galadriel where subtle licks are played at the start. The lion's share, however, is reserved for a large symphony orchestra conducted by Robert Godfrey. Although it is very beautiful, all the butterflies really start fluttering in the monumental Mocking Bird, a song with a beautiful structure and dynamic tempo and atmosphere changes driven by the orchestra. Strong themes and evocative vocal parts have placed this song among the top classics for years.

After Mocking Bird, it's actually a bit done with the record. With its acoustic guitar, Vanessa Simmons is more like a friendly campfire song and the Ball And Chain, written by Wolstenholme, starts as a reasonable rocker but ends with the screaming vocals which ruins the song completely. Lady Loves can be described as a side song with a guest role for a very young Alan Parsons on the jaw harp. Well, if you hear poing, poing, poing, it's not your WhatsApp.

The remaster contains five more bonus tracks including a previously unreleased orchestral piece. We also hear a live in the studio recording and some remixes. It really doesn't add that much to it. The true glory of "Once Again" is clearly in the first five songs. They give you such a good feeling that you take the rest for granted, effortlessly.

Originally posted on www.progenrock.com

British band Barclay James Harvest (BJH) delivered its seventh studio album, "Octoberon," on October 1, 1976. Initially, the plan was to record the album in San Francisco, following the success of its predecessor, "Time Honoured Ghost," under the guidance of top producer Elliot Mazer (known for his work with Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, and others). However, due to Mazer's unavailability, the band returned home and recorded the album during the summer of 1976 at The Strawberry Recording Studios, self-producing it.

When the album hit the shelves, it became evident that the warm Western sound perfectly complemented the melancholic music. "Octoberon" marked a return to the original symphonic sound by incorporating strings and choir into various tracks. Let your imagination speak, and envision the Shakespearean 'angel' on the cover nodding approvingly.

The album features seven tracks, ranging from nice to outstanding in quality. It starts strong, albeit unusually, with a ballad, The World Goes On. This Les Holroyd composition has all the elements to captivate the listener, with tingling acoustic guitar, enchanting vocals from Holroyd, depth provided by string arrangements, and a sparkling closing guitar solo.

The second track, May Day, stands out for its excellent organ playing and a brilliant shift in atmosphere when the choir takes over. The complex vocal arrangement intertwines various traditionals, with male and female voices daringly harmonizing?a stroke of genius.

The album maintains a perfect flow with Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme's composition, Ra, dedicated to the Egyptian sun god. Wolstenholme excels as both a composer and keyboardist, delivering orchestral sounds and smooth synthesizer tones building up to a hectic finale, concluding Side A.

The next four tracks attempt to appeal to a broader audience. Rock'N'Roll Star features somewhat funky guitar work, reminiscent of a One Of These Nights-style guitar lick. The band's credibility allows them to brush this off with a smile. Polk Street Rag is a catchy number with John Lees' signature guitar focus and a fuller band sound. Believe In Me is a somewhat dreamy song with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young-like harmonies, contributing to the album's dreamlike character.

The closing track, Suiside? is the climax of "Octoberon." Musically rich with beautiful melodies, precise harmonies, and masterful solos, it tells a captivating story of someone contemplating suicide by jumping off a building. The lyrics take a mysterious twist towards the end, leaving the listener wondering if the man might have been pushed. In the final minutes, the events replay in a radio drama style, concluding with the fall of the man.

"Octoberon" is a pivotal album in Barclay James Harvest's career, holding onto their traditional values while looking towards the future. For the author, it served as an introduction to the band, and I have remained a fan ever since.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com

Review Nº 811

"Eyes Of The Universe" is the tenth studio album of Barclay James Harvest and that was released in 1979. This album represents the first change into the line up of group because their keyboardist and founder member Woolly Wolstenholme left the band after the release of their previous studio album "XII". This was the group's first shake up inside the line up of Barclay James Harvest until then. Woolly Wolstenholme started a short solo musical career, before retiring from the music business to pursue farming. He only returned to music activity, after a withdrawal of almost twenty years, accompanying John Lees on the studio album "Nexus", released in 1999, a musical project of John Lees named Barclay James Harvest Trough The Eyes Of John Lees. With his departure Barclay James Harvest lost some of their sparkle and originality, but the most important at all, they lost the last traces of progressivity in the band's music.

