Live BBC TWO: Barclay James Harvest 1972

When I started listening to the Progressive Rock genre I went every direction I could find the coolest and the best bands.  I got lost when I went into the Yes, King Crimson and ELP camp.  When I got out I got more confused because my entry led me to areas of Progressive Rock I never heard.  I was open to the exploration, but was I going down a wrong rabbit hole or was I going to pop up somewhere else and be more confused.  I accepted it and went diving.  Once again when I popped up it was down a different kind of Progressive Rock.  It was the Progressive Rock, that us Americans know very few bands and singers.

It was the hole, that once in a while I dive in and see what I can find and listen and learn from.  It's the hole where bands like PFM (Premiata Forneria Marconi) or (first prize to the baker Marconi), Jade Warrior, Egg, Barclay James Harvest and countless others.  I could list all of them and it would take up a whole post.   It's where if you are true Progressive Rock fan, you can keep a conversation with all the other Progressive Rock fans. It's a special fraternity that used to convene in Bethlehem Pennsylvania every June.  It was called NearFest.

Even though Barclay James Harvest never came to NearFest people who I met at NearFest told me about bands they would love to see at a festival like this.  Bands that have a small but loyal fan base.  Bands that are very popular in Europe, but few people here in the US have heard of them.  It could be even bands that have a cult like status and fan base. It was great talking to bands you like that played NearFest would mention bands that they liked as well.  I remember asking someone from Magenta who is a lot like YES, but with a female singer.  I asked them about older bands they liked and influenced them.  The guitar player and keyboard player loved Barclay James Harvest. They thought they were a very underrated and hugely influential.

I heard Barclay James Harvest from one of the vendors at NearFest and from looking at old Prog magazines.  Both mentioned how Barclay James Harvest slipped under the popular Prog Rock radar, but what made up for their unknown, they made up for some catchy songs, Beatle like harmony, and great guitar and mellotron sound. What I did not know was what music to start my interest into Barclay James Harvest.  I had a friend who was also a Progressive Rock fan and he pointed me to a few albums early in their career to check out.  He also mentioned a lost album if I could find it was a BBC Session from 1972.  He told me that album is a great example of their peak performance on stage.

One problem mentioning the lost BBC Session album was just that, it was a lost record. Why was it lost?  Did it not sound up to par with the rest of the BBC Sessions or did it get shelved because neither the band or the record company felt it was not their best performance. Barclay James Harvest was not a band that had the caliber of a Yes, King Crimson or Emerson Lake and Palmer but after hearing this BBC performance they give those band a run for the money. I still could not find this CD for quite a while.  Wishing It was easy to find, I gave up.

The next Nearfest came around and the same vendor who mentioned Barclay James Harvest to me handed me a CD.  "Did you have problems finding it?" my comment back made us both laugh as I confessed that I gave up and thought once again it was lost in the BBC archives for good.  I bought the CD and was super excited to hear it.  After one listen I knew that this band and this performance was one of the crowning moments in Barclay James Harvest's career.  The songs "Mocking Bird" and the song "Medicine Man" are just wonderful.  The songs take advantage of the orchestra and I can't think of these songs in any other context.

So if you want raw, exceptional live music that makes your head turn then this is another great live album.  It's beautiful and you kinda wonder why Barclay James Harvest never came away with greater success.  This hour long (too short) is a great time capsule of the early years of a great band.  Take a listen for yourself and you might be feeling the same way I do.  Too bad, they did not get that fame because if they did, we would be saying them in the same breath as all those Progressive Rock Band we all know and love.  Enjoy!!