From: hallfamily58@aol.com Subject: Re: Barclay James
Harvest
Mockingbird - the one issued this year, is a good representation, also the
double Harvest Years. Personally i would buy all the ones with Woolly
Wolstenhome on keyboards (up to XII, but not including), but none after. Draw
the comparisons with the Moody Blues losing Mike Pinder!
From: "Gandalf ." <> Subject: Re:
Barclay James Harvest
BJH used mellotron from the beginning; their earlier albums Barclay James
Harvest (1970), Once Again (1971), BJH and Other Short Stories (1971) and
Baby James Harvest (1972), although their very first release featured a full
orchestra conducted by Robert Godfrey. The "orchestral" parts of their music
were subsequently performed by keyboards. There is a collection or two of
their earlier work around - I've got one called "Mockingbird" (1997), but
there's another called "Early Morning Onwards" (1972) which is good. Others
are "The Compact Story of Barclay James Harvest" (1985), "The Harvest Years"
(1991), and "The Best of Barclay James Harvest (1992). There's plenty of this
type of release around!
From: "Mochaen" <> Subject: Re:
Barclay James Harvest
Hi Pete I'm a newcomer to this forum (being a johnnie-come-lately to the net)
but have been listening to and collecting prog rock since i was ten years old
in 1970. I have a huge collection which includes most of BJH's releases. My
answer to your query is a "qualified" one, which is:
Which of BJH's albums you'll like best depends very much on your specific
tastes. Overall, their sound is at the softer end of the prog spectrum,
sometimes coming off like a much more progressive Moody Blues. Some of their
output is quite luscious and my personal BJH favourite is "Octoberon". IMO,
this is their best produced album, so if good audio production values and
lavish arrangements are important to you then start here. I agree, however,
with Chris Bekhuis who recommends the Live Tapes double. This gives an
excellent overall introduction to BJH's music. Buy that first and if you like
what you hear, try "Octoberon" next as an example of BJH at their most
"studio-professional".
From: "Gandalf ." <> Subject: Re:
Barclay James Harvest
I've followed he work of Barclay James Harvest for years. They have gone
through a number of personnel changes and a number of styles; everyone has
their favourites. Picking just one album to give you a flavour of what they
are like is therefore a tricky challenge! I would go for either "Everyone is
Everybody Else"(1974) or "Gone to Earth" (1977). If I HAD to have just one
album it would be "Everyone is Everybody Else" which is just superb.