THE BEST OF BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST - VOLUME 2

This is the second compilation distilled from the band's first four albums, and those familiar with long division will know that four albums divided by a pair of "best of" compilations equals too much filler. (If you're good with fractions, check out the third in this overextended series.) To attract fans, EMI adds some hard-to-find music: two sides of a single released as the pseudonymous Bombadil, a handful of tracks from the catch-all compilation Early Morning Onwards, and the single version of "Medicine Man". What listeners get is a pretty good package, including essentials like "Taking Some Time On", "One Hundred Thousand Smiles Out", "Crazy (Over You)" and "Mother Dear".

In fact, I'd give this the nod over the first Best of BJH volume, since the selection is more multidimensional than the mawkish Moodies tunes found on the first collection. So if the similarity between "Vanessa Simmons" and "Puff the Magic Dragon" makes you groan, at least "She Said" balances the lizard's scales with its CRIMSON charge. The Bombadil single is also a nice change of pace: "Breathless" is an instrumental that allows the group to glam it up a bit, and the flip side ("When the City Sleeps") features a refreshingly succinct sound. Add into the mix their first single, "Early Morning," and a noticeably tighter version of "Medicine Man", and you've got another solid sample of early album nuggets and album-worthy arcana.

This is the second of EMI's compilations of BJH's 'Harvest Years' material, designed to benefit from their ex-clients' burgeoning success in continental Europe. Once again it is a far from definitive mixture of good and rare, though with only She Said and the powerful single version (recorded live) of Medicine Man representing the classics, it is a weaker set than the other volumes, comprised mostly of second division album tracks. Rarities this time include the single 'Breathless', a Chikory-Tip style pop instrumental recorded under the name Bombadil, and BJH's debut single Early Morning though that was already available on an earlier compilation. Another mixed bag that did little to bolster the band's career nor EMI's coffers. As with the other volumes, all this material is now available elsewhere so this long out of print vinyl only release is of interest only to collectors.

Thinking back on all the classics missed on Best of Barclay James Harvest, we might have anticipated that it was merely the first in a series. In spite of missing "Mockingbird", this second installment might actually be better than Volume 1 (not called volume 1 at the time, lest we become suspicious), as it features the wonderful ode to nature "Early Morning", the band's first single, as well as "She Said", and the folky "Mother Dear" and "Vanessa Simmons", and several fine tracks from Baby James Harvest. But yet we are still missing perennials like "After the Day", so it would seem that another compilation lurks. 2.5 stars rounded down.