In consequence of the departure of Woolly Wolstenholme from the group, the three remaining original band's members invited two other musicians to participate on this album, Kevin McAlea (keyboards) and Alan Fawkes (saxophone).

"Eyes Of The Universe" has eight tracks. The first track "Love On The Line" written by Les Holroyd is a good song, very predictable but also very well arranged as usual by the band. It's a kind of a song with some grandiosity and splendour, instilled by massive synthesizer performances and great guitar riffs. It's a very nice song to ear. The second track "Alright Down Get Boogie" written by John Lees isn't for sure one of the best musical moments of John Lees. It's a song that intended to sound rock but is too repetitive and unimaginative to be considered a good rock song. It should be a disco song, but it failed too. Sincerely, it's a song somewhat unsuccessfully in both aspects. The third track "The Song (They Love To Sing)" written by Les Holroyd is, for me, one of the best tracks on the album. It starts beautifully with a theme performed by synthesizer played in a percussive way. It's a very beautiful song, very well sung which isn't always usual in Les Holroyd. The song reminds me, in many moments, the sound of Genesis. This is, in my opinion, a great Les Holroyd composition. The fourth track "Skin Flicks" written by John Lees is one of the most melodic tracks on the album. It's a song with nice guitar work including a good guitar solo in the end of the song. However, and as with "Alright Down Get Boogie", this is another song that can't represent, for sure, one of the best musical moments of John Lees. The fifth track "Sperratus" written by John Lees is, on the contrary, a better song than his two previous songs. This is probably the best contribution of John Lees to this album. It's a song that creates a perfect musical ambience of a truly symphonic progressive song with a perfect and distinct energy of pompous rock. This song represents without doubt a great musical moment. The sixth track "Rock & Roll Lady" written by Les Holroyd is a very nice pop rock song. It's a song that reminds me strongly "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" from the album "Agents Of Fortune" of Blue Oyster Cult. The similitude is, for me, so big, and as the album from Blue Oyster Cult was previously released in 1976, I think sincerely that it's almost an impossible coincidence. It isn't as energetic as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is, but however, it's an interesting song with fine guitar work. The seventh track "Capricorn" written by John Lees is another melodic soft rock song with interesting lyrics about the violence and destruction made by mankind. This is also the other really good song composed by John Lees to this album, which almost sounds like a classic John Lees musical composition. The eighth and last track "Play To The World" written by Les Holroyd is a beautiful and the most symphonic song created by Les Holroyd for this album. It's a very beautiful ballad very well performed and, once again, is very well sung by Les Holroyd. The song ends beautifully with a saxophone work, which isn't anything usual in the band. This is truly a song that represents a good and beautiful musical moment. I think it closes the album in a very beautiful way, indeed.

Conclusion: "Eyes Of The Universe" remains, for me, a very good album. But it has a very huge problem to me. Woolly Wolstenholme is no longer in the group. Woolly Wolstenholme saw all his musical proposals being rejected by the other band's members. Disillusioned with those rejections and the musical direction that was being taken by Barclay James Harvest, he left the group. He even said: "I felt that we had lost some of our original ideas. It became apparent to me that unless things changed, I couldn't see myself working with the band for much longer". It's true that Barclay James Harvest never was one of the most progressive bands in the world. However, and in my humble opinion, with the departure of Woolly Wolstenholme, Barclay James Harvest lost permanently, their progressive musical influence and the typical classic symphonic compositions made by him in the band. So, despite all those things, and as I said before, I still keep the opinion that "Eyes Of The Universe" is a good album, where curiously, the compositions made by Les Holroyd are in general better than those made by John Lees. However, "Eyes Of The Universe" isn't a true progressive rock album. Thus, it can never be regarded as an excellent addition to any progressive rock collection. So, 3 stars only.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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

Review Nº 772

"XII" is the ninth studio album of Barclay James Harvest and that was released in 1978. This album represents a mark in the musical career of the group because it was the last studio album with the presence of the keyboardist and founder member of the band Woolly Wolstenholme. He left the group due to musical differences with the other band's members. He had become disillusioned because the band moved away from their initial progressive roots, and he started his solo musical career, creating his own band. The limited success of the group leads him to withdraw from the music life and dedicate his life to an organic farm. "XII" is unusually a long vinyl album and is also their last album with a Mellotron.

