Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint has continued its harvest of releases from progressive rock's Barclay James Harvest.  The latest deluxe edition from the band, 1976's Octoberon, once again is in the expanded 2-CD/1-DVD format, and follows the recent reissue of 1978's XII as well as Everyone is Everybody Else (1974) and Gone to Earth (1977), the latter two of which were released by the label in 2016.

Octoberon arrived immediately prior to Gone to Earth in a landmark year for the group.  John Lees had founded BJH in 1966 with Les Holroyd, Mel Pritchard and Stuart "Wooly" Wolstenholme.  After one single for EMI's Parlophone imprint in 1968, the progressive four-piece was moved over to the Harvest imprint.  Barclay James Harvest fittingly remained on Harvest for four LPs, but didn't score their commercial breakthrough until a move to Polydor.  Though label debut Everyone is Everybody Else didn't chart, it became popular on pirate radio station Radio Caroline and also earned the band a slot with the influential John Peel on BBC Radio 1.  The quartet embarked on their first American tour in early '76, and had planned to reunite with producer Elliot Mazer (of Neil Young fame) for an album.  When those plans didn't pan out, the band returned to England to craft the album that became Octoberon (so named for its planned release in October).

The album, self-produced by BJH, reflected the bandmates' diverse lyrical interests and musical styles.  It was divided into a "blue side" and "red side" rather than typical Side One and Side Two.  The "red side" (which opens the presentation here on both CD and DVD) featured just three songs.  Les Holroyd's poetically ruminative ballad "The World Goes On" employed CSN-style harmonies over shimmering strings provided by Ritchie Close, while John Lees' "May Day" delivered a political message as it imagined what the British reaction to a totalitarian government might be.  Lees imagined the populace returning to classic songs of yore, hence the track ends with a choir singing snippets of songs ranging from the socialist anthem "The Red Flag" to "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" and "We'll Meet Again."  Woolly Wolstenholme wrote the side's cosmic closer "Ra," a classical-rock fusion inspired by the Egyptian sun god.  (The next year, Ra would inspire Todd Rundgren's American prog band to create an entire concept album.)

The "blue side" was equally eclectic.  Holroyd's caustic "Rock 'n' Roll Star" bore the hallmarks of American west coast rock in the 1960s and 1970s, via its subject matter once surveyed by the Byrds and its sleek, then-contemporary arrangement, respectively.  His "Believe in Me" returned to blue-eyed soul ballad territory, with a CSN-style harmony coda.  Lees gave "blue" a certain meaning with the off-color "Polk Street Rag," his searing, guitar-driven ode to the notorious adult film Deep Throat - and quite a way from the high-minded "May Day."  The album closed with its most controversial track, but one which became a fan favorite.  Lees' "Suicide?" was a first-person narrative about the moments leading up to the narrator's death, complete with sound effects and pitch-black humor.

Octoberon became Barclay James Harvest's first top 20 record in the U.K. when it opened at No. 19 on the chart.  Disc One of Esoteric's reissue has the original album as newly remastered by Paschal Byrne from the original master tapes plus four early mixes first aired on Polydor's 2003 CD reissue, while the second disc premieres Craig Fletcher and reissue producer Mark Powell's crisp, new stereo mix which illuminates different aspects of the instrumentation with fine detail.  Two more bonus tracks, including the Marquee Studios recording of "Rock 'n' Roll Star" from the 2003 reissue, are appended to this disc.  The third disc, a region-free DVD playable in NTSC, has the album in a subtle 5.1 surround mix, as well as both the original and new stereo mixes and "May Day" alternate version bonus track in 96/24 high resolution stereo.  The DVD also contains the Polydor promo films for "Rock 'n' Roll Star" and "The World Goes On" as first aired on Top of the Pops. Keith and Monika Domone tell the LP's story in their liner notes, contained within the 20-page color booklet.  A foldout poster with artwork and lyrics is also enclosed within the ten-panel digipak.

Esoteric's latest BJH reissue is another fine entry in what's been a stellar series for the versatile prog heroes.  Look for it at the links below!

Barclay James Harvest, Octoberon (Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 32570, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: Original Stereo Mix (Polydor 2442 144, 1976) plus bonus tracks from Polydor 065 399-2, 2003

1. The World Goes On
2. May Day
3. Ra
4. Rock 'n' Roll Star
5. Polk Street Rag
6. Believe in Me
7. Suicide?
8. Rock 'n' Roll Star (First Mix)
9. Polk Street Rag (Early Mix)
10. Ra (Early Mix)
11. Suicide? (Early Mix)

CD 2: New Stereo Mix plus bonus tracks

1. The World Goes On
2. May Day
3. Ra
4. Rock 'n' Roll Star
5. Polk Street Rag
6. Believe in Me
7. Suicide?
8. Rock 'n' Roll Star (Marquee Studios Version) (from Polydor 065 399-2, 2003)
9. May Day (Alternate Intro Version) (previously unreleased)

DVD: Album in 5.1 Surround, Original and New Stereo Mixes in 96/24 Stereo

1. The World Goes On
2. May Day
3. Ra
4. Rock 'n' Roll Star
5. Polk Street Rag
6. Believe in Me
7. Suicide?
8. May Day (Alternate Intro Version) (previously unreleased)
9. Rock 'n' Roll Star promotional film
10. The World Goes On promotional film