Barclay James Harvest : Once Again : Deluxe 3CD BluRay Edition : Box Set Review
Please watch the video above for the full review
Before this I had the original CD and then the 40th Anniversary Edition which was a CD/DVD affair. This version I can safely say is definitive.
I went straight for the Stephen W Tayler Remix and my god it is just fabulous. Mocking Bird sounds just as powerful and moving as it did the first time you ever heard it.
However, for those of you with a 5.1 sound system the best is saved for the BluRay Disc which takes the album to another level.
My favourite track is actually and out take called ‘White Sails (A Seascape) It is an orchestral masterpiece and just shows what a fantastic and talented band Barclay James Harvest were.
The booklet and box are like something saved for a complete band anthology, this is is the dogs doo dahs!
Released in February 1971, Barclay James Harvest’s second album was recorded at Abbey Road studios and was produced by Norman Smith. Widely regarded as one of the band’s early masterpieces, ‘Once Again’, the album was critically acclaimed upon its release and featured the Barclay James Harvest symphony orchestra and eventually attained Gold disc status.
This new expanded edition features three CDs and an all-region Blu ray disc and comprises 44 tracks. The set features the original UK stereo mix remastered from the original master tapes and also includes stunning new 5.1 Surround Sound and stereo mixes by Stephen W. Tayler, a new remaster of the 1972 SQ Quad mix of the album and a multi-channel version of the 1972 Quad mix.
In addition, there is also a rare live performance recorded for BBC Radio One’s John Peel in February 1971, and seven further rare bonus tracks, including an early version of ‘Mocking Bird’ and the full version of the unreleased piece ‘White Sails (A Seascape). The set also includes a lavishly illustrated booklet with a new essay Barclay James Harvest experts Keith and Monika Domone and a replica of a 1971 promotional poster.
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
