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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 78 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Barclay James who? That is the reception I often get when I recommend this band to other people. It is incredibly sad that one of Britain's finest bands have, for too long, also been one of the most neglected. Hailing from Oldham, BJH were pioneers of EMI's Harvest progressive rock label before moving to Polydor in the early 70s and enjoying huge success with a string of superb albums based on the ability to write stimulating melodies and lyrics, and play their instruments with great skill. 'Gone To Earth' was released in 1977, going Gold in Germany, and is perhaps their greatest album. Having long left the BJH back catalogue on increasingly hard to find, poor quality CD transfers from the 1980s, Polydor have now finally begun a remastering programme and (having owned the earlier transfer), I can say that they have done a superb job. The album opens with a BJH signature tune - 'Hymn' which begins with acoustic guitars and vocal before building up to a huge orchestral climax. BJH, as much as CSNY or The Byrds, have always produced superb harmony singing and this is in clear evidence on this track. The songwriting on this album is awesome, ranging as it does from the sensitive then slightly funky 'Love Is Like A Violin', through John Lee's dramatic 'Poor Man's Moody Blues', the catchy but never irritating riff of 'Hard Hearted Woman', and the orchestral colours of 'Sea Of Tranquility' to the poignant 'Taking Me Higher' (which closed the original album). This new release also includes bonus tracks, including the previously unreleased song 'Lied' (by John Lees), and the original B-side of the 'Hymn' single - 'Our Kid's Kid'. Most valuable of all however is the beautiful restoration of the 'BJH Live EP' - a recording of their Harvest days classic 'Medicine Man'. This is an epic performance of some 11 minutes and includes some truly awe inspiring playing, particularly in the solo improvisations of John Lees on lead guitar and Les Holroyd on Bass. This is one of the greatest moments in rock history, but also one of the best kept secrets. Although previously resotred on the Connosieur label's 'Endless Dream' collection of BJH rarities, the transfer here is far superior, bringing out the full complexity and dynamism of this exciting performance. In fact, Polydor have done a superb job of remastering this classic album. Gone is the flat, one dimensional, shallow sound of the original CD transfer - this new reissue sounds like the vinyl original with wide dynamics, great attack, and quite stunning soundstaging. This is so good that I now plan to replace my entire BJH collection with the remasters as and when they become available. Maybe now, with the sound quality their music deserves, it is time for the British rock press and audience to reappraise this highly skilled and original band. The time has come for them to take their place as one of the greatest rock acts ever produced in this country. Superb - do not hesitate to buy this.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Great to hear this album again after many years, had this on vinyl many moons ago. Have to admitt always a bit biased towards this band as they come from a town three miles from me, which also happens to be the home of my footie team, Oldham.
However this is about the music,and well, its mighty fine, maybe a little dated now, but if you were there at the time, you grow up with it. Some outstanding tracks on this, Poor Mans moody blues, Hard hearted woman, Spirit on the water and Hymn. Also like the bonus track, Our kids kid,( how Northern is that ), but to be honest the reason I bought this was for one particular bonus track, the 11 minute live epic, Medicine man. Now bare with me, gonna take you back to when I was sixteen years old, and i bought a live ep single, which had the excellent RocknRoll Star on it, followed by this live version of Medicine man, however due to the length of the song, it faded out at the end of side 1, and you had to walk over to the turntable , flick it over, and the song continued on side 2!! how mad was that, anyone thats lost on ep, side 1&2,single, ask your dad.
Anyone new to Barclay James Harvest, buy this and ,Live Tapes, and enjoy. Progressive rock at its best.
However this is about the music,and well, its mighty fine, maybe a little dated now, but if you were there at the time, you grow up with it. Some outstanding tracks on this, Poor Mans moody blues, Hard hearted woman, Spirit on the water and Hymn. Also like the bonus track, Our kids kid,( how Northern is that ), but to be honest the reason I bought this was for one particular bonus track, the 11 minute live epic, Medicine man. Now bare with me, gonna take you back to when I was sixteen years old, and i bought a live ep single, which had the excellent RocknRoll Star on it, followed by this live version of Medicine man, however due to the length of the song, it faded out at the end of side 1, and you had to walk over to the turntable , flick it over, and the song continued on side 2!! how mad was that, anyone thats lost on ep, side 1&2,single, ask your dad.
Anyone new to Barclay James Harvest, buy this and ,Live Tapes, and enjoy. Progressive rock at its best.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
'Hymn' is BJH's Marmite ! You either love it or find it a bit cringy. However apart from that song this is a very listenable LP. Production harmonies and so on are fantastic and for me, Hard Hearted Woman is a classic. Its understated, not an 'in yer face' sort of track, but the little keyboard bits work wonderfully. Whilst I beleieve that BJH probably did some stronger songs on earlier LPs, ( She Said , Mockingbird etc) I do find thsi the LP that I actually play more, and on that basis alone I'd recomend it. Personally though , although often labelled Progressive, I find that a not really correct way of labelling this fine album. Genre wise its pretty standard Mid 70s, CSN and Y meets , err early BJH ! and isnt pushing musical boundaries in any true sence. I do somethimes think the word 'progressive' gets over used.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
harvest
great album,i hadn't heard it for years.slightly different to the LP i had as it does not have the woodland sounds inbetween the tracks,still good to hear the songs again... Read more
Published 20 months ago by rogie
A great introduction to one of the most underrated bands
This album and their previous album, Octoberon, were loaned to me as I was beginning to discover great music back in 1981. Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2005
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