Cherry Red Records [Release date 17.10.25]

More than seven years in the making and some twelve years since the release of ‘North’ its 2013 predecessor, John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest’s second studio album, ‘Relativity’ proves that time well spent can be wonderfully rewarding.

Led by Lees himself on guitar and vocals, the band is now well established with Craig Fletcher on bass/vocals, Jez Smith on keyboards/vocals and Kev Whitehead on drums.

Writing and production credits for the eleven tracks that make up the album are given to all four members, emphasising that this is very much a team effort and, whether by design or coincidence there is a clear theme running through ‘Relativity’ of relationships, through time, both human and spiritual.

Running to almost 80 minutes, at least one of the boxes for ‘Prog Rock’ namely, song length, is clearly ticked and opener, ‘Relativity Part 1 (Through The Dust)’ doesn’t let us down in that respect, weighing in at a healthy 9 minutes.

This is a tremendous start to proceedings, Smith’s keys providing an atmospheric beginning with first John, then Craig taking their turn at lead vocals and, a hint of past glories with phrasing reminiscent of Medicine Man.

Vocally, both Lees and Fletcher are in fine form here and, lyrically, that reflective aspect of the album’s theme is introduced early as John opines, ‘don’t think that we are gone, we are merely yesterday’.

Fletcher, whose voice is superb across the whole album, takes the lead vocal on ‘The Blood of Abraham’, one of the earliest compositions for the album. Believe it or not, this has an almost Burt Bacharach feel to the opening arrangement with a glorious harmony section.

Next up is ‘Heard It All Before’, on the face of it a fairly standard rocker but it’s much more than that. A great vocal hook (Craig again) and an infectious shuffle groove, courtesy of the Whitehead/Fletcher engine room.

The next three songs form a fairly easy listening triumvirate. John’s ‘Magpie’, a love song, perhaps, is a gentle, easy paced number that would have sat comfortably on one of the later albums from that ‘other band’ he used to be in.

There are no doubts about the message in the lyrics of the folksy ‘Love’ – regrets, forgiveness and, yes, love! In ‘Peace Like A River’, the first single released off the album, Lees delivers his plea for ‘love and understanding’ over a distinctly spirited and joyous refrain.

Jez Smith steps up to the microphone for the deeply reflective ‘Hour Glass’, before the tempo picks up again with ‘Snake Oil’, which takes aim at the moneymaking greed and dishonesty inherent in the modern world.

Featuring another strong vocal performance from Craig Fletcher there is also some typically melodic lead guitar work from John Lees, a master of the art of not overplaying and here, once again, he gets it spot on,

With ‘The End of Days’ Lees is clearly evoking his Christian beliefs and, not for the first time in his writing, referring to a judgement day while the trumpets of guest musician Chris Kay help to add an evangelical feel to the song.

By the time we get to penultimate track, ‘Picture World’, the variety of musical styles presented over the course of the album are adding up although, I hasten to add, that is no bad thing, far from it.

I guess that may be a reflection on the time it has taken to lay down the tracks (seven years remember) but, the fact the album works holistically owes a great debt to the brilliant work of Stephen Tayler.

Bringing in an engineer who, already familiar with the band – who has worked with the likes of Rush, Rupert Hine and Kate Bush – has resulted in a perfectly balanced final mix, with Tayler ensuring that all those apparently disparate styles flow seamlessly together. And it sounds immense!

So, to the final 9 minutes of the album, ‘Relativity Part 2 (The Stars That Shine)’. As impressive as its sibling it gives everyone in the band a final chance to indulge in their Progressive Rock fantasies.

As with Part 1, there is a lot going on here and if you are coming to the album looking for a modern take on the Barclay James Harvest of the late 1960’s – a world of grand, symphonic, composition and lyrics that actually convey a message, it’s here that you will find it.

This is a magnificent record that manages to remain true to the legacy of Barclay James Harvest yet retains a contemporary feel that sits comfortably among the best of modern-day Progressive Rock and rewards the listener’s perseverance handsomely. There is no doubt that Lees and his band mates, along with Tayler, should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved here. ****

Review by Neil Pudney

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