"XII" has eleven tracks. The first track "Fantasy: Loving Is Easy" written by John Lees is a very solid song to open the album. It's a straightforward rocker with nice lyrics and strong guitar work with a good riff, very well accompanied by Hammond and synthesizer works. The second track "Berlin" written by Les Holroyd is a song inspired by separation of the citizens of both sides of Berlin by the wall. It's mainly a beautiful ballad performed essentially by Les Holroyd on piano and Woolly Wolstenholme on keyboards. This is a very emotional song that became a classic in their musical career. Sincerely, this is, for me, one of the finest compositions made by Les Holroyd. The third track "Classics: A Tale Of Two Sixties" written by John Lees is a very melodic rock song in the same vein of "Titles" from their album "Time Honoured Ghosts". This song was an attempt by John Lees to revisit his early musical influences and it also represents his personal homage to the music of the 60's. The fourth track "Turning In Circles" written by Les Holroyd is a very good and interesting rock ballad with some good guitar riffs and excellent bass work. It's true that this is a commercial track not very original but very well played and nicely and tastefully arranged. The fifth track "Fact: The Closed Shop" written by John Lees is a song based on the political and trade union situation in Britain in the late 70's. Musically, this is, for me, a very surprising song. It's a song with some medieval influences composed in a folk/rock style. It's a song that reminds me strongly "Part Of The Union", a song on "Bursting At The Seams" of Strawbs. This is, for me, one of the finest moments on the album. The sixth track "In Search Of England" written by Woolly Wolstenholme is a song about the conflict of youthful inexperience versus the wisdom of age. This is really the last great classic symphonic composition made by Woolly Wolstenholme with the band. This song represents one of the great progressive moments on the album and it's also one of the best compositions made by him. The seventh track "Sip Of Wine" written by Les Holroyd is a pleasant and nice rock ballad not very original but at the same time is very well performed and very well arranged. This is also a song with good guitar work. The eighth track "Harbour" written by Woolly Wolstenholme is a song that counts the feeling and the reflection of to return home after a long journey. It's a very simple ballad with an extremely beautiful melody and rich harmonies, very well supported by nice guitar work. This is a completely different song from "In Search Of England" and represents the other musical side of Woolly Wolstenholme. This is also one of my favourite songs on the album. The ninth track "Science Fiction: Nova Lepidoptera" written by John Lees is a very strong track and is inspired by John Lees' love for science fiction. It's a majestic piece of music and one of the most progressive on the album. This song is, in my opinion, a reminiscence of their earlier musical times. John Lees and Woolly Wolstenholme are simply brilliant. This is another great musical moment on the album. The tenth track "Giving It Up" written by Les Holroyd is another very atmospheric ballad with nice backing vocal moments of John Lees and Les Holroyd. Like "Turning In Circles" and "Sip Of Wine", are very nice songs but although not very original, they're very well played and nicely and tastefully arranged. The eleventh track "Fiction: The Streets Of San Francisco" written by John Lees taking is inspiration from the famous American TV police series of the 70's. It's a very beautiful ballad with some nice musical parts like the harmonica work, in the end of the song, playing in the back over the acoustic guitar.

Conclusion: "XII" is, in reality, an excellent album. However, it hasn't so known and beloved songs of their fans like "Hymn" and "Poor Man's Moody Blues", such as "Gone To Earth" has. Still, "XII" is probably, in my humble opinion, a better album than "Gone To Earth" is. "XII" is a more cohesive, uniform and balanced album that "Gone To Earth" is. "XII" is also an album that represents the end of an era in the music of the band. If John Lees songs are great and with some progressivity, unfortunately Les Holroyd songs start to sound too predictable and commercial, a tendency that would be confirmed in the near future. By the other hand and unfortunately, with the departure of Woolly Wolstenholme, the last progressivity influences and their symphonic roots have gone permanently from Barclay James Harvest. And it was really a pity. "XII" is in reality the last album of Barclay James Harvest that can be considered a true classic album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

TRON-MANIAC'S ALERT!

