Ranking the Albums: Barclay James Harvest
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2023
- Join Pete Pardo & Davy Gallagher as they rank their favorite 10 albums from British prog/symphonic rock act Barclay James Harvest. #barclayjamesharvest
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Nice to see someone finally talking about BJH.
Glad you enjoyed it, cheers!
Enjoy folks - this one means a lot to me!.
As Pete says, over on my page we're doing the studio album equivalent vid, which is up already! A double vid for a double dose of double albums! With some DVDs, the BJH book, solo albums touched on too.
While I'm always glad to see BJH set some love on any of the TH-cam prog-related shows, so thanks for that. But I have to say I was a little disappointed that the band's later 80s and 90s works were so completely ignored. The newest album in either ranking was "Ring of Changes" from 1983. My own take on the band's discography would probably lean slightly in the other direction. I thought that later album like "Face To Face", "Welcome To Show", "Caught In the Light" & "River of Dreams" were all superb. In fact I would rank "Caught" as one of the best works they ever did, and a very emotionally impact piece of work with all the lyrical subject matter and dynamics in the music. I also would rank "Eyes Of the Universe" very high. I tend to like the Harvest era albums less than the Polydor output, though I do have those same "2 albums on 1 disc" versions that Pete has. I first heard some of those tracks from the first 4 albums in their later live versions - so going back to the early 70s originals a few years later I found I didn't like the sound of those recordings as well as the live versions. Great songs in every case, though! As an American, where BJH concert videos were not available at the time, back in the early 90s I tracked down PAL imports of "Glasnost", "Berlin: A Concert for the People" & the "Victims Of Circumstance" concert and paid a video service to have them transferred into NTSC mode for American VHS machines. While BJH was close to completely unknown here, those VHS concerts did make myself and a couple other BJH fan friends very happy at the time! All these years later I just recently got "Berlin" on US-playable DVD, something I thought I'd never see...Also, I think it might be of interest to mention that the whole reason I came to know of BJH is through The Moody Blues and their fans. They've been my number 1 band since around 1980. While the music critic that coined the phrase may have intended the words "poor man's Moody Blues" as an insult, it has actually drove a lot of Moody Blues fans, especially in America, to check out who this band was that was being compared to the Moody Blues. There used to be a Moody Blues print fanzine called "Higher & Higher", and they actually did an article on the song, BJH, and pointed out a lot of similarities and connections between the two bands. For one, producer Pip Williams, who produced the MBs huge 1981 comeback album "Long Distance Voyager" also produced BJH's "Ring Of Changes", and I find some similarity in the production style and sounds & orchestrations used in both albums. "Talking Out of Turn" sounds to me like it could have fit comfortably on "Ring of Changes", especially with the keyboards/orchestral build-up. Then in '83 Williams produced both BJH's "Victims of Circumstance" and the Moody Blues "The Present", and at one point sessions for both albums were overlapping, with Williams going back and forth to both sessions. Also, the BJH connection later got keyboardist Bias Boshell his job as Moody Blues on stage keyboardist, where he had stints from 1986-87, and then 1990-2001. I learned this from a very reliable source - Bias Boshell. I met him a few times at Moody Blues shows. But at one particular show in Ohio he arrived earlier than other band members and started chatting with myself and a friend. The conversation soon turned to BJH and he was surprised to find American fans. I was able to get my "Ring of Chages" CD signed by him and a get a pic taken with him. He said his connection with Pip Williams & those BJH session is what got him recommended for the Moody Blues gig...Unfortunately, it is true that Justin Hayward took "Poor Man's Moody Blues" negatively. Luckily he didn't hold it against Boshell, who had nothing to do with the song!
@@visualizeprog2874 Well, we can only pick 10 and being prog fans, clearly early material is gonna appeal to us more than some. But we gave a fair shake to others. On the companion vid on my channel I spotlight Wooly's solo albums in the 2000s and even North from John's BJH from 2013 (and Berlin) - so I'm pretty happy between the two vids I hit the bases. Pete admits he didn't go beyond the early 80s.
Great to see this episode! I saw them live at the Quiet Knight in Chicago ca. 1976 for a concert that was recorded by WXRT-FM for their Unconcert, which broadcasted on Sunday nights. I sat right in front of Wooly and his double Mellotron. Got to chat with him during the break, and he let me play his Mellotron! I still have a recording of that broadcast on cassette! One of the great unheralded prog bands, should have been more recognized here in the States. R.I.P. Wooly Wolstenholme.
Wooly was just SO good. Much missed. Thanks for tuning in and sharing the memories!
I met the band back in 1977 in Virgin record store in Birmingham where they all signed my vinyl copy of “ Gone to Earth “ prior to seeing them in concert later the same day
I’ve still got it !
Much underrated band, all 70s albums are great
Yeah - almost hurt leaving Eyes Of The Universe and XII off my list!
Check out the companion video over on Davy' channel: th-cam.com/video/acwmsO0h6dA/w-d-xo.html
THE BJH Berlin live "Concert for the people".album is one of my all time favs....Thank you gentlemen..
Its terrific, we touch on it a bit on the companion ep on my channel. Cheers!
Absolutely wonderful overview of one of the most criminally overlooked bands!! This is once again quality SOT!!
Thanks very much Iain!
Really enjoyed the show guys. Davey was a great choice to help out, obviously a huge fan. Half the pleasure of these ranking shows is just the in depth discussions of the bands and albums apart from how they`re ranked. To get an hour long discussion of Barclay James Harvest was a treat. They`re a criminally overlooked band and it was great to see them get some attention.
Thanks very much Jeffrey! Was a real pleasure!
Never heard of this band before, but now im curious to check out their albums as they sound right up my alley
Let us know if you do!
