Perhaps my favorite BJH album! Great melodic stuff!
Jeffery K. Matheus | Indianapolis, IN United States | 09/30/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are a fan of Barclay James Harvest, or are an uninitiated soul looking for a good introduction to one of the worlds most underrated bands, then look no further than "Caught In the Light"! This is a brilliant album from start to finish, perhaps my favorite overall BJH album, and this is saying quite a lot as I really love their other albums too. Like The Moody Blues or Alan Parsons, BJH always give their listeners lots of musical diversity to sink their teeth into, and this album is certainly no different. A few standout songs include the lush, harmony-drenched environmentalist anthem "Who Do We Think We Are?". Bassist Les Holroyd's touching and delicate ballad "Copii Romania" (dedicated to the youngest victims of war). The melodic synth-driven rocker "A Matter of Time". The dramatic progressive rock piece "Cold War". And of course, guitarist John Lees' emotionally powerful "Once More", a "sequel" of sorts to the early-BJH classic "Mockingbird". The production and engineering work on this album is simply outstanding, with every instrument, vocal, and sound effect ringing-out loud and clear in the mix. The arrangements are heavy on rich vocal harmonies, strong melody lines, and lush keyboard timbres, and the songs are always well-constructed and memorable. Lees and Holroyd are both blessed with unique and instantly-recognizable lead voices, which is just one of the things that helps to give BJH that extra stamp of quality. This is a truly wonderful band who deserve far more attention than they will ever be given by the seemingly tone-deaf music media! But hey Amazon customers, the secret is now out of the bag!...Discover Barclay James Harvest for yourself!"
British Art Rock at its Finest!
Groovy Vegan | USA | 04/15/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My initial reaction to this cd: "Wow, this is GREAT! Who IS this?" I ooed and aahed enough to receive a copy as a gift, and it rarely leaves my cd carousel. It's a mystery why this group isn't well known in the U.S.A BJH snapshot for the uninitiated: British Art Rock. First cousins could be the Moody Blues and Pink Floyd, although sometimes they remind me of ELO and other groups. Emotional thought-provoking lyrics (except the silly "Spud-U-Like") with the genius of Jethro Tull and Rush. Les Holroyd, who sings some leads has a higher register voice, similar to Jon Anderson of Yes, but I prefer Holroyd's. The usual rock tools: guitar (electric, acoustic, bass), keyboards, percussion-used unusually well.BJH is in top form on this album. One of my favorite BJH songs is "Who Do We Think We Are," an anthem to the environment, with hypnotic converging and diverging vocal and instrumental harmonies. Other notables include the moody, minor chord-filled songs "Copii Romania", "Cold War", and "Forever Yesterday", all lamenting the darker side of history and its victims. "Once More" slowly builds to an emotion-packed, orchestral style sound - outstanding arrangement, and the chorus of "Forever Yesterday" forever echoes in my head. It's hard to pick favorites because I like every song!P.S. I totally agree with Jeff Matheus' well-written review below. If you can only have one BJH album, this is a great one to have!"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1