| Band
Members: |
John Lees:
guitars, vocals |
Les Holroyd:
bass, vocals |
| |
Mel Pritchard:
drums |
Bais Boshell,
Colin Browne, Kevin McAlea: keyboards |
| |
Glasnost:
|
Victims of
Circumstance: |
| Track
Listing: |
1.)- . Poor Man's
Moody Blues: (7:16) |
1.)-Life is for Living:
(4:02) |
| |
2.)- Alone in the
Night: (5:35) |
2.)- Rebel Woman:
(5:21) |
| |
3.)- On the Wings
of Love: (4:40) |
3.)-Waiting for the
Right Time: (6:55) |
| |
4.)-African: (6:22) |
4.)-I've got a Feeling:
(6:56) |
| |
5.)- Love on the Line
(4:25) |
5.)-Rock 'n Roll Lady:
(5:13) |
| |
6.)-Berlin: (5:05) |
6.)-Paraiso dos Cavalos (6:11)
|
| |
7.)-Medicine Man: (6:05) |
7.)-Poor Man's Moody Blues: (7:02)
|
| |
8.)-Kiev: (6:00) |
8.)-Victims of Circumstance: (6:31)
|
| |
9.)-Life is for Living: (4:07) |
9.)-For Your Love: (8:12) |
| |
10.)-Hymn (5:10) |
10.)-Child of the Universe: (5:28)
|
| |
|
11.)- Hymn: (5:50) |
| The
Review |
Three years separate these two high profile gigs by one
of England's least appreciated bands, Barclay James Harvest.
Universal has seen fit to combine both of these high profile
gigs onto one DVD in hopes of improved sales mostly in the
European market of course. The "Glasnost" gig is fairly significant
for any rock act in Germany as the Berlin wall had come down
and the band's previous large scale concert in Berlin had
also been hugely successful. Comparing the two gigs it's clear
that the band's older material comes off rather well especially
on pieces such as "Medicine Man" and "Poor Man's Moody Blues".
The former piece gives the band a chance to exercise some
old heavy rock ghosts that are not present of the bulk of
the group's live set. John Lees lead guitar is the spotlight
as his solo provides the peak performance in the entire concert.
The latter track is also a resurrected classic from the "Wooly"
era with Lees delivering another strong performance on lead
vocal and guitar. Bassist Les Holroyd's songs come off well
too in the live context especially "Berlin" originally recorded
for "XII" from 1979. This song has special significance to
Germans as one might guess as it is convincing ballad that
has served the band well through the years with fans.
Unfortunately the "Victims of Circumstance" gig does not
fair as well appearing dated and trendy for the time frame.
Possibly it's the band's stage clothes and fashion that's
a bit of a turn off, but the tour was supporting one of the
weaker LP's in the band's catalogue. Having additional backing
vocalists doesn't make for a broader live sound as evidenced
on pieces such as "Waiting for the Right Time" or "Life is
for Living". Holroyd's "Rock and Roll Lady" comes off a bit
light weight counterbalance by Lees' standards, "Hymn" and
"Child of the Universe". The DVD also comes with an audio
jukebox options to allow playback of just the two concerts
only. Given that the band has not appeared in the states in
30+ years; these live documents serve as a window into a competent
live group sometimes going through the motions, and occasional
retaining their unique symphonic trademark sound. -Jeff Melton
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