Yes, well worth a listen, l have all the albums featured here, and have enjoyed listening to them since the 70's.
My first taste of Barclay James Harvest was the " So you want to be a r&r star' song, I have most of those albums on vinyl and bought most of the remainder of them on mp3s . Fantastic band.
Yeah, which in itself is a riff on The Byrds song! Cheers for tuning in!
Nazareth - Telegram included a sample of the song
What a treat this was. When two people like you vouch SO heavily for them? Well, that carries a lot. I suspect Esoteric will be getting some sales!
And we...will gladly take the 20% cut!
Brilliant album ranking and outstanding analysis. Enjoyed this so much, imo the best video Davy has ever done with you on your channel. He is genuinely passionate about the band and it showed.
I'm proud of it. Curse Of The Collector...a lot of stuff I do on my own channel and I dont like to repeat. Some pretty good Monster's Den eps tho - but obvs people's mileage for genre film means they may not watch that!
Thanks
Great band,from 1975 to 1993 i love all their albums
I like River Of Dreams from 97 too, the last before the split into two. Thanks for watching!
Nice to hear this , underrated band , everyone is everybody else,other stories ,time honoured ghosts and the live albums are great .
Yep, not even remotely a dud there!
My father got into music around 1976 and the first bands he listened to were Alan Parsons Project, Ekseption and Barclay James Harvest so he introduced me to them when I was around the age he was back then. Ekseption never caught on but I became a huge Alan Parsons fan, I honestly only heard Gone to Earth from BJH. I´ll investigate their catalogue further after this entertaining ranking
Hope you get on well with them! Cheers!
Thank you Pete and Davy for finally bringing BJH to SoT and beyond.
I dont totally agree with your top tens but Once Again and Everyone is Everybody Else are definitely up there in my top 5.
My all time favourite BJH, though, is Octoberon, the old side 1 is an absolute tour de force and the final song Suicide? (the question mark is absolutely necessary) gets me every time - although you chose to not mention the sound effect where they threw a dummy off a building with microphones inside the head that closes the album. Not a duff song to be heard.
For the later CDs I also rate Welcome to the Showwhihc I felt was a fantastic rekindling of their sound back in the early 90's. And while some of their later albums could be a bit hit and miss at times they were more hit and I cant really say that there are any that I'm not that fond of.
They are now one of my favourite bands, even though I didnt really get into them until the early 90's - which may be why I rate Welcome to the Show so highly, but I was lucky enough to catch them on their 25th Anniversary tour before everything went a bit more sour between John and Les.
And by the way this is the first time I've felt like watching a YT show since my wife died of cancer back in August, and I loved every moment of this and the live album listing over on Davy's channel, so thank you for providing just a little help in getting me slowly back into the world of the living.
Well, I was going to reply to the first paragraphs but that would be a small respite in your recovery from such a thing is just humbling. Our very, very best wishes. I will spin Octoberon in your honour later!
I never expected to see reviews of Barclay James Harvest here, but I am so delighted you are such fans.
I put BJH in with Roger Chapman's Family as being semi-prog bands of the same era, who didn't fit into any one category, and who lacked any sort of connection with the audience live. Family used to retune their instruments at the start of every track, which destroyed the momentum; BJH basically ignored the audience entirely, at least when I saw them in '71-'72.
But amazing music. 'Poor Man's Moody Blues' is one of my favorite tracks of theirs, although I never knew what it was called, so I missed the reference. 'After the Day,' actually better in the studio than live as, in the live version, John shoots his wad prematurely. 'Medicine Man.' 'Summer Soldier.' 'She Said.' 'Mockingbird.' 'Octoberon.' Just massive songs.
I lost track of them after 'Gone to Earth,' which was a bit soppy (and my ex liked it - fatal to any band fanship), but now I have to catch up.
Just going off to buy another of their albums, but not quite sure what yet.
Thanks! Well, certainly a lot of great options for you! It's been great to see so many fans happy we've done this, or new listeners who can't believe what they've missed. Between this vid, and the partner one on my channel...hopefully we've moved the needle a bit!
Greatly under appreciated band, great episode Pete and Dave!!
Thanks very much!
This must be my best spent hour ever on Sea of Tranquility......also my most anticipated edition....if Barclay James Harvest hadn"t already been my favorite band from the seventies ,together with The Strawbs and Uriah Heep, I surely would have checked them out ,after this very passionate review of their albums.I did not follow them around that much after the departure of my favorite member Woolly ( as Davy puts it ; "genius " ) after the "XII" album and instead followed Woolly' and his band "Maestoso"... I cried when I heard the news of his passing.. Hard to pick a favorite from the Harvest label period , for there are soooo many but "Song For Dying " is surely one of them and from the Polydor periode "Sea of Tranquility " and "Beyond The Grave " , both composed and sung ( that's how it worked in this band : "if you compose it , you sing it too" ) by Woolly . who suffered from depressions and sadly took his own life, His lyrics sometimes, reflect his dark view on life and mankind......Hope you found your peace in Mellotron Heaven, Woolly.
Thanks for the kind words about the show and sharing the love of Wooly's work. We touch, briefly, on his solo work on my channel with the Esoteric release of the complete set, as well as the live material and the book on the band. Cheers - means a lot that this was your fave ep!
it's me who gives my thanks to you Davy: you could see and hear the love and passion you have for this band as that shone all through this episode....it is always touching when you see that someone else shares that same devotion for a band that I have.. I do have that Woolly box in my private collection.. I subscribed yesterday to your channel and will be checking it out..
@@DunerecordsGent That's impossibly kind!
Great to see Barclay James Harvest ranking , Octoberon was a good seller when it came out and it's a really good album , loved Everyone is Everybody Else album too !