In the late Seventies I stumbled upon a double live LP entitled Live Tapes, from a band with the weird name Barclay James Harvest (later I read that the members couldn't choose a name and put all 3 proposed names together). I took a look at the double innersleeve and was mesmerized by the wide range of vintage keyboards from the late keyboardplayer Woolly Wolstenholme, including a Hammond C3 organ, the M300 and M400 Mellotron, ARP Pro Solist synthesizer, ARP string ensemble and Minimoog synthesizer, wow, this couldn't go wrong, and indeed, it didn't go wrong, on the contrary!

This double live album was my first musical encounter with BJH, and I was blown away, what a wonderful Mellotron drenched symphonic rock, very melodic and harmonic, topped with emotional vocals and moving guitar work, from sensitive to harder-edged with wah-wah. BJH sounds beyond the complexity and virtuosity of ELP, Yes and Gentle but their music lifts me to 'higher prog states', especially due to the Mellotron soaken tracks, what an unsurpassed musical invention.

The cynical music press once named BJH 'a poor version of the Moody Blues', one of the tracks is BJH their cynical answer to the press, entitled Poor Man's Moody Blues, haha.

My highlights.

Child of the universe : wonderful piano, Mellotron and moving guitar, I love the compelling atmosphere and the melancholical vocals, one of my favorite BJH songs.

Mockingbird : beautiful twanging guitar and then sumptuous Mellotron layers, halfway featuring a strong build-up and climax (intense lalala vocals and howling guitar).

Suicide : the emotional subject has been translated into a very emotional atmosphere with beautiful interplay between the vocals, guitar and keyboards, the sound in the end is stunning.

For No One : a moving blend of fiery, distorted electric guitar, Mellotron (violin and choir section) and dramatic vocals.

I have seen BJH two times live (in 1981 and 2009), I prefer this band on stage, they sound more powerful and the Mellotron is more omnipresent than on the studio albums. My favorite BJH on stage album is Live, an absolute masterpiece for me, I consider Live Tapes as another strong live album but to me some tracks sound a bit polished so 4 well deserved stars for Live Tapes.

John 'Woolly' Wolstenholme (1947-2010) R.I.P., you are still my Mellotron hero.

Review Nº 747

"Premium Gold Collection" is a compilation album of Barclay James Harvest released in 1996. It has tracks from five of their studio albums. It has two tracks from their eponymous debut album, four tracks from their second album "Once Again", five tracks from their third album "...And Other Short Stories", three tracks from their fourth album "Baby James Harvest" and one track from their fifth album "Everybody Is Everybody Else". It has also five non-album's tracks.

