Record of the Week

Negative Earth
by Barclay James Harvest



I first came across this track, and this band, courtesy of a flexi-disc given away free with Sounds. Sounds was a great music paper: better than both NME or Melody Maker but sadly no longer with us.

Anyway, this flexi-disc, which was a Polydor promotion, featured this track by the band some in the press dubbed the 'Poor Man's Moody Blues'. Was never sure about that, but found from this moment on that for me they hit a certain spot.

After all these years, this particular track is still a stand-out. I didn't know it then but the album its taken from - Everyone Is Everybody Else - was their first on Polydor after several years on EMI, where they even gave their name to the Harvest Record label (if you believe some legends)... but their thunder was stolen by label-mates Pink Floyd, who became the stellar act on that roster.

The production here is very clean. The playing heavy, in a soft and considered way, adds to the haunting nature of the song. It is certainly a great trailer for the album which, if you try to listen to, won't disappoint either.

As time has gone by, this is one those that would get added to an extended desert island selection. And if anyone is doing market research on that 1974 flexi-disc, well, it worked as I went out and bought the album!

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