Terrific era for them, that early Polydor stuff! Cheers!
Davy & Pete, thanks so much for your time invested in this album ranking. Aware of the band but never really took the time to research it and determine where to start. Magically, and once again, SoT comes through with an album ranking to give a push to some listening and a special shout out to Gary Joyce for doing his homework and posting as well. Great episode. Thanks again, gents.
Thanks very much John, let us know how you get on!
Their discography is a little disjointed with all of the greatest hits/compilation packages. Some really good 70's albums - I don't think you can go wrong with any of those. Some good stuff in the 80's & 90's to a lesser extent
@@wolf1977 Thanks, Wolf. Started listening to Pete and Davy's top two earlier. Appreciate your additional guidance as generally do stick with the studio albums to start.
@@johnmichaelwilliams6694 I actually don't own any of their live albums (yet). In going through their albums to compile my rankings their 80's stuff comes out better than I thought it would (I think many think of BJH as a 70's band only): Turn Of The Tide, Victims Of Circumstance, Ring Of Changes & Face To Face
I first heard Mocking Bird on the legendary (although still not available on CD) Harvest sampler, Picnic, which I ordered from the early Virgin Records via an ad in one of the music papers. Alan Freeman played a track from Everyone is Everybody Else On his BBC Radio One Rock Show one Saturday afternoon (probably Paper Wings). This episode of SOT led me to think a show on the famous rock record labels would be a good idea, such as Harvest, Vertigo, Fly, Dandelion, Polydor, Island, Manticore, Threshold, Purple, A&M and many others.
Good call - I’d like to see a review of sampler albums like Picnic, El Pea, Bumpers and many others. Superb, eclectic collections from such a range of artists.
I first got into BJH when 70’s “Sounds” music newspaper had a freebie flexi 7 inch sampler for their classic album Everyone is Everybody else .
Comprehensive overview of a too often overlooked band. Love these shows that bring to contemporary listeners the gems from the past. Album archeology at its best.
Very kind Shaun, thank you!
Great Episode. BJH have been off my radar for a while. This reminded me to go back and rediscover them again, particularly their early catalogue. What a great band, so distinctive in their own way. Rocky, Symphonic, Pastoral, Very melodic, with many mini epics full of light & shade. You were right about 'Mocking Bird' hauntingly beautiful, a 1970s under valued classic.
Glad you've went back to em! Thanks for tuning in!
Wonderful ranking. Convinced me to finally check out this band.
Magic, let us know how it goes!
Can't argue with Everyone Is Everyone Else. Best album by far, which also spauned their best live album.
Interesting fact, the main theme of Poor Boy Blues is the middle8 of Mill Boys and vice-versa.
Yeah, when we both have the same top 2 without conferring? Tells a story. One of the more prog-adjacent era, one of the more song focused Polydor. Cheers!
One of those rare cases where side 2 is better than 1
Everyone Is Everyone Else an album for the decades. Still evocative 50 years later.
Thank you to Mr. Jeremy Clarkson who introduced me to this band and other great prog bands through watching Top Gear!
Before I heard any music by them I was intrigued by the Time Honoured Ghost album because of its wonderful cover art.As soon as I heard it I was completely hooked and it's still my favourite BJH LP. I just love its West Coast feel with those glorious harmony vocals and just enough Prog touches. Everyone is Everybody Else is an absolute tour de force. Gone to Earth is their best sounding LP in my opinion and rivals Pink Floyd in terms of production. Infact all their Polydor albums up to and including XII are excellent. I have a compilation called Another Arable Parable which cherry picks some of the best tracks off the Harvest label LPs including the epic Summer Soldier, Mocking Bird, The Poet/After the Day -which is just exquisite and the single version of Medicine Man which rocks harder than the LP version.I honestly can't understand why this band weren't huge. Great production , beautiful harmony vocals, and absolutely top-notch song writing. I noticed even Sarah Brightman covered Hymn and named her album after it
Great to see BJH getting the love they so deserve. They wallowed in obscurity for years and years, and to this day if you mention BJH in conversation, 9 out of 10 people will look at you like you have a screw loose. I guess like any band, throughout time immemorial, you need a radio hit. And a big one. When I think of the big prog bands, Genesis, PFM, Yes, even Pink Floyd, they all had massive radio hits. Granted, there's the core fans who buy product and go to shows no matter what (I suffered through the Big Generator Tour just because I knew they'd play most of CTE) but the big breaks come with the hits. And BJH just never charted big anywhere. That's not to say they didn't chart, but no to the extent they would have to really see the worldwide success of their prog brethren.
On another note, if you guys haven't done any shows on PFM, I'd love to see you attack them. They're my all time favorite prog band, and they have some pretty heavy competition. A few other bands you could dig into for future shows would be Grobschnitt, Nektar, Bebop Deluxe and Bill Nelson, Kraan, Flower Kings (and Roine Stoldt's other project, Kaipa), and most definitely Renaissance (both iterations). Thanks for the great shows and keep em coming!
Great vid, Pete and Davy. Been listening to BJH for 40 years now and have their 70s classic albums on vinyl. My copy of Gone to Earth has the central circle cut out and the owl picture is on the inner sleeve (c/w lyrics). It can be reversed to show a picture of a spectacular red sunset with no owl. I prefer the owl!
Cheers!
I know both of you know this story, but when they went into the studio to record Once Again they were using Abbey Road studios. John Lennon had left his guitar there and when BJH recorded the song "Galdriel," John Lees "borrowed" John's guitar when they recorded the song. Listen to the song "John Lennon's Guitar" on "Welcome to the Show" which tells the story. There is a live version of the song which is even better that adds an extended ending as a tribute to The Beatles!
It's a fab story. I have the CD single of John Lennon's Guitar as well as some odd picture discs and the likes. Cheers!
