Barclay+james+harvest

BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST? Needless to say more about the indisputable reputation of this band who has been bringing their million-sellers like LIFE IS FOR LIVING or HYMN to succeeding generations of fans in dynamic live performances for four decades. They have been enjoying ongoing success since the seventies with band leader LES HOLROYD who gave the band their very specifically own sound in Classic Rock genre which somewhat reminds of the style of THE MOODY BLUES and PINK FLOYD. THAT WAS THEN… THIS IS NOW gives an eloquent overview of their repertoire, with a bonus DVD of their scene performances for the past 15 years in Europe…

In 1966 two R & B bands local to Oldham (UK) merged to form a blues outfit THE BLUES KEEPERS. With sponsorship from a local businessman (also their manager) they rented an 18th century farmhouse where they practised extensively, gradually moving towards a progressive rock style then beginning to emerge…

Deluxe three CD + NTSC/Region 0 DVD edition. Features an additional 33 bonus tracks drawn from new 5. 1 surround sound and stereo mixes from the original multi-track master tapes, BBC radio sessions from 1968 and 1971, and non-album singles along with the 1968 short film Mr. Sunshine. The set also includes a lavishly illustrated 68-page book with previously unseen photographs and an essay by BJH specialists Keith and Monika Domone. Additionally, the set includes a facsimile of the 1970 Barclay James Harvest orchestral tour program and two facsimile press releases from 1968 and 1969, postcards and a replica 1968 record shop poster for the 'Early Morning' single….

Barclay James Harvest was, for many years, one of the most hard luck outfits in progressive rock. A quartet of solid rock musicians – John Lees, guitar, vocals; Les Holroyd, bass, vocals; Stuart "Wooly" Wolstenholme, keyboards, vocals; and Mel Pritchard, drums – with a knack for writing hook-laden songs built on pretty melodies, they harmonized like the Beatles and wrote extended songs with more of a beat than the Moody Blues…

This is an excellent rock album. The warmth of the large audience comes over well and the sound is excellent, the orchestra integrating effectively with the band, enhancing the music, and Les's singing voice holds up remarkably well given the punishing tour schedule the band has been undertaking. It's easy to see that this band has played often together, they play well and do full justice to the excellent songs, drawn from BJH's entire history. Mike Byron-Hehir puts in some storming guitar work, including on old classics, that will please all Barclay James Harvest fans…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce a newly remastered edition of the 1987 album by BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, "Glasnost”. The album was recorded at Treptower Park, East Berlin on 14th July 1987 at a time of great change in Eastern Europe, prior to the reunification of Germany…

One Way reissued Barclay James Harvest's third and fourth albums, Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories, and Baby James Harvest, on a single disc in 1994…

Punk's rise in Britain seemed to be leading to the demise of Barclay James Harvest, the fate awaiting so many of the island's veteran rock bands. Although 1976's Octoberon had finally pushed the band into the U.K. Top 20, it was all downhill from there, as the group's follow-ups in 1977 and 1978 landed ever lower in the listings, something that Barclay James Harvest's shift to a brighter, more American sound did nothing to prevent…

Like the work of Buffalo Springfield or the Moody Blues in the first go 'round, you'll need to take it on faith that the Baroque touches on Barclay James Harvest and Other Stories were effective for their time. The fuzzed guitars, Mellotron, bongos, heavy orchestration and dreamy arrangements may sound stilted today, but strip them away (or simply acquiesce to enjoy them) and a very good collection of songs reveals itself…

BBC in Concert is one of those miraculous archival finds that one just can't anticipate and dares not hope for. Apart from Yes (always the exception to a lot of rules), very few progressive rock bands managed to get themselves recorded live under optimum conditions, much less so early in their careers…