GLASNOST

I don't know if BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST got a street or a square renamed after them in Berlin, but they should! Not only did they write a wonderful song about the German city, but this is their second live album recorded in Berlin. Or maybe there is a JOHN LEES-strasse and a HOLROYD-strasse as well, sure to please the 2 singers as long they don't cross each other!!

In their own little way, BJH helped at the German reunification, maybe taking only one brick out of the wall but a hole was made where freedom wouldl find its way through! In 1982 they performed THE CONCERT OF THE PEOPLE in West Berlin in front of 250 000 fans and came back 6 years later on the other side of the wall for the city 750th birthday celebrations with no less than 170 000 east-germans in the attendance.One year later, the wall would crumble and Germany be reunited.

GLASNOST is almost a FACE TO FACE live version album as half of the 12 tracks comes from this good effort produced by the band one year earlier.Only 4 songs are from the golden 70s era.Even if GLASNOST cannot be compared to the grandeur of ''BJH LIVE'' and ''LIVE TAPES'', this is still a good live album from a band in good form. Moreover, the track selection is good as the 6 tracks from FACE TO FACE were all good songs (No PRISONER OF LOVE, PANIC or ALL MY LIFE here)

Let start with the classics: MEDICINE MAN is played with great power with this edgy hard hypnotic guitar riff. Sure to please all the fans of the band. The same goes for the renditions of POOR MAN'S MOODY BLUES and HYMN helped by a enthusiast Berlinese crowd.The song BERLIN is of course the 4 th tune from the 70s which get a grandiose treatment with bells serving as a solemn introduction.

There is nothing bad either to say about the FACE TO FACE tracks as they were all good already. AFRICAN is very powerful in live environment, a song to give you goose bumps as there is so much anger and emotion out of JOHN LEES voice. Other great LEES songs such as ALONE IN THE NIGHT and HE SAID LOVE are also included for our pleasure. The great HOLROYD ballad KIEV is well rendered as well.

The only 2 weak tracks are the 2 commercial ones from HOLROYD, but LOVE ON THE LINE still sounds better here than the original, as it sounds as a more powerful band effort and not just a synth-pop song! HOLD ON was so bad in the first place, this is very difficult to improve upon it.

GLASNOT is a good live album, great energy, great athmosphere with a vibrant crowd. BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST is playing a lot of its 80s songs, but there are the good ones (almost).Not a must-have, but a good-have!

3 STARS.

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