Barclay James Harvest - "Caught Live" (Classic Pictures 75 min.)

Barclay James Harvest's concert/tour documentary from 1977 is finally available to the public again, after remaining hidden and forgotten in the vaults for decades. Unlike many other such documentaries, "Caught Live" cuts straight to the point and avoid all kinds of long-winded talk in favour of action on stage, backstage and on tour. It also shows very well how much hard work, preparations and organization that is needed for a rock band on tour. We're getting some pleasantly brief comments from the band members themselves and are also exposed to some unexpected situations, such as when one of the roadies had to step in as support act on one of the concerts in Germany! John Lees is portrayed as the introverted guy in the band. The first thing he does when they arrive in Germany is to lock himself into the hotel room and reading a book, while the others are checking out the local attractions. But the real treat is of course to see the band perform such classics as "Child of the Universe", "Hard Hearted Woman", "Mockingbird" and "Hymn". And isn't it great to see that a progressive rock band could be at the peak of their career in 1977? It certainly proves to me that the mindless punk-crap didn't have the importance that some people claims, and shows that it was just another trend hyped by braindead music critics who wanted to be cool and keep pace with changing fashions. The DVD also features the bonus of four tracks from the concert at Drury Lane in 1974. The band looked funnily enough older here than in 1977, and performed three songs from "Everyone is Everybody Else" along with "Mockingbird". "Caught Live" is the definitive Barclay James Harvest DVD so far, showing the band at their absolute peak.


Welcome Page | LP Reviews | Labels | DVD Reviews | Links | Credits