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Barclay James Harvest

Everyone Is Everybody Else: Deluxe Expanded

Review by Gary Hill

It seems odd looking back that a few years ago I’d never heard this band. Now I’ve become quite familiar with them through multiple reviews. All that said, I think this might be their best album. It’s quite a strong one for sure. There is not a weak cut here, really. This new set includes several different mixes of the album (with a bit of a difference in terms of the bonus tracks on each, too). The first CD has the original stereo mix remastered. The second disc includes a new stereo mix. Note that since the songs (except for a couple of the bonus tracks) are the same, I’ve just copied them for the track by track of the first CD. The final disc is a DVD that includes both a 5.1 surround sound mix and a new 98 kHz / 24 bit stereo mix. I don’t hear enough of a difference between any of the versions to really differentiate. That said, they all sound great. I’m sure there are some who will be able to fully appreciate the various mixes, though. Also, this includes a nice booklet and a poster with lyrics printed on the back of it. I highly recommend this set. It’s classic and classy.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Disc 1

                             
“Everyone is Everybody Else”
                   
Original Stereo Mix – 24 bit remastered edition
                           
Released in June 1974 on Polydor 2383 286
                         
Child of the Universe

Starting with a piano arrangement, this song works to a cool melodic prog jam from there. This isn’t the kind of progressive rock that’s made up of million notes a minute playing or fast paced shifts and changes. Instead this is the kind of thing that grows naturally and features great playing and evocative songwriting. I love the lyrical themes and melodies. It’s just a very classy tune. It’s a great way to start things in real style.

Negative Earth
There is a cool mainstream rock groove here. Things like space rock and psychedelia are layered over the top. This is basically folk prog with a lot of other elements at play. There are things here that are in a similar vein to stuff like Klaatu. It’s an effective and potent piece of music. There are definitely some bits here that make me think of The Beatles just a bit. Somehow I can also make out some Traffic on this piece.
Paper Wings
I love the almost dreamy, yet soaring kind of space rock vibe on this cut. It is dripping with psychedelia in a lot of ways. It’s more of an intricate balladic cut, but with powered up sections serving as punctuation to drive the point home. Then, roughly half way through the song, it powers out into more hard rocking jamming for a more pure prog experience. It makes me think of the more hard rocking side of Wishbone Ash in that segment.
The Great 1974 Mining Disaster
I like this melodic folk prog styled number a lot. It has some really rocking guitar parts. The vocal arrangements are strong, too. There are hints of the Beatles here and there, too. The expansive jam later in the tune is particularly powerful.
Crazy City
While this still maintains some of the folk elements, it lands more in the rocking side of prog rock. It is one of the most dynamic pieces. It’s another with an exceptional vocal arrangement, particularly in the section with multiple layers of voices. I love the harder rocking movement later, too.
See Me, See You
The melodies and construction of this song a lot of times reminds me of something Queen might have done. I can even hear hints of Brian May’s guitar sound in some bits here. Mind you, I’m not saying this was influenced by Queen, but the other way around. I love the synthesizer textures on this, too. This is more of a powered up folk prog ballad. It’s a great tune, too.
Poor Boy Blues
It starts with a very old school blues kind of sound, but shifts to more of folk rock sound from there. This is probably not a prog piece at all. It’s a cool folk rock number. It reminds me in a lot of ways of something Crosby Stills and Nash would do.
Mill Boys
This feels a lot like an extension of the previous piece. It gets a bit more rocking energy. There are some more of those Queen like hints, but also a lot of CSN in the vocal harmonies. It does lean closer toward folk prog, though.
For No One
Feeling like it comes out of the previous piece, some great melodic prog jamming brings this into being. It has a great triumphant, soaring vibe to it. This is a growing and evolving melodic prog piece. It’s as close as the album comes to a title track, as the title of the album figures prominently in the lyrics. This has some really powerful moments. It serves as an excellent end to the album proper.
Bonus Tracks
                      
Child of the Universe (US Single Version)

Here we get a shorter version of the opening track. It seems to work just as well in this format.

The Great 1974 Mining Disaster (Original Mix)
I don’t hear a lot of difference between this version and the other one, but perhaps this is a bit trippier in some ways. It’s a great piece either way.
Maestoso (A Hymn in the Roof of the World)
This is quite classically oriented in a lot of ways. It’s one of the most decidedly prog things here. It’s a powerful piece of music. There are definitely hints of that Queen like sound here. This has a nice balance between mellower stuff (witness the piano solo based segment) and symphonic prog bombast. It’s very dynamic and very powerful.
Disc 2
                   
“Everyone is Everybody Else”

                      
New stereo mix
                           
Child of the Universe

Starting with a piano arrangement, this song works to a cool melodic prog jam from there. This isn’t the kind of progressive rock that’s made up of million notes a minute playing or fast paced shifts and changes. Instead this is the kind of thing that grows naturally and features great playing and evocative songwriting. I love the lyrical themes and melodies. It’s just a very classy tune. It’s a great way to start things in real style.

Negative Earth
There is a cool mainstream rock groove here. Things like space rock and psychedelia are layered over the top. This is basically folk prog with a lot of other elements at play. There are things here that are in a similar vein to stuff like Klaatu. It’s an effective and potent piece of music. There are definitely some bits here that make me think of The Beatles just a bit. Somehow I can also make out some Traffic on this piece.
Paper Wings
I love the almost dreamy, yet soaring kind of space rock vibe on this cut. It is dripping with psychedelia in a lot of ways. It’s more of an intricate balladic cut, but with powered up sections serving as punctuation to drive the point home. Then, roughly half way through the song, it powers out into more hard rocking jamming for a more pure prog experience. It makes me think of the more hard rocking side of Wishbone Ash in that segment.
The Great 1974 Mining Disaster
I like this melodic folk prog styled number a lot. It has some really rocking guitar parts. The vocal arrangements are strong, too. There are hints of the Beatles here and there, too. The expansive jam later in the tune is particularly powerful.
Crazy City
While this still maintains some of the folk elements, it lands more in the rocking side of prog rock. It is one of the most dynamic pieces. It’s another with an exceptional vocal arrangement, particularly in the section with multiple layers of voices. I love the harder rocking movement later, too.
See Me, See You
The melodies and construction of this song a lot of times reminds me of something Queen might have done. I can even hear hints of Brian May’s guitar sound in some bits here. Mind you, I’m not saying this was influenced by Queen, but the other way around. I love the synthesizer textures on this, too. This is more of a powered up folk prog ballad. It’s a great tune, too.
Poor Boy Blues
It starts with a very old school blues kind of song, but shifts to more of folk rock sound from there. This is probably not a prog piece at all. It’s a cool folk rock number. It reminds me in a lot of ways of something Crosby Stills and Nash would do.
Mill Boys
This feels a lot like an extension of the previous piece. It gets a bit more rocking energy. There are some more of those Queen like hints, but also a lot of CSN in the vocal harmonies. It does lean closer toward folk prog, though.
For No One
Feeling like it comes out of the previous piece, some great melodic prog jamming brings this into being. It has a great triumphant, soaring vibe to it. This is a growing and evolving melodic prog piece. It’s as close as the album comes to a title track, as the title of the album figures prominently in the lyrics. This has some really powerful moments. It serves as an excellent end to the album proper.
Bonus Tracks
                
Child of the Universe (US Single Version) (New stereo mix)

Here we get a shorter version of the opening track. It seems to work just as well in this format.

Negative Earth (Original mix)
I dig this a lot, but I don’t hear a huge difference from the original version.
Child of the Universe (remake of Us Single)
Here’s another take on the single version of the song. Again, I don’t hear a big difference.

 

 
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