BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST: ...AND OTHER SHORT STORIES (1971)
1) Medicine Man; 2) Someone
There You Know; 3) Harry's Song; 4) Ursula; 5) Little Lapwing; 6) Song With No
Meaning; 7) Blue John Blues; 8) The Poet; 9) After The Day.
The key word is «short»: although ʽBlue John
Bluesʼ almost reaches the seven-minute mark, the record consciously stays away
from «epic sweep» this time around — almost defiantly so, what with progressive
acts all around going in the opposite direction. Even if the decision was not
set in stone (epic length would make a return on the next album, with rather
questionable results), it was still important — BJH letting us know that they still
pledge allegiance to the «art-pop» attitude of Moody Blues / Procol Harum in an
era when the «art» and the «pop» components were beginning to get segregated
once more.
And the results were worth it: most of the
songs still work very well, on some level or other. Mellotrons, cellos,
melodic vocal harmonies, a little baroque mixed in with a little gothic, and
even the song titles and lyrics are somewhat improved, without any straightforward
Tolkien references provoking accusations of cheap fanboyism or trend-hopping.
At the same time, the entire album is permeated with a healthy sick world-weary
spirit — nothing like a strong shot of intelligent pessimism to make a
meaningful statement out of potentially empty art-pop hooks.
Of course, the Merlin-meets-Bradbury words of ʽMedicine
Manʼ are not exactly a peak of «intelligence» per se ("oh what a cold
surprise the flying horses cried"?), but the good thing is that they are
vague enough to not warrant any direct analysis, just like Jon Anderson's blistering
logorrhea (provided that the listener is not familiar with Something Wicked This Way Comes, which served as the chief
inspiration for the song). The important
thing is that the orchestral arrangements once again transform this dark folk
ballad into something grand, stately, and ominous, and thus it sets the general
tone for the album: softer and smoother than ʽShe Saidʼ (in general, Short Stories goes easier on screechy
Lees leads, but the loss, for now, is compensated by many gains), yet just as
retro-romantic.
On the other hand, ʽHarry's Songʼ, if you do
not pay much attention to the words, may seem to be one of those «little man»
tunes in a Ray Davies vein — actually, it is about the death of a parrot (no, there will be no gratuitous Monty Python references
here), but parrot or person, it is a memorial song written without a gram of
artificial sentimentality: in fact, it's an angry
song, and the way they resolve the chorus — "something stirred today, and
Harry he passed away", with the record's angriest riff echoing the pissed-off
bitterness in John's voice — makes for one of the record's finest hooks.
Arguably the best song about the death of a parrot ever written.
The «magnum opus» of ʽBlue John Bluesʼ is
allegedly a lyrical swipe at the musical industry; it may take a few listens to
sink in, since its basic structures are more «rootsy» than «artsy», but it
moves quite self-assuredly from a slow piano ballad format to pub-rock
energetics and back, as if illustrating the public demands of cheap
entertainment over introspective depth — quite a clever song, really, that
makes it all the more amazing how the band would very soon lose the ability to
come up with such inventive moves.
In the meantime, Beatles fans — or, rather, ELO
fans — will be mighty pleased with Wolstenholme's ʽSomeone There You Knowʼ,
all of it built upon seductive Jeff Lynnian vocal modulations and power-pop
guitar accompaniment; baroque folk lovers will welcome ʽUrsulaʼ and ʽSong With
No Meaningʼ, two more contributions to the band's luvvable pastoral backlog;
and ʽAfter The Dayʼ is «Armageddon-lite», way too melodic to properly reflect
an end-of-the-world scenario, but moving all the same.
Overall, I would judge that Short Stories are tied with the
self-titled debut as a solid proposition for BJH's finest half-hour: running a
bit shorter on «major» hooks, perhaps, but without a single misfire or
way-too-obvious rip-off — this here is a band that shows more than simply fanboy
adoration of their influences, coming into its own as a markedly early 1970s
guardian of markedly late 1960s values, so to speak. Too bad this homely magic
did not work for long, but at least the tapes are still rolling. Thumbs up.
Check "...And Other Short Stories" (MP3) on Amazon
"gratuitous Monty Python references here"
ReplyDeleteWell, that is about the most gratuitous Monty Python reference thinkable. Nice piece of self-irony.
In the meantime, Beatles fans — or, rather, ELO fans — will be mighty pleased with Wolstenholme's ʽSomeone There You Knowʼ, all of it built upon seductive Jeff Lynnian vocal modulations and power-pop guitar accompaniment...
ReplyDeleteYou ain't just a-kidding. He sounds like an outtake from Eldorado, but it gets repetitive with that "I will tell..." hook. Also a Lynnian trademark.
"Blue John Blues" is an epic, and totally captures that Badfingerish/Post-Abbey Road style. They really were a "Forever '69" band.
Can I just say here that "Someone There You Know" hits me harder emotionally than any single ELO song and any Beatles song except maybe "Don't Let Me Down".
ReplyDeleteI guess there's just no accounting for personal experience.