Poor Man's Moody Blues (Barclay James Harvest, 1977)

There's a funny story behind this beautiful melodic song by Barclay James Harvest. The specialised press never loved the band, as you may know, and a journalist went as far as to describe BJH "poor man's Moody Blues". Guitarist John Lees was vexed and wrote this song, arranging it as a Moody Blues' track, and even naming it after the reviewer's comparison. His reply is more convincing because of the beauty of the track.

"Gone to Earth" was the eighth studio album by BJH.

The pastoral melody is calm and deep, the arrangements quote MB's "Nights in White Satin" (also in this blog) with good taste and the instrumental sections are the proggest thing BJH made in "Gone to Earth" album. The symphonic finale is pleasant and slightly ironic. For sure, the entire song is a patent and proud display of what BJH were worth, beyond any high-brow prejudices. Useless to say, we still listen to this song while we forgot the arrogant reviewer's name.

In Search of England (Barclay James Harvest, 1978)

When it comes to BJH, we often forget how important Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme's contribution has been during so many years. This song, however, perfectly illustrates his symphonic, nostalgic and catchy approach to prog music. As usual with the greatest songs by this band, the emotional side of "In Search of England" is prominent although never too intrusive.

I'll always love this lullaby's music...

This is a well balanced melodic song, featuring all the discreet and misty atmosphere such a fully British track requires. The lyrics are also good, mounting a dialogue between a boy and an old man about moral duties and productive sacrifices. Once more, BJH show here how great songwriters they are...

After The Day (Barclay James Harvest, 1971)

One of the best songs by BJH from one of their most celebrated albums. "Barclay James Harvest ...And Other Short Stories" has a strong progressive flavour and - as always with this band - an excellent melodic texture. This "After The Day", written by John Lees, is a pastoral ballad with a dreamy instrumental coda, the kind of track BJH is famous for... and a perfect closing song for the album. 

"...And Other Short Stories" was the third studio album by BJH.

Its intro sounds like an early King Crimson track, while the sung section keeps a Seventies atmosphere, somewhere between The Beatles and The Kinks. But, of course, this is just fully BJH-styled music, graced by a slightly acid guitar and powerful apocalyptic lyrics. Even if the band were going to become far more popular during the following years, this was their most creative and unpredictable era, IMHO.

Berlin (Barclay James Harvest, 1978)

Probably because I'm not from UK, I'm fond of all things related to Old Britain. BJH are quintessential English pop-rock (even when they sing Berlin) and their prog vein runs behind the musical lines of well found melodies and dreamy arrangements. I like this song very much. This pearl comes from "XII", one of my favourite albums of theirs, but it's likely well known as part of the "Concert for the People" the band performed in 1982, actually in West Berlin.

"Berlin" is one of my favourite live albums ever.

What really strikes me - here and in so many other BJH's songs - is the fluid composition and the way those musicians had to be sweet and never sweetish. Of course, a tough progger wouldn't even accept to listen the first chord of "Berlin", but I'm not in that company and I like the pop side of prog as well. Only, I can only love this kind of songs as long as they move me. And this is exacly what "Berlin" does.

Nova Lepidoptera (Barclay James Harvest, 1978)

Labelled as "Science Fiction" - and with a synth intro justifying such a tag - this is one of my favourite BJH's songs (the album "XII" has a good bunch of them) and even one of my favourite melodic prog tracks ever. Calm and Majestic, the sung theme is rich and winding, while the arrangement is an atmospheric one, ethereal and spacey.Of course, the instrumental sections are worth a note, particularly the electric guitar solo by John Lees.

 

This album features many of the best BJH's melodic songs.

Also Les Holroyd's effective bass lines and Woolly Wolstenholme's assorted key effects are among the highlights of this song. Back to SF, the song begins with a Morse code message spelling U.F.O. and the lyrics are about interstellar trips and alien encounters... so the way the band merged those Sci-Fi themes with the most romantic music is simply stunning, reminding me some Ray Bradbury's novels.

Mocking Bird (Barclay James Harvest, 1971)

A mellow song, if ever there was one. And one of the most beautiful pastoral tracks I've listened to. Due to its huge popularity I don't need to describe "Mocking Bird" in details (and I couldn't as I'm not into musical composition), but I have to say how much this song affects my inner feelings. It seems to me that BJH found a perfect balance between intimate and majestic sounds and perfectly mastered the choral arrangements, creating a half-light atmosphere, full of connections to the natural world and to the emotional side.

This song comes from BJH's second album "Once Again".

The orchestral addictions aren't too invasive and the band's instruments stay in the foreground, except for the final instrumental section. Of course, this song is pure melody and if you're looking for art rock or avant-garde music, this isn't your cup of tea. Let the tender hearts come in and sip this nectar directly from its flower. After all, BJH's symbol is a butterfly, if I remember well...

She Said (Barclay James Harvest, 1971)

Let me say this: I love BJH, even when they're a little too much sweetish. Anyway, this is not the case: "She Said" is a perfectly balanced song, featuring a hammond-driven proto-prog first part and a pastoral, dreamy second movement, a final reprise of the main theme ending with a very good John Lee's guitar solo. "She Said" is also immune to the orchestral arrangements characterizing many songs of BJH's second LP (and many BJH's albums, actually).

There's also an edited version of this song ,

released as a 7" single, b/w the famous "Mocking Bird".

Really, this is a powerful opening song for "Once Again" and you could even consider this as a mini-suite, being the union of two different songs written by Les Holroyd the band decided to merge and enrich with the instrumental passage and the final solo. Maybe the lyrics aren't as good as the music, but the resulting 8 minute composition is definitely worth your attention, trust me.