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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album became my favourite as soon as I first heard it at the age of fifteen in 1975 and it has been the "no.1" ever since.
I was doing some homework one Saturday afternoon with the radio on - it was Alan Freeman's show and he played a song called One Night from Time Honoured Ghosts. Its effect on me was like always having lived in a dark room, then someone coming along and turning on the lights!
On first hearing One Night, here was the music I'd always been waiting to hear! Unhurried, melodic, perfectly composed and arranged. John Lees sang the poignant, sympathetic lyric about prostitution with real heartfelt feeling and laced the music with gorgeous lead guitar phrasing. The overall effect was magical.
The album did not disappoint: In My Life launches it in great fashion at a lick with pacey guitar phrasing and a storming couple of verses , before the song slows in its middle section, picking up the pacey guitar again on the outro. All the songs had, and still have, immense appeal. The two main song-writers in the band (John Lees and Les Holroyd) contribute four songs apiece with Woolly Wolstenholme, the Mellotron and keyboards maestro, chipping in with one short, punchy number, Beyond the Grave. The formula of alternating John's and Les's songs on the album was a successful, oft-repeated one, for the band: the continuous contrast between their slightly differing voices and song-styles enhancing the listening pleasure.
This music is not hard rock, nor could you dance to it. The fact that The Beatles are a big influence on the band is obvious from John's clever tribute song Titles, whose lyrics are made up from Beatles's song titles. Other writers have described Barclay James Harvest's music as soft-rock, but there are also elements of prog-rock about it. The tempo is slow, giving you time to enjoy the beautifully sung melodies, the harmonies; to enjoy the gorgeous guitar work and the fabulous, symphonic keyboards sound which almost acts as the canvas onto which the rest of the music is painted. Whichever way you classify or describe the music, its effect on Time Honoured Ghosts is mesmerising!
Other than the songs already mentioned, the album comprises Les's lush, swirling Jonathan, his prayer Sweet Jesus and John's haunting plea Hymn for the Children - songs which have a depth of quality about them that belies their apparent simplicity; and finally, Les's Song for You and Moongirl are two of the most gorgeous love songs you could ever hope to hear.
The 2003 re-issue includes a version of Child of the Universe (from 1974's "Everyone is Everybody Else" album) originally intended as a US single release - this fine studio recording appears to have been the basis for most live renditions of this timeless classic and is a fine addition to the original LP's songs.
I was doing some homework one Saturday afternoon with the radio on - it was Alan Freeman's show and he played a song called One Night from Time Honoured Ghosts. Its effect on me was like always having lived in a dark room, then someone coming along and turning on the lights!
On first hearing One Night, here was the music I'd always been waiting to hear! Unhurried, melodic, perfectly composed and arranged. John Lees sang the poignant, sympathetic lyric about prostitution with real heartfelt feeling and laced the music with gorgeous lead guitar phrasing. The overall effect was magical.
The album did not disappoint: In My Life launches it in great fashion at a lick with pacey guitar phrasing and a storming couple of verses , before the song slows in its middle section, picking up the pacey guitar again on the outro. All the songs had, and still have, immense appeal. The two main song-writers in the band (John Lees and Les Holroyd) contribute four songs apiece with Woolly Wolstenholme, the Mellotron and keyboards maestro, chipping in with one short, punchy number, Beyond the Grave. The formula of alternating John's and Les's songs on the album was a successful, oft-repeated one, for the band: the continuous contrast between their slightly differing voices and song-styles enhancing the listening pleasure.
This music is not hard rock, nor could you dance to it. The fact that The Beatles are a big influence on the band is obvious from John's clever tribute song Titles, whose lyrics are made up from Beatles's song titles. Other writers have described Barclay James Harvest's music as soft-rock, but there are also elements of prog-rock about it. The tempo is slow, giving you time to enjoy the beautifully sung melodies, the harmonies; to enjoy the gorgeous guitar work and the fabulous, symphonic keyboards sound which almost acts as the canvas onto which the rest of the music is painted. Whichever way you classify or describe the music, its effect on Time Honoured Ghosts is mesmerising!
Other than the songs already mentioned, the album comprises Les's lush, swirling Jonathan, his prayer Sweet Jesus and John's haunting plea Hymn for the Children - songs which have a depth of quality about them that belies their apparent simplicity; and finally, Les's Song for You and Moongirl are two of the most gorgeous love songs you could ever hope to hear.
The 2003 re-issue includes a version of Child of the Universe (from 1974's "Everyone is Everybody Else" album) originally intended as a US single release - this fine studio recording appears to have been the basis for most live renditions of this timeless classic and is a fine addition to the original LP's songs.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Well I remember getting this in the mid 70s from Britannia Music on a trial.(God bless em or I'd never have come to know BJH)....This is their best album ever. Falling asleep to this playing on the record player (vinyl) ensured I had the best siesta every time. Real haunting thoughtful stuff. Worth getting the vinyl version just for the album cover alone, which must rate as one of histories finest. We lost so much of the *art* when we went down to CD size.
Their second best album was *Everyone is everybody else*
The post 70s stuff seems to have turned a bit weird to me, and not very joined up somewhow.
RIP Mel....the drummer who died in 2004.
Their second best album was *Everyone is everybody else*
The post 70s stuff seems to have turned a bit weird to me, and not very joined up somewhow.
RIP Mel....the drummer who died in 2004.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
BJH....an underrated band in their own country, so much more popular in Europe.
My brother introduced me to their music in the early 70's, and we both had pretty much every one of their early albums.
I recall listening to them on the headphones through my record player, in glorious stereo!
This is my second favourite album, Everyone is Everybody Else being my favourite.
This though stands alongside that album very well......superb songs, with John Lees' expected high standard of guitar playing, and Wolstenholme's keyboards (and mellotron) on top notch form.
I recommend this to any BJH fan out there!
My brother introduced me to their music in the early 70's, and we both had pretty much every one of their early albums.
I recall listening to them on the headphones through my record player, in glorious stereo!
This is my second favourite album, Everyone is Everybody Else being my favourite.
This though stands alongside that album very well......superb songs, with John Lees' expected high standard of guitar playing, and Wolstenholme's keyboards (and mellotron) on top notch form.
I recommend this to any BJH fan out there!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
60 year old rock bad still going
one of their best albums( mid 70s) as they do each song in the style of other well known groups without abandoning their own sound - very clever, these midlands rockers have been... Read more
Published 9 months ago by theAmazonian
Excellent album from an underrated band
Barclay James Harvest had many fans but were unable to break into the circle of the major bands of the 1970s. Read more
Published 21 months ago by KOS
Time Honoured Ghosts
If you like them, this is for you. Big wide sound, with very creative melodic approach. Takes the Moody Blues feel to another level. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2006 by R. Clementson
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