John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest
London Bloomsbury Theatre
30th October, 2009

View: middle, seating, right

The quintet led by singer/ guitarist John Lees put on a fine show for 95 minutes, running through 15 mainly 70s classics, with Woolly Wolstenholme in good form throughout, both on vocals/keys and witty asides. Lees’ voice doesn’t have the power of old, but the axemanship is still top-notch, as on opening Nova Lepidoptera, with its ravishing instrumental finale. The singalong Child Of The Universe retained the heady standard, as did the pop-sike confection, Poor Wages, with Woolly on acoustic and vocals. Variations on the beauteous Mockingbird, with three-part harmonies, were another highlight, with Craig Fletcher taking over on Cheap The Bullet, before a stripped-down Poor Man’s Moody Blues and shimmering Galadriel. Bagpipes led into the rousing Summer Soldier, John rendered recorder on the lament of She Said, and the gripping story-song, Suicide, led into a glorious, pulsing Hymn and encore of The Poet/ After The Day. Still one of rock’s unheralded giants.

Reviewed by Tim Jones
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