Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Barclay James Harvest
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1970
Rating: 4/5
Barclay James Harvest were one of those bands that, despite a pile of excellent work marked mostly by exceptional sophistication, soaring melodies, gorgeous arrangements and lovely harmonies, were doomed to go without proper recognition for their musical achievements, even though their influence on the development of rock music can still be felt today. Regardless of the general neglect (especially on home turf), BJH will remain a great band that on most of their best work cultivated a wonderful mix of punchy hard rock, pastoral elements of English folklore and orchestral arrangements, usually marked by a shift between epic and melancholic moods and positivist-leaning poetry. BJH were also one of the first bands to successfully work with their own orchestra on most of their best records, led by conductor Robert Godfrey (The Enid). That combination gave most of their work an extraordinary magic all its own, one that could easily carry the listener off to a mystical, idealistic world of evergreen meadows, forests, rivers and marshes, where butterflies chase about, incidentally one of the band’s trademark symbols (at least when it comes to album covers).
Well, it was right next to a marsh, in a tiny studio at the end of the 60s, that the band started their professional journey. In the 60s they had already recorded a few uninventive, commercially minded singles, led by the bouncy “Brother Thrush”, but those brought them neither big success nor recognition. In their early phase they were noticeably under the influence of the pop rock of The Beatles and Bee Gees, and a bit later proto-prog acts like Procol Harum and The Moody Bules rubbed off on them too. Some people loved comparing them to the latter for ages, which was totally off the mark (like comparing, say, Uriah Heep with Deep Purple), since these were two completely different bands. Soon after their first singles came out, BJH dropped most of their pop tendencies and turned toward a somewhat rawer but also mightier hard rock sound, combined with pastoral motifs and moods. To that they often added, with the help of their own orchestra, sophisticated and even aggressive orchestral arrangements. Working with an orchestra, which was an insanely expensive indulgence, was an incredibly bold move for a young and inexperienced band, and one of the main charms of their music. That combination didn’t always come off, especially on the early records, but when they managed to strike the right balance between hard rock, pastoral vibes and orchestral arrangements, the results were thrilling and a joy for all fans of sophisticated symphonic prog rock.
Of the band’s members, the main driver of the progressive direction of their sound from the start was undoubtedly keyboard wizard Stuart “Woolly” Wolstenholme. Woolly, across the board, writing most of the music and arrangements, playing keyboards and singing too, contributed the lion’s share to the band’s adventurous creations. Guitarist and singer John Lees didn’t yet have enough confidence to sing his own compositions, while his guitar playing was energetic but still in its infancy and only developed noticeably later. Bassist and singer Les Holroyd was likewise still searching for his distinctive vocal color, and the same goes for his bass playing, although as a songwriter he already showed himself well in places. Drummer Mel Pritchard was by then already an accomplished and respected drummer (as you can tell from the fact that folk rock giants Fairport Convention were trying to recruit him back then), and on most of his contributions you can feel he’s kept busy.
Their self-titled debut already contains plenty of thrilling orchestral arrangements and excellent pastoral elements alongside solid, energetic hard rock passages, which they would later refine further. It’s precisely the tracks where the orchestral passages and the unbridled hard rock energy come together that are the main strengths of the self-titled debut. Of course, it’s clear this is still their beginnings, because on many tracks you can sense considerable naivety, but it stays overshadowed by the incredible drive and the urge to prove their hidden potential, which had filled them from the very start of their musical journey.
