Customer Reviews

Everyone Is Everybody Else

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you never buy another hippie album buy this one. The extra tracks are a bonus but the album is it stood was as near perfection as it gets.

'Everyone is everybody else' was the pirate Radio Caroline's signoff tune in the early 70's. It was as clear and concise an anthem of 1960's rebellion as anyone achieved, including John Lennon. When one relistens to these kinds of albums one expects some embarassment. Here there is none. I expect the band would not change a single line in any song. The guitar is as beautiful now as it was 30 years ago.

The '1974 Mining Diaster' as a huge song. It is allegedly about a certain rock star's casual advocacy of fascism and heroin. It is both beautiful and true.

'Child of the Universe' is another classic, which one would expect to grace countless TV documentaries but it hasn't for some reason.

It was BJH's misfortune to be a little too intellectual for the Anglo-Saxon market. Their popularity was in mainland Europe. But if Nick Drake can be recognised after 30 years, there is hope that BJH will finally get the recognition they so richly deserved.

This alongside 1971's "Once Again" is BJH's masterpiece. While that album came in the middle of their early period '68 - '73 of dense rock orchestrations, magnificent gloom, King Crimson inspired eerieness and Pink Floydesque dreamscapes (probably fully mastered before Floyd and Gilmour found their own perfect place in the sonic scape), "Everyone Is Everybody Else" was the first of a serious of albums from BJH with a cleaner, lighter sound which would last (albeit qualitywise, fadingly) through to the end of the decade and produce a few other good to excellent albums, though none of them ever quite reaching the cool sonic plateau where this one plays on. The wonderful voices come out clear and vibrant and searchingly, sometimes infinitely sadly across the great melodies and superb instrumentation of songs like Negative Earth, Child of the Universe, Crazy City and Paper Wings. Here in 1974 was a band at the height of their rather magnificent artform. Sure, a couple of years later, a new fashion swept away the foundations where such old stately rockers worked, and only the giants (Led Zep/Floyd/etc) survived with their reputations near intact. However, historical perspective is not a good tool to apply to music listening for critical purposes, as reading any pseudo-arty-nouveau-intellectual type NME critic will sometimes effectively show without any further explanation. Anyway, if you are alive and your ears are open, it doesn't take away from the sound of a record like this one what fashions and particular cultural hostilities come along afterwards ... if you ever want to soar away someplace where only perfectly realized music can take you, (REM, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Beatles, Neil Young, Fred Astaire! & Nena Simone, just to name a strange smattering from my own cultural mish-mash and partly to demonstrate that I am free of the type of cultural imprisonment I just alluded to) you could do worse than buy this one, turn down the lights, fix a drink and let it do what it is trying to do and take you there, gently rising the spirit, soothingly, almost at first, as the vocal harmonies come to soothe and settle in a quality quite near the magical manner of the later Beatles ... until you realize you are already listening at the end to those perplexing, strainingly deranged calls of a guitar connected to someone else's very soul ... and it's screaming an aural anguish and a telling story which is only half inside your imagination and already half alive in the room and the whole world beyond, and though it's calling "for no-one" it's really calling into some ancient place for you and everyone ...
perhaps from where everyone is everybody else ....?
Absolutely majestic, when you hear it for what it is. One of the best Albums of the 1970's.

It's too bad that the only people who will read this review are those who are already familiar with "Everyone is Everybody Else." I have worn this record album out, having played it so often over the past 20 years, and yet I am still mesmerized by this utmost work of art. It's too bad BJH got so little attention in the United States. Had this album been discovered here, every melodic, perfectly crafted song on it would be considered a classic, known in the same way we know so many Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel songs -- it is that good. This album is Barclay James Harvest's finest work, done before the band got infatuated with itself and its overly ambitious -- and disappointing -- orchestral work. With a deep foundation in the blues, "Everyone is Everybody Else" is one of the few Barclay James Harvest records that has stood the test of time, the other being "Time Honoured Ghosts," which is of equal merit. --Richard McCormack