"Premium Gold Collection" has twenty tracks. "Taking Some Time On" is a guitar rock song with a simple structure. It's a classic song with good arrangements, nothing innovative that sounds to the 60's. This is a nice and pleasant song. "Mother Dear" is a very pretty song that reminds me The Beatles. It's a very pleasant and beautiful song with some nice string arrangements. It also sounds to the 60's but it doesn't matter because it's beautiful. "Mocking Bird" is a majestic piece. It's a great song with excellent melody and with the use of an orchestra. It would still feature in live sets 30 years later. This is the German single edited version. "Vanessa Simmons" is a soft and simple acoustic ballad with only the use of acoustic guitar and voice. Many prog fans dislike it but I think we are in presence of a relaxing and pleasant song. "Early Morning" was originally only released as the A side of their single with the same name. Later it appeared as a bonus track on "Barclay James Harvest". This is a short, melodic and a lovely ballad with a romantic atmosphere dominated by Mellotron with a beautiful flute work. "Brother Thrush" was originally only released as the A side of their single with the same name. Later it appeared as a bonus track on "Barclay James Harvest". It's a beautiful song with falsetto vocals sounding to the 60's reminding The Beatles. It was one of many songs that John Lees wrote about birds. "Medicine Man" is a great song with beautiful vocal performance and also with a fantastic and memorable orchestral arrangement. This is one of the highest moments on "?And Other Short Stories". "Someone There You Know" is a nice song with a very catchy melody, good guitar and keyboard works and a very nice inspired harmony. The final result is a pleasant and romantic ballad to hear. "Harry's Song" is a simple song made to sound as a rocking number. It isn't a bad song, but I think it isn't an inspired song and the final result isn't convincing. John Lees wrote much better things in his career. "Ursula (The Swansea Song)" is a simple beautiful song with a nice melody and a great Mellotron work. It has a lovely poetry, is well played and carefully arranged. After so many years it still remains nice, fresh and pleasant to hear. "Song With No Meaning" is a typical English pastoral acoustic song where Les Holroyd played almost all the musical instruments. This is a simple and nice song, slightly laconic. "Crazy (Over You)" is a simple but effective composition featuring excellent guitar and keyboard workings. It was one of the first efforts and a typical example of what would be the musical direction of the band. "Delph Town Morn" is a very nice and beautiful song. It features thirteen musicians that formed a brass ensemble section. This is one of their few songs to include horns giving a different dimension to their music. "Song For Dying" is a powerful song with a strong anti-war message with morbid and dark lyrics. It's one of the best songs on "Once Again" featuring a great and powerful guitar work by John Lees. "Galadriel" is a beautiful and simple song with a good guitar work and a nice vocal performance. It has a great orchestral arrangement that can demonstrate how an orchestra can be used on a progressive album. "I'm Over You" was the A side of their single with the same name. It's a beautiful song, one of my favourite bonus tracks on their album "Baby James Harvest" on my release of that album. "Child Of Man" was originally only released as the B side of their single "I'm Over You". Later it appeared as a bonus track on "Baby James Harvest". It's a short track but that remains a fine song. It received an earlier airing for a BBC session on the BBC Radio One. "Child Of The Universe" is one of their most known songs. It's an emotional and personal song treated with a proper dramatic sense. This is the John Lees' solo version. "Rock And Roll Woman" was originally only released as the A side of their single with the same name. Later it appeared as a bonus track on "Baby James Harvest". This is a short calm rock piece a bit repetitive without great developments. "Thank You" is the rocking song on "Baby James Harvest" with lyrics made as a tribute to their road crew and to many other people who influenced the band's life. This isn't a great song and it's one of the weakest points on that album.

Conclusion: "Premium Gold Collection" is the twin compilation of "The Best Of Barclay James Harvest (1997)". Both compilations have the same 20 tracks precisely in the same order. Both compilations are focused on the first five works released by the band. This is very interesting because some of their best studio works were made in those days. I'm talking especially about "Once Again" and "Everybody Is Everybody Else", which are two of the best and most prog works of them. So, we can say that "Premium Gold Collection" and "The Best Of Barclay James Harvest (1997)" are a good showcase about the career of Barclay James Harvest in the first half of the 70's, a part of their most prog phase.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review Nº 743

"Child Of The Universe, The Essential Collection" is a compilation album of Barclay James Harvest released in 2013. It has tracks from eleven studio albums from the band. It has two tracks from "Once Again", four tracks from "Everyone Is Everybody Else", four tracks from "Time Honoured Ghosts", three tracks from "Octoberon", three tracks from "Gone To Earth", three tracks from "XII", three tracks from "Eyes Of The Universe", one track from "Turn Of The Tide", two tracks from "Ring Of Changes", two tracks from "Face To Face" and one track from "Welcome To The Show".

