BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST LIVE

For me, there was always something wrong with BJH's first albums.. Although there were excellent songs on every album, actually I didn't hear any really bad ones, the sound was way too polished, perhaps even sappy, for my taste. Not on this album, though. With the orchestra gone, every song was now played by the four members of the band only. And for me, that's quite an improvement. For the first time on record the band sounds truly energetic, or to use a cliché, proved it could "rock". Every single song here is superior to its original version, especially those from the second, third and fourth albums. Sound quality leaves a bit to be desired, at least on the 1991 release, but the atmosphere makes up for that. The moment when the introduction of the members of the band flows into After the Day still gives me goosebumps every time.