After a quarter century of waiting for them to tour (maybe they did , but I missed it) I would still go and see them today. Every moody blues lover has to love BJH who are a little more mellow in their delivery, but also very enchanting. This effort and time honoured ghosts are my favourites, and will always be welcomed as a soothing and relaxing bit of history that I will play forever. John Ridpath,

I have to admit that my first exposure to the music of BJH was very pleasant and this 1974 release is really not bad at all. The lineup consisted of John Lees (electric and acoustic guitar); Mel Pritchard (drums and percussion); Les Holroyd (bass, acoustic guitar, and rhythm guitar); and Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme (mellotron, synthesizers, electric piano, and piano). The album was produced by Rodger Bain (the guy who produced the earliest Black Sabbath albums) and his influences are felt here and there, albeit rarely.

The album opens with the moody track Child of the Universe, which features some nice mini-moog synthesizer work atop the standard bass, guitar, and drums setup. This is the heaviest synth piece, whereas the mellotron is used predominantly on the remaining tracks. The lead vocals and vocal harmonies are also pleasant and work well with the material.

The overall sound of the album is, in large part, dominated by a gloomy and plodding Pink Floyd-ish beat in 4/4, saturated with mellotron (with string setting), and sprinkled with tasteful leads on the electric guitar. There are however, moments where things perk up a bit, as on the vigorous "tribal" drumming section of Paper Wings, and the crunchy, distorted electric guitar parts that are scattered here and there (Crazy City). Favorite tracks include Child of the Universe; The Great 1974 Mining Disaster; See Me See You; the closing track For No One; and the proggy bonus track Maestoso (A Hymn in the Roof of the World).

In terms of bands that I might be inclined to compare BJH with, they would most likely include the Strawbs and the Moody Blues, although fleeting, tiny snippets of American west coast soft rock bands like Crosby, Stills, and Nash and the Eagles (especially on Poor Boy Blues/Mill Boys) can be heard too.

One thing that is of interest here is that the band confronts topics such as the Vietnam War, Apartheid in South Africa, and the violence in Northern Ireland in very straightforward and literal terms. In contrast, many British prog bands used cryptic allegory, myth, and science fiction to illustrate their subject matter and many avoided larger societal issues altogether by focusing on inward (personal) transformation.

The remastered CD is pretty good and features great sound quality and abundant liner notes. There are five bonus tracks that are OK but do not add a great deal to the listening experience, with the single exception of Maestoso (A Hymn in the Roof of the World), which is a very strong track.

All in all, this is a very nice album of folky soft rock lent an added bit of "oomph" with the heavy use of the mellotron and synthesizers. Recommended to fans of English bands like the Strawbs, Spring, and the Moody Blues.

This alongside 1971's "Once Again" is BJH's masterpiece. While that album came in the middle of their early period '68 - '73 of dense rock orchestrations, magnificent gloom, King Crimson inspired eerieness and Pink Floydesque dreamscapes (probably fully mastered before Floyd and Gilmour found their own perfect place in the sonic scape), "Everyone Is Everybody Else" was the first of a serious of albums from BJH with a cleaner, lighter (less mellotron heavy and less or no orchestral or string backing) sound which would last (albeit qualitywise, fadingly) through to the end of the decade and produce a few other good to excellent albums, though none of them ever quite reaching the cool sonic plateau where this one plays on. The well channelled voices come out clear and vibrant and searchingly, sometimes infinitely sadly across the great melodies and superb instrumentation of songs like Negative Earth, Child of the Universe, Crazy City and Paper Wings. Here in 1974 was a band at the height of their rather magnificent artform. Sure, a couple of years later, a new, corrosive (and perhaps necessary) fashion in music culture swept away the foundations where such old stately rockers worked, and only the giants (Led Zep/Floyd/etc) survived with their reputations near intact. However, historical perspective is most likely not a very good tool to apply to music listening for critical purposes, as reading any pseudo-arty-nouveau-self-appointed-intellectual type NME critic will sometimes effectively show without any necessity for further explanation. Anyway, if you are alive and your ears are open, it doesn't take away from the sound of a record like this one what fashions and particular cultural hostilities come along afterwards ... if you ever want to soar away someplace where only near-perfectly realized music can take you, (REM, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Beatles, Neil Young, Fred Astaire! & Nena Simone, just to name a strange bred smattering from my own cultural mish-mash, and I suppose also, partly to demonstrate that I am free of the type of cultural imprisonment and mismanagement I just alluded to) you could do worse than buy this one, turn down the lights, fix a drink and let it do what it is trying to do and take you there, gently rising the lost and seeking spirit, soothingly, almost at first, as these also searching vocal harmonies come to soothe and settle in a quality quite near the magical manner of the later Beatles ... until you realize you are already listening at the end to those perplexing, locus-deranged calls of a guitar connected to someone's straining soul ... and it's screaming its portion of aural anguish in some vague telling which is only half inside your imagination and therefore already half alive in the room and the whole world beyond, and though it's calling "for no-one" it's really calling into some ancient place for you and everyone else ...
perhaps from where everyone is everybody else ....?
Absolutely majestic, when you hear it for what it is. One of the best Albums of the 1970's.