The punchy hard rocker “Taking Some Time On”, built on a mix of energetic, bluesy guitar motifs and an interesting use of percussion, also has a strong pastoral mood. An extremely energetic opener that shows off the band’s tougher side. “Mother Dear” is a wonderfully beautiful pastoral ballad, sung superbly by Woolly, who adds some of that typical Beatles charm. It’s also marked by lovely acoustic guitar motifs and excellent orchestral arrangements. The Mellotron finally gets its majestic moment on the excellent “The Sun Will Never Shine”, a song about depression that nonetheless has a positive vibe, especially in the great chorus (superb use of melodic vocal harmonies), which arrives after interesting dissonances on bass and percussion. The energetic guitar work is impressive too, blending nicely with the dramatic Mellotron. With the right promotion, this could have been a hit. “When The World Was Woken”, written by bassist Holroyd, has a noticeable whiff of Procol Harum, especially in the parts where wonderfully tasteful church organ and Hammond shine and hit the very heart of the composition. A broad palette of excellent orchestral arrangements only adds to its grandeur. One of the album’s peaks and a fairly unique creation compared to the rest. “Good Love Child” is a rather uninspired, psychedelic-tinged hard rocker with a strong Beatles influence. The song is built on a simple acoustic guitar motif and even has a few good riffs, but its main motif gets repetitive over time and starts to bore. The least notable track on the album, where they clearly wanted to show their punchier side again but neglected innovation in the process. The Mellotron finally blossoms in all its glory on the excellent ballad “The Iron Maiden”, which has all the hallmarks of English pastoral music and is the only track on the album that made it into their classics. Besides Woolly’s subtle singing, the Mellotron and gorgeous pastoral passages, where Les also shows some interesting bass chops, the track is graced with an extraordinarily magical atmosphere. Next comes the longest track BJH ever recorded, “Dark Now My Sky”, the album’s big progressive high point. Its inspiration came from the book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Clarson, which is about humanity’s destruction of the environment. The piece is full of complex orchestral arrangements that create a mood ranging from dramatic to majestic. It opens with Woolly’s rather comical and slightly archaic recitation of a short passage from some Shakespeare play. Soon after, the orchestra conductor Robert Godfrey adds a maniacal laugh for spice. Then come excellent orchestral passages that constantly swing between calm and dramatic sections while leaving room to breathe for the band’s rockier side. In the middle section, Holroyd’s vocals and good use of bass stand out in particular, along with some excellent Lees guitar passages. The second half brings a majestic, almost heavenly interplay between Mellotron, church organ, horn and piano, which wraps up this epic creation in grand style. An excellent piece, though it doesn’t exactly top the symphonic prog rock epics. Even so, with it BJH undoubtedly expressed all their symphonic sides to the fullest, and never again did they do so to such a degree. When this album came out, it seemed they were headed in that direction, that is, symphonic progressive rock, like many of their contemporaries, but they never again recorded anything as adventurously symphonic as “Dark Now My Sky”.
The 2002 reissue contains no fewer than 13 bonus tracks. These are all their early recordings and first singles, made back when they were still with their first label, Parlophone, plus recordings for the BBC radio station. Most of them are strongly influenced by psychedelia and pop and nicely show the band’s first steps. Some of them are very good, like “So Tomorrow” and the singles “Mister Sunshine”, “Poor Wages”, “Brother Thrush” and “Early Morning”. The last of those would surely have been a big hit with better promotion. All these tracks are very interesting for fans of the band, since they show well how much the band progressed from the 60s to their debut.
“Barclay James Harvest” is a very good, bold and ambitious debut. Had it come out just a couple of years earlier, its excellent orchestral arrangements could even have made it one of the landmark albums in the history of progressive rock. It’s an incredibly bold move from a then-young band, who enriched their sound with an orchestra and in doing so won over all the music connoisseurs. Though it’s not a classic, and though BJH would go on to refine their sound, their melodic tendencies and deepen most of their progressive aspects, this is an extremely solid debut from one of the most overlooked bands in rock history, one I recommend above all to those who appreciate both adventurous and melodic rock, played with heart and soul from start to finish.
Lineup
John Lees – vocals, guitar
Les Holroyd – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar
Mel Pritchard – drums, percussion, effects
Stuart “Woolly” Wolstenholme – keyboards, Mellotron, backing vocals
The Barclay James Harvest Orchestra conducted by Robert Godfrey
Production
Norman Smith
Track list
1. Taking some time (5:27)
2. Mother Dear (3:13)
3. The sun will never shine (5:04)
4. When the world was woken (5:44)
5. Good love child (5:05)
6. The iron maiden (2:39)
7. Dark now my sky (11:54)
Album length: 39:06
Bonus tracks on the reissue (2002):
Early Morning
Mister Sunshine
So Tomorrow (1968 BBC session)
Eden Unobtainable (1968 BBC session)
Night (1968 BBC session)
Pools of Blue (1968 BBC session)
Need You Oh So Bad (1968 BBC session)
Small Time Town (1968 BBC session)
Dark Now My Sky (1968 BBC session)
I Can’t Go On Without You
Eden Unobtainable
Poor Wages
Brother Thrush
