XII

"XII" is the ninth studio album of Barclay James Harvest and that was released in 1978. This album represents a mark in the musical career of the group because it was the last studio album with the presence of the keyboardist and founder member of the band Woolly Wolstenholme. He left the group due to musical differences with the other band's members. He had become disillusioned because the band moved away from their initial progressive roots, and he started his solo musical career, creating his own band. The limited success of the group leads him to withdraw from the music life and dedicate his life to an organic farm. "XII" is unusually a long vinyl album and is also their last album with a Mellotron.

"XII" has eleven tracks. The first track "Fantasy: Loving Is Easy" written by John Lees is a very solid song to open the album. It's a straightforward rocker with nice lyrics and strong guitar work with a good riff, very well accompanied by Hammond and synthesizer works. The second track "Berlin" written by Les Holroyd is a song inspired by separation of the citizens of both sides of Berlin by the wall. It's mainly a beautiful ballad performed essentially by Les Holroyd on piano and Woolly Wolstenholme on keyboards. This is a very emotional song that became a classic in their musical career. Sincerely, this is, for me, one of the finest compositions made by Les Holroyd. The third track "Classics: A Tale Of Two Sixties" written by John Lees is a very melodic rock song in the same vein of "Titles" from their album "Time Honoured Ghosts". This song was an attempt by John Lees to revisit his early musical influences and it also represents his personal homage to the music of the 60's. The fourth track "Turning In Circles" written by Les Holroyd is a very good and interesting rock ballad with some good guitar riffs and excellent bass work. It's true that this is a commercial track not very original but very well played and nicely and tastefully arranged. The fifth track "Fact: The Closed Shop" written by John Lees is a song based on the political and trade union situation in Britain in the late 70's. Musically, this is, for me, a very surprising song. It's a song with some medieval influences composed in a folk/rock style. It's a song that reminds me strongly "Part Of The Union", a song on "Bursting At The Seams" of Strawbs. This is, for me, one of the finest moments on the album. The sixth track "In Search Of England" written by Woolly Wolstenholme is a song about the conflict of youthful inexperience versus the wisdom of age. This is really the last great classic symphonic composition made by Woolly Wolstenholme with the band. This song represents one of the great progressive moments on the album and it's also one of the best compositions made by him. The seventh track "Sip Of Wine" written by Les Holroyd is a pleasant and nice rock ballad not very original but at the same time is very well performed and very well arranged. This is also a song with good guitar work. The eighth track "Harbour" written by Woolly Wolstenholme is a song that counts the feeling and the reflection of to return home after a long journey. It's a very simple ballad with an extremely beautiful melody and rich harmonies, very well supported by nice guitar work. This is a completely different song from "In Search Of England" and represents the other musical side of Woolly Wolstenholme. This is also one of my favourite songs on the album. The ninth track "Science Fiction: Nova Lepidoptera" written by John Lees is a very strong track and is inspired by John Lees' love for science fiction. It's a majestic piece of music and one of the most progressive on the album. This song is, in my opinion, a reminiscence of their earlier musical times. John Lees and Woolly Wolstenholme are simply brilliant. This is another great musical moment on the album. The tenth track "Giving It Up" written by Les Holroyd is another very atmospheric ballad with nice backing vocal moments of John Lees and Les Holroyd. Like "Turning In Circles" and "Sip Of Wine", are very nice songs but although not very original, they're very well played and nicely and tastefully arranged. The eleventh track "Fiction: The Streets Of San Francisco" written by John Lees taking is inspiration from the famous American TV police series of the 70's. It's a very beautiful ballad with some nice musical parts like the harmonica work, in the end of the song, playing in the back over the acoustic guitar.

Conclusion: "XII" is, in reality, an excellent album. However, it hasn't so known and beloved songs of their fans like "Hymn" and "Poor Man's Moody Blues", such as "Gone To Earth" has. Still, "XII" is probably, in my humble opinion, a better album than "Gone To Earth" is. "XII" is a more cohesive, uniform and balanced album that "Gone To Earth" is. "XII" is also an album that represents the end of an era in the music of the band. If John Lees songs are great and with some progressivity, unfortunately Les Holroyd songs start to sound too predictable and commercial, a tendency that would be confirmed in the near future. By the other hand and unfortunately, with the departure of Woolly Wolstenholme, the last progressivity influences and their symphonic roots have gone permanently from Barclay James Harvest. And it was really a pity. "XII" is in reality the last album of Barclay James Harvest that can be considered a true classic album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Share this BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to VianaProghead
• Report this review (#3051169)
• Buy BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST music online with PA partners
• Show all BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST MP3/Stream
• Go to BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to XII page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST related discussions