Cherry Red's Esoteric imprint has overseen the catalogue of prog rockers Barclay James Harvest for some years now, revisiting their albums in various shapes and sizes. 2023 has recently seen the reissue of BJH's second album, 1971's Once Again, as a 3-CD/Blu-ray box boasting the album in its original stereo mix; a new stereo mix by Stephen W. Tayler; and a fold-down of its original 1973 quadraphonic mix on CD, plus a new 5.1 surround mix, the quadraphonic mix in true 4.0, and the new and
As our Holiday Gift Guide continues with a fourth and final look at Cherry Red's recent box set offerings, we wanted to bring to your attention two collections that would look great underneath the tree, whether for a prog-rock enthusiast in your life or for yourself (we won't tell!). First up: Barclay James Harvest's And Other Short Stories, recently reissued as a 2-CD/DVD set. The English prog rock outfit Barclay James Harvest had already made a name for themselves as part of Harvest
Producer-compiler Bob Stanley's last couple of compilations for Ace have placed him squarely within the 1970s. Earlier this year, Saint Etienne Present Songs for the Fountain Coffee Room (compiled by Stanley, Sarah Cracknell, and Pete Wiggs) conjured "the soundtrack for a bar in mid-'70s Los Angeles," or a St. Etienne-style spin on "yacht rock" with Stephen Bishop, Ned Doheny, Boz Scaggs, and Seals and Crofts among those featured. Stanley has followed Fountain Coffee Room up with a trip to a
Today we're looking at a pair of recent releases from Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint featuring some heavy sounds! With a résumé including Cream, Blind Faith, Blues Incorporated, The Graham Bond Organisation, and Fela Kuti's group, Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker has long been recognized as one of rock's greatest - and most volatile - drummers. With a personality as outsize as his talent, Baker brought a powerful touch to all of his projects and various bands. Between 1974 and 1976,
Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint has recently released the latest volume in its year-by-year chronicle of British psychedelia. Try a Little Sunshine: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969 follows Let's Go Down and Blow Our Minds (1967) and Looking at Pictures in the Sky (1968) with 3 CDs and 73 tracks from another fascinating year in music history. The box explores the various musical strains impacted by psychedelia, such as pop (including bubblegum, baroque, and sunshine/harmony pop),
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! Prince, Nothing Compares 2 U (Warner Bros.) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Prince's original recording of "Nothing Compares 2 U" arrives on vinyl today for wide release. The original Prince studio version was recorded at the Flying Cloud Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota by engineer Susan Rogers and featured background vocals by Susannah Melvoin and Paul "St. Paul" Peterson as well as saxophone by Eric Leeds. Prince composed,
Over the past years, Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint has been drawing attention to the albums of prog titans Barclay James Harvest, reissuing the band's albums in 2-CD/1-DVD editions boasting bonus content including outtakes, rarities, and new stereo and surround mixes. 1976's Octoberon got the deluxe treatment last fall, following 1978's XII as well as Everyone is Everybody Else (1974) and Gone to Earth (1977). Now, Esoteric is turning back the clock to 1970's Barclay James Harvest,
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
Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings imprint has recently continued its campaign dedicated to U.K. prog heroes Barclay James Harvest with the release of the group's 1978 album XII as a 2-CD/1-DVD set. This reissue follows similarly-formatted editions of the band's Everyone is Everybody Else (1974) and Gone to Earth (1977), both of which were released by the label in 2016. John Lees founded Barclay James Harvest in 1966 with Les Holroyd, Mel Pritchard and Stuart "Wooly" Wolstenholme. After one
Esoteric Recordings has recently turned its attention to the Polydor discography of prog giants Barclay James Harvest for a pair of 2-CD/1-DVD reissues. John Lees founded Barclay James Harvest 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 remained on Harvest for four LPs, but didn't score their commercial breakthrough until a
With a trio of recent releases, Cherry Red Group's Esoteric Recordings imprint continues to dig through the archives to reissue some of the most intriguing offerings from the prog-rock era and beyond. John Lees founded Barclay James Harvest 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 remained on Harvest for four LPs, but