So, "Child Of The Universe, The Essential Collection" has twenty-eight tracks. "Child Of The Universe" is a classic of the band. It's one of their most known songs and one of their most performed live. It's emotional and personal with a proper dramatic sense. "Crazy City" is a superb song with great guitar riffs and nice vocal harmonies. It's a rock song very well sung. "Negative Earth" is a melodic and accessible song with an oriented pop style. "The Great 1974 Mining Disaster" is a nice interesting song with beautiful guitar moments, especially a great guitar solo. This is the original mixed version. "She Said" is an emotional love song with nice and interesting instrumental passages, especially the very beautiful flute passage in the middle of the song. This is the 1974 live version. "Mocking Bird" is a great song with excellent melody. It's one of the major parts of the band's repertoire that still is part of the live sets thirty years later. This is the 1974 live version. "Titles" is a nice song well arranged, with beautiful and powerful chorus, well done and with very good taste. It's a simple song with a simple tune. "Jonathan" is a nice ballad mellow and beautiful. It has an impressive guitar performance, beautiful keyboards complemented by the drums. "Hymn For The Children" is a love and melancholic song that continues a dear theme to John Lees. "Moongirl" is a beautiful song. It's a simple low song with a beautiful melody and harmony. The vocal harmonies are also one of its highest points. "Ra" is a piece inspired by the Ancient Egyptian God of the Sun. It's also inspired by Gustav Mahler's first symphony. This is one of the finest compositions of Stuart Wolstenholme. "Rock'N'Roll Star" is a nice rock song with great keyboards and good guitar work. It's a beautiful song nice and pleasant to hear. "Suicide?" is a dark song about the suicide of a man. The song is sweet, beautiful and melancholic from the beginning to the final act of it. "Poor Man's Moody Blues" is one of their best songs, one of the most beloved songs and one of their most performed live songs. "Taking Me Higher" is a nice love song performed almost on piano and organ with tender and beautiful vocals. It's a very calm and harmonious ballad. "Science Fiction: Nova Lepidoptera" is a true majestic piece, a reminiscence of their earlier musical era. John Lees and Woolly Wolstenholme are brilliant. "Berlin" is mainly a beautiful and emotional ballad performed essentially by Les Holroyd on piano and Woolly Wolstenholme on keyboards. "In Search Of England" is a song about the conflict of youthful inexperience versus the wisdom of age. It's the last great composition by Woolly Wolstenholme to the band. "Love On The Line" is a good song well arranged. It has grandiosity and splendour, instilled by massive synthesizer performances and great guitar riffs. "Sperratus" creates a perfect ambience. It's a symphonic progressive song with a perfect and distinct energy of pompous rock. "The Song (They Love To Sing)" starts beautifully with a theme performed by a synthesizer played in a percussive way. It's a beautiful song well sung. "Hymn" is a great and powerful song with great melody, instrumentation and a luxurious arrangement. "Life Is For Living" was written for the Berlin concerts. It's a well written pop song clearly influenced by the sound of the 80's. "Fifties Child" is a nostalgic number with a great string intro leading to a full orchestra intro before the band joins. The orchestra arrangements are a revival of their most symphonic days. "Ring Of Changes" is composed almost entirely of synths and drums but the arrangement of the track is dynamic. It has a good melody, with a repetitive chorus. "Alone In The Night" starts calmly with a soft voiced melody backed up by an acoustic guitar that explodes in a rockier way with good energy. It features a good guitar work in the old vein. "All My Life" is bursting with tension, a piece of 80's pop style. It sounds like a disco song, like Roxy Music in the time of "Manifesto" and "Flesh + Blood". "Cheap The Bullet" addresses society's cycle of violence and its effect on our youth, a powerful thrusting rocker taking a strong stance against a modern "gun culture". This is an upbeat song.

Conclusion: "Child Of The Universe, The Essential Collection" is a very interesting and a relatively well representative compilation album of Barclay James Harvest. Some of their best and most iconic studio works are represented here with several of their best tracks. My only complaint is the absence of three albums that belong to the band's earlier days, the albums that were released to the Harvest label. Of those four albums, only one is represented here, "Once Again", which is the best, really. However, I still miss the presence of tracks of the other three albums, "Barclay James Harvest", "...And Other Short Stories" and "Baby James Harvest". Those albums have tracks good enough to be here.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review Nº 727

'Mocking Bird ' The Earlier Years' is a compilation album of Barclay James Harvest that was released in 1980. It has tracks from three of their first four studio albums. It has four tracks from their second album 'Once Again', two tracks from their third album '...And Other Short Stories' and three tracks from their fourth album 'Baby James Harvest'. So, it has no tracks taken from their eponymous debut studio album. The compilation has also two non-album's tracks.

