... AND OTHER SHORT STORIES

This album is a huge letdown compared to the bands promising debut and it's follow-up Once Again. It's as if Barclay James Harvest didn't realize that they were on the right track with Once Again so they once again went for an inconsistent release which featured a bunch of different compositions that reminiscent of the popular music scene of the time.

Still it might be unfair for me to blame Barclay James Harvest for switching their gears since the band didn't give up entirely on their progressive sound and the two final tracks still give us, the listeners, hope for the better things to come. The band will later improve on two of this albums highlights, Medicine Man and After The Day, on their live album Barclay James Harvest Live. Medicine Man gets transformed into a fully fletched epic of a composition while After The Day finally gets rid of the hideous karaoke sounding vocals during the chorus sections.

My suggestion is to buy the 1974-live album, that is if you manage to find it, and skip this release entirely.

**** star songs: Medicine Man (3:56) The Poet (5:33) After The Day (4:05)

*** star songs: Someone There You Know (3:47) Harry's Song (3:52) Ursula (The Swansea Song) (2:54) Little Lapwing (4:56) Song With No Meaning (4:21) Blue John Blues (6:50)