Gone to Earth is one of my favourites with the lovely Hymn and their take on The Moody Blues' Night's in White Satin called The Poor Man's Moody Blues which they really weren't! Once Again and Other Short Stories two more wonderful albums.
Terrific records! Cheers
I think that the artwork for the sleeve for the vinyl version of Gone to Earth is by far their best album sleeve
Thank you for a nice episode. I only have a compilation so I have to dig deeper!
Hope you do! Cheers!
I had a guy at work tell me that this band were a huge influence on the Beatles.
We can add time travel to the list of their greatness! 😂Cheers
Love all eras of BJH. My top ten:
10. Everyone Is Everybody Else
9. River Of Dreams
8. Time Honoured Ghosts
7. Once Again
6. ....And Other Stories
5. Caught In The Light
4. Victims Of Circumstance
3. Octoberon
2. XII
1. Face To Face
Damnit, never heard of them!! The album "Octoberon" went to # 174 (Billboard Top 200 Album Charts) on MCA Records in February of 1977 & their only charted album. The song "Titles" on Polydor Records (tribute to The Beatles songs) only went to # 107 for 1 week on March 20, 1976 & their only charted song. What was rock radio thinking back then???
They weren't thinking of BJH, for sure!
Wanted to hear some intro stuff about JBH for a long time. I've known them forever, but never listened to an album start to finish. Great video. Thanks!
Thanks very much!
Great show ! Thank you guys, I've enjoyed it a lot, being myself a huge BJH fan (my favorite is Octoberon).
Thanks very much. So little on YT about them...even less decent quality with passion..so doing this vid and the one on my channel hopefully alters that a bit!
Thrilled to see my all time favourite band getting the love, thank you guys for a brilliant episode. Incidentally, John Lees' Barclay James Harvest played just a few weeks ago with the 80 piece Slaithwaite Philharnonic Orchestra bringing those amazing songs from the early 70s back to life, including emotional, epic versions of Moonwater and Dark Now My Sky. I scribbled down my personal top 10 before I watched your video, here is my top 10:
1. BJH and Other Short Stories (it has such a fantastic flow)
2. Everyone Is Everybody Else
3. Once Again
4. Gone To Earth
5. Time Honoured Ghosts
6. Octoberon
7. Baby James Harvest
8. Barclay James Harvest
9. XII
10. Ring Of Changes
Terrific list. I've seen both splinter lineups but woulda killed to see the classic quartet... you're welcome, doing the ep was a pleasure!
@@DavysFlicks I was lucky enough to catch them on the 1978 tour, their gig at Newcastle City Hall was one of the best I'd ever seen. Woolly was very much the heart and soul of the band as a live act. By the time of the 1980 and 1981 tours after Woolly had left they seemed like an empty husk and I wasn't tempted to see them live again until Woolly was back in the fold with John Lees' BJH.
i had no idea of wolleys tragic death. i must mention his solo lp "MAESTOSO " required listening for any BJH fan. cheers.
It's terrific - we touch briefly on the solo work of Wooly and John on the companion vid on my channel! Cheers!
"Gone To Earth" is my favorite album by BJH.... always has been.... I got into them a bit later on... actually my very first album I bought as a teenager was "Octoberon"...
This is the episode I've been waiting for such a massive bjh fan and have such a unique sound and their 70s albums are classics with my top 5 albums are baby James harvest, octoberon, gone to earth, eyes of the universe and everyone is everybody else and special mentions for ring of changes and captured by the light
Hope we lived up to it George. One of my fave bands, so was a real pleasure to do this then the live albums ep with Pete on my channel - really get some BJH love out there!
@@DavysFlicks you most certainly did the more love bjh gets and if new fans are made because of this show then that's totally awesome
So good Davy and Pete - was hoping for this for a long time . Surprised 'Eyes of The Universe' not in your top tens - but I suppose its like choosing between your kids. Thanks for this . Maybe do a top 10 of their songs next.
Eyes and XII would be my next two! Cheers!
Thanks Davy
I was first introduced to BJH by a friend who had the 'Berlin - Concert For The People' album- he then went on to get both Ring Of Changes and Victims of Circumstances. We were on holiday (around 1985) and as a teenager I bought B Springsteen - Born In The USA and BJH - Everyone Is Everyone Else. I never bought another BS album again - but bought lots of BJH albums after that. They were a bit like both Pink Floyd and Moddy Blues, but way better than both. So many great songs and memories.
By the way that song Suicide is sort of mind-blowing and so sad - the sound effects at the end of the studio version are chilling - that said, I see it more as a commentary on suicide.
Its a pity John and Les Split - I think they were better together.
Probably my favourite song ever is 'If Love Is King' from the Welcome to The Show album - just sublime.
Thanks again for your show and info etc. I wasnt really aware of your stuff until this BJH review appeared on Sea of Tranquility.
rgs
John
(I live in N Ireland)
@@DavysFlicks
@@johnharkness3059 Cheers John! I'm on SOT a lot but Monster's Den and Curse Of The Collector especially, the odd album review with Pete. Glad to be found!
BJH can be put in a cathegory that includes Procol Harum, Moody Blues, Wigwam , early Bee Gees , Earth and Fire, Jane and of couse - The Strawbs.
Eyes of the Universe is one of the best BJH albums. 1976-1981 BJH rules!
Taking Some Time is the only Barclay James Harvest I own I bought it 10 years ago.. I thought in was the best entry to the band and I was right. The first for albums are the best. Now I can buy some of the rest they are already in my cart except the, Except the ones that Ken didn't have on his site.