So, 'Mocking Bird ' The Earlier Years' has eleven tracks. 'Mocking Bird' is truly a majestic piece that became as one of the best compositions of Barclay James Harvest. It's a great song with excellent melody and the use of an orchestra is present. This is the best known song on 'Once Again' and that became as one of the major parts of Barclay James Harvest repertoire and that would still feature in the live sets thirty years later. 'The Joker' was originally only released as the B side of their single 'Rock And Roll Woman'. Later it appeared as a bonus track on 'Baby James Harvest'. This is a short and simple song with short lyrics too, but nice to hear. It features childish and mellow vocals. 'Rock And Roll Woman' was originally only released as the A side of their single with the same name. Later it appeared as a bonus track on 'Baby James Harvest'. It's a short calm rock piece a bit repetitive without great developments. This is a poor rock song, really. 'One Hundred Thousands Smiles Out' is about the isolation of an astronaut lost in space. It's a song inspired by the space race and where the lyrics recount the isolation of a fictional astronaut. The space race was always in the news since the first expedition to the Moon in 1969, and that interest was reflected in many other songs from many other artists, in that time, such as 'Space Oddity' of David Bowie and 'Rocket Man' of Elton John. It's a calm and nice song well arranged. It's a typical example of what would be the music direction that the group would take in the next future. 'Thank You' is the rocking song on 'Baby James Harvest' and its lyrics were written as a tribute to their road crew and to many other people who influenced the band's life. This isn't a great song and it represents one of the weakest points on that album. It's hard for me to understand why it was chosen to be released as a single and not 'Delph Town Morn', which is a better song. 'Medicine Man' is a John Lees' classic opener which was inspired by the Ray Bradbury's novel, 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. It's a superb song to open '...And Other Short Stories' with beautiful vocals and with a fantastic and memorable orchestral arrangement. This is a song that represents one of the highest musical moments on that album. 'Ursula (The Swansea Song)' is a song written about a failed love affair. It's a simple and beautiful song with nice melody and a beautiful Mellotron work. It has a lovely poetry work, is very well played and is carefully arranged. After so many years it still remains nice, fresh and pleasant to hear, even in our days. 'Song For Dying' is a powerful song with a strong anti-war message with very morbid and dark lyrics. This is, without any doubt, one of the best songs on 'Once Again' featuring a great and powerful guitar work by John Lees. 'Crazy (Over You)' is the song chosen to open 'Baby James Harvest' and is a nice and typical Les Holroyd song. Here we haven't the usual musical orchestration which was substituted by the Mellotron work. This is a simple but very effective composition featuring excellent guitar and keyboard workings. We may say that this song is one of the first efforts and a typical example of what would be the musical direction that the group would take in their next future. 'She Said' was a musical composition that initially comprised two songs and that by suggestion of Woolly Wolstenholme the two tunes were combined in only one track. It's a great emotional love song with nice and very interesting instrumental musical passages, especially by a very beautiful flute passage in the middle of the song. This is really one of the best and most progressive songs written by Les Holroyd. 'Galadriel', as its name indicates, was inspired by a character with the same name that appears on 'The Lord Of The Rings' saga. It's a very beautiful and simple evocative song with nice guitar work and nice vocal performance too. The main characteristic of this song is a beautiful and superb musical orchestral arrangement, which demonstrates effectively how an orchestra can be perfectly used on a progressive rock album.

Conclusion: As happened with the first compilation albums released by the band, despite this one be only released in 1980, 'Mocking Bird ' The Earlier Years' is only focused in the earlier days of Barclay James Harvest, the years of the releases to the Harvest record label. However and strangely, it has only tracks that belong to three of those four works, 'Once Again', '...And Other Short Stories' and 'Baby James Harvest', leaving out tracks from their eponymous debut studio album. That was a pity because 'Barclay James Harvest' has some great stuff that could be perfectly part of this compilation album, such as, 'The Iron Maiden' and 'Dark Now My Sky'. We can say that 'Mocking Bird ' The Earlier Years' is a good compilation album of the band and a nice mirror of the first musical era of Barclay James Harvest, especially if we add the two non-album's tracks, especially 'The Joker'. It's a compilation album that deserves 3 stars.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review Nº 723

"Twice As Much" is a compilation album of Barclay James Harvest released in 1992. "Twice As Much" has tracks from their first four studio albums. So, it has two tracks from their eponymous debut studio album "Barclay James Harvest", six tracks from their second studio album "Once Again", nine tracks from their third studio album "...And Other Short Stories" and six tracks from their fourth studio album "Baby James Harvest". It has also plus six non-album's tracks.