"Everyone is Everybody Else" was the last of the BJH albums to feature an orchestra. (The mellotron was soon to take over) The mellotron was featured on "Child of the Universe", which was actually to have been included on John Lees' solo album "A Major Fancy". "The Great 1974 Mining Disaster" was the first example of John Lees deconstructing another song and than rebuilding it into something totally different. The original song was a BeeGees tune. John later did the same thing to the Moody Blues "Nights in White Satin" and created "Poor Man's Moody Blues" This album is a great example of early BJH music, and was the introduction to their work for a lot of people. The transition between "Poor Boy Blues" and "Mill Boys" is one of the slickest ever done, and it segues into "For No One" without missing a beat. I highly recomend this album for any progressive rock fans, it won't disappoint you.

This is the album which turned Barclay James Harvest into an international success. Superb musicianship and top class material make this a winner. The best tracks are "Child of the Universe", "Negative Earth", "Crazy City" and "For No One". I can listen to this album again and again and not get bored! If you are unfamiliar with this band's music, then this is probably the best place to start. You'll be hooked after the first listen. Irresistable! The remastered version provides a cleaner listening experience, but the bonus tracks (although nice to have) are a distraction to the excellence of the original.

Every is everybody else is the best album from this great prog rock band and contains some of the finest songs ever put to tape and is highly recommended.

If you are looking for a doorway to the world of BJH then the 1974 release 'Everyone Is Everybody Else' will provided it and much more. This is beyond doudt the bands high point in studio recordings.

The album opens with 'Child of the Universe', a haunting look at the plight of children in strife-torn areas around the world and is as lyrically poignant now as then.

John Lees's soaring guitar throughout and the mellotron of Wolstenholme are supported superbly by Holyrod's bass and acoustic guitar and brilliant drumming from the sadly deceased Mel Pritchard.

Every track shines but 'For No One' is the tour-de-force, a cry to put aside the differences that divide humankind and concentrate on one's individuality and how best to use it for good.

BJH don't preach but observe exceptionally well. Les Holroyd's input is no less impressive with beautifully crafted songs such as; Paper Wings and Poor Boy Blues. The latter is followed by 'Mill Boys' and Crosby Stills and Nash would have been hard pressed to produce better sounding vocal harmonies. At times throughout their career BJH became adept and sounding like a lot of their influences and heroes such as; The Beatles, CSN, The Eagles and their nemesis the Moody Blues. 'The Great 1974 Mining Disaster' actually sounds like a remake of the Bee Gees song 'New York Mining Disaster 1941'

Why this album never became a major hit for the band is a mystery but this showcases BJH at their best. The next step for those unfamiliar with the band would be 'LIVE' the double 1974 release, with some of their best EMI material along with chosen tracks from E.I.E.E. The live setting was the way to experience BJH in all their glory.

Highly recommended