BJH along with The Strawbs were my favorite band for many years. Take The Moody Blues, The Beatles, America, and CSN along with a few other influences and you have BJH. Being in the USA of course, nobody I knew had ever heard of them. They could have been really big here with the right promotion and airplay in my opinion. They never released a bad album. I kind of group them in three categories. The first 4 were the most proggy and Woolly sang most of the songs. Then they release Everyone Is Everybody Else and all of a sudden John Lees and Les Holroyd are singing all the songs. Woolly would only contribute a few songs until he left after they released BJH 12. Then you had a slightly more commercial sound starting with Eyes Of The Universe, which was the first album I got by them. Welcome To The Show was my favorite from the later albums. They then split into two bands and now half the band is gone. The last time I heard Les Holroyd sing he had almost completely lost his voice. Great video!
Thanks! I'm lucky to have seen all 4 members...just in two bands at the time! Still, better than not seeing them, I suppose. John's on a farewell tour now, so we're seeing the last days, but what a ride. And so happy we got this vid and the one on my channel out there to put more out there about them, there's so little on YT.
First off great show yesterday Davy with Pete on the “live material “!! I actually did NOT know one song 🎵 prior to Pete mentioning this album ranking/. That’s the reason I love these/. Makes me “ DIG IN”. I played the first 1️⃣0️⃣ albums - 6 spins each. I figured both Pete and Davy would probably have about 8️⃣ of the 1️⃣0️⃣ listed in their top ten. The ones that I don’t have in their list / I’ll look into. Enjoyed this very much. Definitely no RIGHT answer. Definitely wiggle room in my list. But / for entertainment purposes. But here we go. 1-Everyone is Everybody ELSE/7️⃣4️⃣. 2- Gone to EARTH 🌎/7️⃣7️⃣. 3-X11/7️⃣8️⃣. 4-Once AGAIN/7️⃣1️⃣. 5-OCTOBERON/7️⃣6️⃣. 6-Baby James HARVEST/7️⃣2️⃣. 7-Eyes of the UNIVERSE/7️⃣9️⃣. 8-Time honored GHOSTS/7️⃣5️⃣. 9-Barclay James HARVEST/7️⃣0️⃣. 10-BJH & Other STORIES/7️⃣1️⃣. Thank your for both Your time. Pete/ Davy. 👍💯
Thanks for you hard homework Gary!
@@DavysFlicks :/. Thank you / you kick asssssss on these shows. So, thank you my friend 👍💯
And that's where Pete's channel got its name from...
No, but it's a great song!
Yes, this band were so underrated.
Except maybe in Germany, they were huge there 45 years back and I believe now could probably still do sell out shows.
Love BJH have almost everything by them
In addition to the Moody Blues and Strawbs comparisons, I feel a lot of Pink Floyd in their music as well, especially concerning Woolly Wolstenholme’s more laid back keyboard style as well as some of John Lees’ guitar solos. Along with Magnum and 80s Marillion, they are one of the bands I love that are almost unknown in the US.
I've been a big fan of BJH since the mid 70's. I think it went down hill when Woolly left. I did see some of Woolly's gigs after he left the band. The man was a totally underated musician and composer. It's so sad that he's gone.
All Music website said that their debut from 1970 is the album pick.
Subjective of course but I don't know any other BJH fan who would have it as their fave. If someone just liked that late 60s sound just fresh into the 70s...maybe, but it's not (except for Dark Now My Sky) very indicative of their sound at all. Allmusic can be very hit and miss in my experience.
Great stuff gents, a wonderful band who never got the credit they deserved. Could never understand the Moodies comparisons other than they both used the mellotron, stylistically the bands are totally different. Once Again would be my top choice, an absolute masterpiece. As for one you didn’t pick, Eyes Of The Universe is a super little album & I’d certainly rank it above Turn of The Tide. The one that I’ve never got on with (& I know I’m I the minority) is Octoberon, it’s the first one I bought which I didn’t like, & even on the occasional re-visit I can’t get on with it.
Anyway keep up the good work.
1) Everyone Is Everybody Else
2) Once Again
3) … And Other Short Stories
4) Octoberon
5) Barclay James Harvest
6) Time Honoured Ghosts
7) Gone to Earth
8) Baby James Harvest
9) XII
10) Eyes of the Universe
11) John Lee’s BJH - Nexus
12) John Lee’s BJH - North
13) John Lee’s BJH - Festivale
14) Welcome to the Show
15) Ring of Changes
16) Turn of the Tide
17) Caught in the Light
18) BJH feat. Les Holroyd - Revolution Days
19) Face to Face
20) Victims of Circumstance
21) River of Dreams
Just got that Esoteric Baby James Harvest in a couple of weeks ago. I only had these on Lp(still do), so getting the Esoteric versions was a no brainer for me.
Yeah, and the remasters are SO good. Often when a catalogue has been done over and over, the sound quality increase is minimal but Esoteric have really worked wonders cleaning the catalogue up bit by bit. Thanks for watching!
All these decades I thought Barclay James Harvest was some folky group so I wasn’t interested. I believe someone on SOT mentioned them as being proggy so I checked them out. I like what I’m hearing so far.
First heard Mockingbird circa 1974 at a friend's house (possibly) while bunking off school. I think it was the live version. Since then I've heard it done by John Lees' BJH and also by The Enid. One of the top 10 progressive songs to play to non-believers (and I do think that 60-70% of their work is progressive. They've got a mellotron, ffs!)
The Enid! Brings back memories of seeing the band on Colwyn Bay pier in the 70's. 😅
No mention of Robert John Godfrey, BJH's musical director and established their symphonic sound. Godfrey was forced out of the band in 1971, (he says because he was gay). Shortly after he went on to from The Enid, one of my favourite prog bands.
Oddly, on You Tube Music, they have Eyes of the Universe's release year as 1924, not 1979.
