GONE TO EARTH

This is in my opinion the last great Barclay James Harvest album. Some might argue that Gone To Earth is a John Lees tour-de-force since the side one features two on his most iconic compositions. Personally I've never been a big fan of the opener Hymn nor Poor Man's Moody Blues and tend to enjoy the latter part of the album a whole lot more.

Hard Hearted Woman might not be progressive rock but it's definitely my personal pick from this album because I just love these great vocal/instrumental melodic hooks and the solo finishes off the track quite nicely. Woolly Wolstenholme manages as always to outdo himself with Sea Of Tranquility and it's a pity that he only wrote one track for each of the last three studio releases.

It's true that Gone to Earth continues the trend from the previous albums which is great but I somehow feel that Holroyd and Lees have become so good at this game that most of the compositions lack the creative and spontaneous sparks I've heard previously. Excellent but not essential.

***** star songs: Hard Hearted Woman (4:27) Sea Of Tranquility (4:03)

**** star songs: Hymn (5:06) Love Is Like A Violin (4:03) Friend Of Mine (3:30) Poor Man's Moody Blues (6:55) Spirit On The Water (4:49) Taking Me Higher (3:07)

*** star songs: Leper's Song (3:34)