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Barclay James  Harvest - Gone To Earth CD (album) cover

GONE TO EARTH

Barclay James Harvest

 

Crossover Prog

3.41 | 218 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
4 stars A Harvest of Souls?

A lot of fans list this as their favourite BJH album, mainly because in contains of 2 of BJH's best ever tracks.

The first track, "Hymn" has an anthem like feel, which is exploited to the full when performed live. On the face of it, it is overtly religious, describing in brief the life of Christ. There is however an underlying cynicism which leaves the listener to decide for themselves on the true meaning of the song. "Poor man's Moody Blues" is a self depreciating title reflecting the accusation made of BJH over many years, that their music was similar but inferior to that of the Moody Blues. The irony of the title is amplified by the song itself, which is deliberately reminiscent of "Nights in white satin". These 2 tracks are among the best BJH have produced, and "Hymn" in particular appealed well beyond their traditional audience.

Apart from these tracks however, the rest is pretty much standard BJH. The songs are pleasant and accomplished, but for me there are much better BJH tracks on other albums.

The bonus tracks on the recent remaster include a lengthy live version of Medicine Man the original of which appeared on the "..and other short stories" album.

Easy Livin | 4/5 |

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