That's fun...they really were ahead of their time!! Thanks for tuning in!
I think their first self-produced album was Baby James Harvest, not Octoberon. Other than that, great choices. When trying to order their albums, I am struggling but firm favourites- XII, Gone to Earth, Eyes of the Universe, Everyone is Everybody Else, Other Short Stories and Ring of Changes, oh, Octoberon as well. Other standout tracks: One Night, She Said, In Memory of the Martyrs and a few others.
I just saw your live albums video. I have never owned their 1974 live. I just ordered it. One of the first bands I ever listened to, between different genres. My favourite albums
1. Time honoured ghosts, 2. Octoberon 3. Gone to Earth 4. Everyone is everybody else 5. Once again 6. Turn of the tide 7. XII 8. Eyes of the universe 9. Ring of changes
10. And other stories
However, I enjoy all of their catalog.
Poor man's Moody Blues is played a lot on Greek "rock" radio.
That's a great list! Cheers
Saw them live in 1975 or 6 at Oxford Poly, and, yes Mocking Bird may be their best track, but I’ve always loved Titles demo Time Honoured Ghosts. 🎉
Not demo, rather from!
Titles is fun as hell!
Great video of my first "go to" band after hearing Everyone is Everybody Else and Octoberon ... BJH have some superb tracks across their albums ... the main eras are the Harvest years for 1st 4 then the Polydor era ... classic tracks are highlighted in the video ... highlights for me are Octoberon Side 1 plus Rock n Roll Star / Suicide, the suite at the end of 2nd side of Everyone Is Everybody Else, individual Harvest era tracks Mockingbird, Medicine Man, Summer Soldier, She Said, Moonwater, The Poet segueing into After the Day (awesone) .... I have a "complete set" of BJH plus John, Les and Woolly off-shoots ... saw original band on XII tour in 1978 at my home tiwn venue (The Capitol, Aberdeen) plus travelled thereafter to see John Lees version 4 times since ... I would suggest, for a newbie, to start with a compilation from the Harvest era and then Octoberon album .... mind you, my personal favourite "album" where all of the tracks "work" is actually Eyes of the Universe from 1979 ... just a superb set of songs right through .... as does the Ring of Changes / Victims of Circumstance from the 1980's.... audio fidelity of 1974 Live double is not stellar but band performance is great ... Live Tapes is a good starter for 10 ... Berlin - Concert For The People sold really well (but, due to tech issues, is not the complete show) ... Glasnost (Deluxe set) is worth a listen ... however do check out the 1992 2 CD gig (best live set for me) from the Town and Country Club that covers all eras (but it's bizarre that each of the 2 CDs are only available as 2 separate bonus discs on 2 late 1980's deluxe albums) ... it's a great latter day show. Saw John Lees' BJH at Manchester in May this year (travelled from Aberdeen) ... superb set at a packed out show ... closed with an epic The Poet-After the Day and Hymn ... set also included She Said, Mockingbird, Fifties Child .... great great band .... CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland ... p.s. do check out Woolly Wolstenholme's first solo release Maestoso ... it's also excellent
We go into a bit more on my channel - including live and the solo works of John and Wooly! Cheers
live tapes is a good start
Sure is, we covered that on the part 2!
Pleased your giving BJH some love. Saw them in’75 in Chatham U.K. Time Honoured Ghosts tour. My first ever gig at 15 😉👍🏻
Cheers!!
As my local(ish) band good to see them get some deserved attention. I joined them from the first Live album (still a favourite of mine) , I would pick the Octoberon, Time Hououred Ghost (needs a remix as it still sound so dry) and Gone to Earth as my top picks. Sadly after Ring Of Changes their output went off quite a lot except for their last group album the hard to find River Of Dreams which was a return to something like better form which was amazing considering the fractures in the band. The first two live albums are great places to start (and I finally got to see them on the Victims Of Circumstance tour a half decent album shame about the backing singers though). Nice to know I am not a lone voice supporting this band.
As we said on the show, it can feel like a lone voice sometimes with them! But we've had amazing feedback so plenty of us out there! Cheers!
I agree, River Of Dreams was a great valedictory album ironically written at the time the band's future was under threat, Les Holroyd in particular comes out punching with some of his strongest material in years, while John Lees' title track and Children Of The Disappeared are masterpieces.
The girls loved BJH, if you put a BJH record on the record player the evening with your girlfriend was yours.
Very good band
Btw, the Caught Live DVD (a 50 minute documentary of the band's 1977 tour) is highly recommended even if you're not a die-hard fan...
gives you an idea what touring was like (not so much glamour) and also of the magic at their concerts.
Yes, we talk about it on the companion ep on my channel!
@@DavysFlicks Thank you Davy. Just finished watching the other episode. Great one, too!
My favorite 1970s Proto Death Metal band
My first BJH album was Once Again, bought off the back of seeing a live clip of them doing Mockingbird on TOGWT, and knowing little or nothing about the band. Despite some great tracks, like Mockingbird and Song for Dying, I was disappointed that there wasn’t more in the vein of She Said - an album with a classic opener and a dreadful closer.
I didn’t pick up on them again until seeing them touring THG and Octoberon while I was at uni, and at some point acquired EIEE. I was confused because by now it wasn’t just the stylistic changes, but Lees and Holroyd were hogging the vocal duties and the band sounded very different.
I don’t know if it was just that Woolly suited most of the material on Once Again best, or he had more influence back then, but given how things developed I find it amazing he sang lead vocal on six of the eight songs, JL on just two acoustic numbers and LH on none.
For me Woolly was always by far my favourite vocalist in BJH. He wasn’t the best, and he could struggle live, but he had this fragility, emotion and depth to his voice.
