THE BEST OF BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST (1992)

This retrospective compilation of BJH material from their Polydor years [ie post-1973] is somewhat over-ambitiously titled 'Best Of ...'. Released during a little resurgence of the band's popularity thanks to a strong studio album [Welcome To The Show], this album went on to sell nearly half a million copies in central Europe. Needless to say it mostly concentrates on easily digestable poppier AOR and soft-rock numbers like Life Is For Living and Rock N Roll Star though Child Of The Universe, Hymn, Poor Man's Moody Blues and a live take of Mocking Bird [from the Glasnost album] are included to represent the band's more serious side. Quite how Victims Of circumstance was considered good enough for a Best Of remains a mystery!

Overall, it is a nice little collection but is hardly representative, nor does it contain many of the songs of most interest to a Prog lover. Collectors might be interested in the UK release that substituted newly recorded single 'Stand Up' - notable as the only single released by BJH that was not written by a band member - in place of Kiev, but otherwise it has been superceded by newer better releases.