Barclay James Harvest - After The Day: The BBC Recordings 1974-1976

More 70s radio days from the Barclays, but no Mockingbird!

When EMI reissued their segment of the Barclays’ catalogue a few years ago they put out a BBC In Concert album from 1972 that, by any standards, was fantastic (and bafflingly now unavailable). This inevitably stands in its shadow, and also suffers as the band recorded a near identically-configured live album for their new label just days after the June 1974 In Concert show that forms Disc One here. Add to that the fact that they were starting to wane creatively and you feel Universal have got the bum deal.

Disc Two wraps up Peel, Harris and …Whistle Test sessions, rounding off with four live 1976 tracks never broadcast in the UK. There’s a heck of a lot of duplication over the two discs (we end up with three versions of Crazy City, for instance) and, because BJH were among the less improvisatory of the prog flock, there’s not a huge amount of variety in their treatment.

That said, they have a big and loyal following, so Universal will doubtless shift more than a few copies. As if to confirm its appeal to completists rather than the general public, this has to be the first album of theirs not to include theme song Mockingbird.

Universal | 5306335 (2-CD)

Reviewed by Michael Heatley
<< Back to Issue 350