The Best of Barclay James Harvest

Album Review

The title of this compilation might at first glance cause serious Barclay James Harvest fans to ignore it in favor of individual albums, but this is hardly a greatest hits set. While a few classics, like "Mocking Bird" and "Medicine Man," are thrown in, this is primarily a collection of lesser known singles and B-sides, several of which never made it onto the albums. For some cuts, this makes sense — it's hard to see how the strutting "Rock and Roll Woman" would fit in with the repertoire of a band better known at that time for lugging around the 60-piece orchestra that drenches concluding track "Moonwater." But each piece stands up well, from the groovy flashback of clavinet and Leslie-distorted vocals in "Good Love Child" to the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)-influenced choruses of the driving "Child of Man." Well worth a look for the fan in need of a few rare tracks.