It’s a shame you didn’t cover singles, compilations, anthologies, and such because there’s some great non-album material there, in particular Poor Wages - a great vocal by Woolly and the band doing a great Love sound alike.
Great show, thanks.
Sadly, there's not time to go into it ALL - doing the companion on my channel with the Lives was more than any other of these gets! Though I did give mention to the Taking The Time set, and how that does indeed round up a lot of non-album tracks. We've not really got time for it all, or I'd be showing the fan club promos, the picture discs etc!
And kinda funny Bob Harris was both our intros to the band, decades apart!
@@DavysFlicks Indeed, but no need to rub in the decades apart!
They Had that big hit in the 70s Dancing in the Moonlight.
That made it onto a tons of those 70s compilations.
That'd be King Harvest (named for the song by The Band)
Big man, pig man
Ha, ha, charade you are
You well heeled big wheel
Ha, ha, charade you are…
@@DavysFlicks He's f*cking with you....
10. Baby James Harvest
9. Welcome to the Show
8. Octoberon
7. Time Honoured Ghost
6. Barclay James Harvest & Other Short Stories
5. XII
4. Gone to Earth
3. Self-titled
2. Everyone Is Everybody Else
1. Once Again
Terrific list too! Cheers
Eyes of the universe is my favorite from them.
I would agree .. band has great individual songs or even sides (Octoberon side 1) but Eyes of the Universe is just great throughout ... it is my go to album although Octoberon runs it close ... I also have a liking for Ring of Changes ... nice album to enjoy ...CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland
@@calummcgregor3662 😄👍
Such a great one -Eyes, XII and Welcome To The Show were the ones I REALLY wanted to get on my list but...hey!
@@calummcgregor3662 Hope things are well up in the Granite City!
Love Barclay James harvest, absolutely do, for Pete to say he enjoys their best better than moody blues core classic 7,erm no, can't agree, in that I dont personally, but yes, that's petes opinion, but like said, love BJH, and they are still criminally undervalued, like the moody blues not particularly loved in their native uk, inexplicable really🤔🙄
I love both the Moody Blues and BJH music, but have to say that of the two there are more Moody Blues songs that are long time favourites. BJH are a great band and were unfairly dubbed the poor man's Moody Blues, but for me the Moodies will always be the better band.
So finally time to rank them after watch the two shows and seeing the comments in the chat. In many ways, I shouldn't have been into BJH as I was. I loved prog prog when at school and classic/hard rock. So ELP, VDGG, Yes, BOC, Heep etc. Mix of virtuoso and flashy hard rock, technical musicianship bordering on showing off. I didn't really care that much for Moodies so we'll get the lazy stereotype out of the way too. And yet, I loved BJH and Renaissance, with BJH evolving from their Harvest years through Polydor years (which is my favourite period when comparing the first four of both labels)
1st= Octoberon, Everyone is Everybody Else- normally I have Octoberon first, but now it's so tight it's a tie. Believe in me is a bit weak hence enabling a tie, but virtually every other track is top notch BJH. 3rd Harvest time- Other short Stories- Medicine Man (easily one of my favs) Poet/After the Day the amazing orchestral swell and crashing into the main song, Ursula, the infectious pop melody and chorus of Someone there you Know, Little Lapwing this just tops 4 Once Again - yes yes yes, Galadriel and Mocking Bird, She Said- this is where they were able to marry the use of orchestra and band, these two Harvest albums just had to be in the BJH top 5, let alone top 10. 5 Gone to Earth, obviously the point they truly broke big on the continent, with good reason. 6 Time Honoured Ghosts- Titles, Hymn for the Children, In my Life, Beyond the Grave, One night- good material, not quite upper echelon classics though. 7 XII- Woolly's finale- still some great material, but again the sound is evolving 8 Eyes of the Universe- surprisingly good here without Woolly- Sperratus, Capricorn, Love on the Line impressed. 9 Self- titled debut- on the way to rounding out their sound, and still a fan of that end of 60's influence too- love Brother Thrush flavoured material so things like Taking Some Time on sit well with me, Mother Dear, When the World was Woken, Dark Now my Sky. You get a sense of how they wanted to marry band and orchestra, properly, not just use it because they could. 10 either Baby, or Turn of the Tide- Turn Memory of the Martyrs, the pop bounce of Live is for Living, Death of a City just give this the nod
Brilliant stuff Gary, thanks for all the thoughts and following both shows!
@@DavysFlicks nice to see young uns like yourself get into them, though I think you may be due commission from Esoteric for the increase in sales that are likely to follow!
Similar likes/dislikes for me as far as prog goes except I was never much into ELP (except for some of the big hits), VDGG or Renaissance. BJH appeals to me because I'm a sucker for great melodies & hooks, and they have 'em! Really a band that deserved more success
@@wolf1977 yes wolf, even end of the 60s stuff like brother thrush etc very short poppy catchy, then singles like loving is easy, life is for living should have been smash singles to drive album sales. Regardless of label like orog, symphonic, pastoral rock, great music is great music and BJH made lots of it
@@garykelly9475 Yes "Mr Sunshine" from '68 I believe, it's the oldest BJH recording I have
Might be Bob brunning who was something to do with early Fleetwood mac
🦋... 🤝😌
You should rank the albums from Topo Gigio they have 7 killer albums.
You mean the mouse from Ed Sullivan Show??? (laughs)
@@matthewclark9652 Yes, he's awesome.
I wonder if this band was on the Harvest record label?
I'll bet that's why they named their band Broccoli James Harvest.🤔
As I said on the vid, the label took the name from the band.
