Review of Barclay James Harvest: The Ultimate Anthology

Introduction

It`s time to get busy with another one of Ragnarock`s Ultimate Anthologies DVD. Having had the experience of Classic Rock and the Ultimate Rick Wakeman, I had preconceptions of what Barclay James Harvest might be like. Let`s get one thing straight, Barclay James who? Excuse my ignorance, but I`m a child of 80`s music, not 70`s progressive rhythms.

Barclay James Harvest is a 4-piece band that started life in the late sixties with members in other bands before forming this ensemble. The music they play can best be described as progressive and melodious rock. Very much of the 60s and 70s era you`d be forgiven for not remembering them much, if at all, as they were more popular in the rest of Europe rather than home, the UK.

Video

Presented with a fullframe video transfer, I`m guessing that the footage is from a concert recorded around 1992. I guess because this DVD has the same track listing as BJH`s 25th Anniversary Concert DVD. The concert is quite dark in places with use of red and blue coloured gels as well white spotlights. The colours look okay, but the transfer shows up the grain. As far as dust/dirt are concerned there`s little of this around to take notice of and there are no apparent compression problems.

The quality of the extra feature Archive Footage however is in poor condition. There`s plenty of dirt and scratches abound with a good dose of hiss too.

Audio

Not skimping on the soundtracks front, we have a choice of three: Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1. The DTS (768Kbps) sounds about the same as the DD5.1 (448Kbps) so I couldn`t hear any differences. The difference between the 2.0 and 5.1 sound is noticeable however. 2.0 sounds like plain stereo chucked into just the front 2 speakers, while 5.1 sounds more evenly spread out amongst the front three speakers. It sounds clearer, more balanced and is much nicer to listen to than the 2.0 track.

Features

Easy to navigate static menus with a sole extra:

• Archive Footage (8:55) - This is a black & white extra that resembles a music video with the band and literal translations of their songs. It`s not something I found particularly interesting.

There are no subtitles. It would be nice however if there was an on screen caption to let me know what song was being performed.

Conclusion

I`ll be the first to put my hand up and say that my assumptions of this DVD before I played it were unfounded. I knew absolutely nowt about Barclay James Harvest before and know marginally more now. The opening track, "Mockingbird" was the one that caught and retained my interest. 50-minutes later and Barclay James Harvest`s blend of progressive and symphonic rhythms agreed with me. Dare I admit that I started to hum to a tune or two. You see, I have this DVD playing now in the background and it`s not bothering me at all. I don`t quite like it enough to see the band play live at their forthcoming London gig, so I`ll just make do with this DVD.

The music isn`t hard or difficult to listen to. It`s pretty much what I`d call easy listening, but with rhythm and hints of blues. The band aren`t much to look at and watching them on stage intercut with the pleased audience is hardly enthralling, but it`s the music I`m growing fond of. The video quality is all right as concerts go, and the sound is good. This DVD is not going to suit everyone out there, so perhaps fans of the band may well enjoy this. Having said that though, if you like the band, you might get more value from a CD.