"Twice As Much" has twenty-eight tracks. "Mocking Bird" is a great piece, one of their best compositions. It has a great melody and the presence of an orchestra. "Delph Town Morn" is very beautiful, one of the few songs to include horns. The inclusion of these instruments adds another different dimension to their music. "Song For Dying" is a powerful song with a strong anti-war message with morbid and dark lyrics. It's one of the best songs on "Once Again" featuring a great and powerful guitar work. "Ursula (The Swansea Song)" is a true simple song with a nice melody and a beautiful Mellotron work. It has a lovely poetry work, is well played and carefully arranged. "Someone There You Know" is a nice song with a catchy melody, good guitar and keyboard works and some inspired harmony. It's a pleasant and romantic ballad. "Crazy (Over You)" is a song without the usual orchestration replaced by the Mellotron work. It's an effective composition featuring some excellent guitar and keyboard works. "Song With No Meaning" is a typical English pastoral acoustic song where Les Holroyd plays almost all instruments. It's a simple and nice song, slightly laconic. "Brother Thrush" was released as the A side of the single with the same name. It's a beautiful song with falsetto vocals sounding to the 60's. "Medicine Man" is a great song with a nice vocal performance and a fantastic and memorable orchestral arrangement. "Little Lapwing" is an acoustic song in the vein of the songs on "Barclay James Harvest". It's a nice and simple song where Les Holroyd plays not only bass but almost all instruments. "I'm Over You" was the A side of the single with the same name. It's a nice song, one of my favourite bonus tracks on their album "Baby James Harvest" on my release. "Harry's Song" is a simple song sounding as a rocking number. It isn't very inspired and the final result isn't very convincing. "She Said" is an emotional love song with nice and interesting instrumental passages, especially the nice flute passage in the middle. "Child Of Man" was released as the B side of the single "I'm Over You". It's a short track but remains a fine song. "Mother Dear" is a pleasant song that features nice string arrangements. It sounds to the 60's but it doesn't matter because it's very beautiful. "Ball And Chain" is a powerful rock song with a good instrumental performance and a real curious and strange vocal performance by Woolly Wolstenholme. "Summer Soldier" is a classic band's track that begins as an acoustic song with the second part arranged by Woolly Wolstenholme. This is one of the highest moments on "Baby James Harvest". "Vanessa Simmons" is a simple soft acoustic ballad with only acoustic guitar and voice. It's a relaxing and pleasant song. "The Joker" was released as the B side of the single "Rock And Roll Woman". It's a short and simple song with short lyrics too. "The Iron Maiden" is a short, simple song with nice harmony and beautiful chorus. It's a quiet and celestial ballad, one of the highlights on "Barclay James Harvest". "One Hundred Thousand Smiles Out" is a calm and nice song, well arranged. This is another example of what would be the direction of their future music. "Rock And Roll Woman" was released as the A side of the single with the same name. It's a short calm rock piece a bit repetitive without great developments. "Galadriel" is a nice and simple song with good guitar work and a beautiful vocal performance. It has a superb orchestral arrangement. "Blue John's Blues" is a nice rock song with good guitar work, nice piano and John Lees' rocking vocals. It shows a side of the band not revealed until that moment. "Early Morning" was released as the A side of the single with the same name. It's a short melodic ballad with a romantic atmosphere dominated by Mellotron and a nice flute work. "The Poet" is a great mini-epic orchestral piece. It proves the skills of Woolly Wolstenholme as a brilliant composer and performer and the influences of the classical music on him. "After The Day" is a great song with a good guitar work and a majestic Mellotron performance. It has an irreproachable orchestral arrangement too. "Thank You" is a rocking number, a tribute to their road crew and many other people who influenced the band's life. This isn't a great song. It represents one of the weakest points on "Baby James Harvest".

Conclusion: "Twice As Much" is a good compilation album of the band that is exclusively focused on the first four studio albums of Barclay James Harvest in the beginning of their career, the Harvest years. Thus, it has only tracks that belong to those albums plus some tracks that never were released on any of their studio albums but only released as singles. All of this makes that "Twice As Much" is a nice and interesting compilation album of Barclay James Harvest with some of their best and most prog tracks that belong to some of their best and most prog studio works too, mainly "Once Again". So, "Twice As Much" is a good representative of the band and is a nice showcase of their earlier career.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)