BJH's Gone to Earth 🦋 Poor Man's Moody Blues 😂
Sea of Tranquility 🤣
Antares - Sea of Tranquility 1979 🤔
Iron 🦋 - 🦋 Blue 🌬
😱 of the 🦋 🎈🤡 When the Kite String Pops - Acid Bath 🕺 💃 🤘
@seaoftranquilityprog ???Pete were "Meet The Press" this morning or is Ambassador Dennis Ross your doppelganger??? Spooky.
Jeez, he looks nothing like me and is easily 10+ years older than me.
@sotdude7 JKing, kinda looked like you through app that makes you look older.
Excuse the profanity, but not before fucking time!! At school, they could do no wrong in my eyes, and I know Ken and others have sneered at how dated Time Honoured Ghosts is etc. I haven't seen them since Victim of Circumstance tour, but really looking forward to see if early orchestral stuff or the Polydor years comes out on top. Without Woolly though..
Been on the cards for ages (Pete's got a LONG list) - but when I said they're one of my fave bands and I'm well versed with the whole catalogue down to Wooly solo, John's 1977 record, the Bombadil single etc... we decided to do it, with the live equivalent on my channel since...well, those live albums are something, to say the least. That eps up already - hope this one is worth the wait!
@@DavysFlicks yes I know he's mentioned it on and off in the past and I guess it was just getting the right co-host. Really looking forward to this airing today, and will check out and see how they rank!
cover bands where are you?
No one dares 🙂
One of my favourite and least favourite bands at the same time. Let me explain, the early albums are absolute masterpieces, mixing prog,pop,folk,classical and creating music that is sonically phenomenal. I can listen to it all day long. NOW….. when Woolly left they lost their soul and turned into a lyrically bland redundant synth band that were very mediocre. Such a shame really as I love the first 10 albums. Great video more BJH please
Moodies are poor man’s BJH imo!
BJH are the Rich Man's Moodies! ;) Cheers!
Most of their 70's stuff is excellent. I'd say of the 70's albums Once Again & Eyes of the Universe would be the 'bottom' for me (but still with some good tracks on each). The early/mid 80's are really solid. After the band split into two, Revolution Days & North are worthy listens. This band is nothing if not consistent, this leads to the number of ties below. I like their focus on melodic prog (that often verges on 'straight' rock - certainly not any type of 'hard prog')...My ranking:
1. Baby James Harvest, Time Honoured Ghosts, Ring Of Changes & Face To Face
2. Caught In The Light, Gone To Earth, Everyone Is Everybody Else, Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories
3. Turn Of The Tide, Victims Of Circumstance, Welcome To The Show, River Of Dreams
4. Revolution Days, XII, Octoberon, s/t
5. Once Again
6. North (post-split)
7. Eyes Of The Universe
Other interesting BJH sets: Early Morning Onwards, Mocking Bird, Another Arable Parable, Taking Some Time On (The Parlophone-Harvest Years (1968-73)...Never got into any of their live recordings - I may need to dig into those. Looks like there are something like 15 live albums...
The complete Town and Country Club gig from 1992 is, for me, the best live show ... career spanning set with, for a change, good audio quality ..... do check it out - complete show is on a couple of CDs from 2 x late 80's album releases.... CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland
I highlighted North as in 2013 it's better than anyone would imagine. We got into the live ones on my channel, as well as solo from Wooly and John, and the book on the band. Cheers.
@@calummcgregor3662 Thx I'll check that one out
@@DavysFlicks Some of the Mandalaband stuff is pretty good, and the Lees solo album A Major Fancy
@@wolf1977 We talk about that briefly too (I show a rather odd version of A Major Fancy - 2 discs from Japan...well, 3 discs - there's a 3 inch CD single in it too!
Good band! I've got something like 16 of their albums, with the majority of the good stuff in the 70's. 3 good 80's albums & 2 more in the 90's, plus their 2013 North. I'll post my actual ranking later...
Everyone has their personal favourites etc but I can't quite understand why any BJH fan could not include a mix of the first ten albums? Ring of Changes for me, comes outside the first ten by quite a distance although I'm not a fan of any of the studio LP's that come after Eyes of the Universe. BJH wasn't BJH without Woolly for me and I think his mellotron did make them a prog band. However, despite all of this, Eyes of The Universe is my number two - it is so because all of the songs are either very good or excellent with five absolute classics in Sperratus, The Song (they Love to Sing) Skin Flicks, Capricorn and Play to The World. The others are funky and disco influenced but 'good' disco with rock 'n' Roll. The album is really cohesive and worth relistening to if you don't rate it so much at the moment. Anyway, here's my top ten:
1. Everyone 2. Eyes 3.Gone 4.Octoberon 5. Time 6. Once 7.Baby 8. Other Short Stories 9. Barclay James Harvest 10. XII
Glad to hear you're covering the two great live albums. The first is very worthy of a show on its own and of course is the greatest BJH album - so magnificent. The only disappointment on the album was the omission of Dark Now My Sky and this is surprising too because it would have been an absolute stormer live - without the orchestra but with the 5 piece heights-hitting band of the time. A slight compensation is the BBC sessions version. Extended live versions of Ball and Chain and Moonwater on one side and Dark Now My Sky on the other, would have made an amazing third disc - but it's easy to fantasise in hindsight. Now, foresight is the hardest thing in the world.
The guitar tones of JustinHayward; the Moodies harmonizing, and Tony Clarke’s
Unparalleled production innovation needs to put to rest any comparison with BJH.
The Moody Blues were on an island as far as sounding like ANYONE! And a glorious island it has been.
Yea, I do not see any remote relationship.
Love BJH. Saw them live a couple of times, including Octoberon tour. Not outstanding live, good but not special.
What about High On Fire. Very impressive discography.
Ranked their catalog months ago…
@@sotdude7 wow, just didn't know that. Great band. Running to watch it.
Dave are you Scottish?