Barclay James Harvest - Caught In The Light

[Sunhillow]

IMO "Caught In The Light" is an underestimated album from Barclay James Harvest, and I'm eagerly awaiting an Esoteric treatment, which I'm sure will undo some of the editing done on e.g. 'Who Do We Think We Are?' and 'Forever Yesterday'.

Of course, no one with a right mind released double albums in 1993, but in hindsight "Caught In The Light" should've been a double. Maybe it would then have been a moderate success and pre-mended some of the Cold War-tactics both writers felt toward each other. My, reading the lyrics by especially Les Holroyd, the bitter disagreements and angers between these two people go way back to "Ring Of Changes". The real question is not, will they ever reunite (they won't), but how the hell did they manage to stay together for so long.

Any way, more fans of this album?

[the ferret]

Caught in the Light is a really fine album. Well written & played and much more cohesive than its two solo e.p.s shoehorned in to a B.J.H. album reputation. Mind you, I think a lot of the post-Woolly output is sorely under appreciated. From Victims of Circumstance onwards the music is just sublime. As good in its own way as their Seventies heyday, regardless of the tensions between band members.

[JJ88]

A problematic album to assess. Les in particular came up with his best set of songs in many years, but the production is so reverb-drenched and keyboard-saturated, it's a tough listen. There's also far too little variation in pace.

[JKL2000]

Is this the one with Cheap the Bullet?

[the ferret]

No. Cheap the Bullet is on Welcome to the Show, an earlier album.

I understand JJ88's comments about C.I.T.L. being keyboard drenched & reverb heavy but for me, the songs are strong enough to stand up to everything that's thrown at them. One man's meat...

[Sunhillow]

Caught in the Light is a really fine album. Well written & played and much more cohesive than its two solo e.p.s shoehorned in to a B.J.H. album reputation. Mind you, I think a lot of the post-Woolly output is sorely under appreciated. From Victims of Circumstance onwards the music is just sublime. As good in its own way as their Seventies heyday, regardless of the tensions between band members.

I think the split between Holroyd and Lees, long time coming or not, put this period in a bad light in hindsight, and unrightfully so. People seem to forget that A. Woolly only wrote like - what? - 8 or 9 songs at most? Even his so-called more synphonic influence is highly overrated. I think it's no coincidence that e.g. Live and Everyone Is Everybody Else contain no Wolstenholme-songs. And B. that this period contains TONS of classic BJH-songs. For me that e.g. Skin Flicks and Play To The World (from Eyes Of The Universe), Echoes and Shadows (from Turn Of The Tide), Fifties Child, Paraiaso Dos Cavalos and Ring Of Changes (from Ring Of Changes), Sideshow, For Your Love, Victims Of Circumstance and I've Got A Feeling (from Victims Of Circumstance), He Said Love, Kiev, African, Guitar Blues and On The Wings Of Love (from Face to Face), Lady MacBeth, John Lennon's Guitar, Were Do We Go, Origin Earth, If Love Is King and Shadows On The Sky (from Welcome To The Show), Mr. E and Three Weeks To Despair (from River Of Dreams).

A problematic album to assess. Les in particular came up with his best set of songs in many years, but the production is so reverb-drenched and keyboard-saturated, it's a tough listen. There's also far too little variation in pace.

How about 'Knoydart', a song from John Lees. In fact, when I play this album, mostly I play the first 5 and then the last 3. Makes for a nice flow.

I understand JJ88's comments about C.I.T.L. being keyboard drenched & reverb heavy but for me, the songs are strong enough to stand up to everything that's thrown at them. One man's meat...

I agree. The production is indeed very dated, though in case of this album it works.

[JJ88]

^After 'Knoydart', it's basically one slow ballad after another. The one exception is 'Spud-U-Like' which I think is perhaps the worst song John Lees ever wrote.