User:Gbrading/Desk
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| Early Morning Onwards | |
|---|---|
| Compilation album by | |
| Released | September 1972 |
| Recorded | January 1968 – April 1972 |
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios; Strawberry Studios |
| Genre | Progressive rock |
| Length | 43:01 |
| Label | EMI/Starline |
Early Morning Onwards is the first compilation album by the English rock group Barclay James Harvest, released in September, 1972.[2] It collates early non-album singles and selected tracks from their first three studio albums recorded between January 1968 and April 1972 at Abbey Road Studios, London and Strawberry Studios, Stockport.
Background
Early Morning Onwards was Barclay James Harvest's first compilation record, released on EMI's budget Starline label for 99p in the UK, as a method of attempting to attract new fans towards the group.[3] Compiled by Nick Mobbs, the album was released as a budget LP during a period when the group was building momentum among prog rock audiences. It features a number of the band's early singles, alongside some of their most well known album tracks.[4] The title is a reference to the song "Early Morning", which was the group's first single and was originally released in April 1968.
The album received two LP releases in the UK; the original jacket design in September 1972 (catalogue SRS 5126) featuring a black border and a picture of the band underneath a tree, with stylised font surrounding the butterfly logo was found to be difficult to read by record buyers.[5] The back cover featured the complete lyrics of all songs included on the album. It was replaced by a plain white jacket design with the band name, logo and album title in much larger, clearer font in May 1973.[6] The album also received a German release on Music for Pleasure/Crystal Schallplatten.[7] It was released on CD in 1997 via Brimstone Records.
The tracks "Early Morning" and "Mr Sunshine", which formed both sides of the band's first single, are presented in electronically reprocessed stereo, rather than the original mono, the only such time the tracks were released in this format.[8]
Reception
In part thanks to an advertising campaign in NME, Early Morning Onwards performed respectably in terms of sales, reaching No. 14 in the Virgin Top 30 Album charts by December 1972, as reported in Sounds magazine.[9] The album received broadly average reviews as it was considered to have not adequately captured the complete range of the group, nor compile all of their greatest hits.[10] It did have fans however, with BBC Radio 1 DJ Bob Callan writing "This budget album is a sheer knock-out" and calling it "a fantastic album" in his review.[11] Early Morning Onwards played a vital role for broadening the appeal of Barclay James Harvest and their somewhat niche form of prog rock. Its affordability and introductory track list helped attract new fans, and it remains fondly remembered by both collectors and retro‑prog enthusiasts thanks to its highlights from their formative years before their mainstream breakthrough albums like Everyone Is Everybody Else and Time Honoured Ghosts.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Early Morning (Single A-side, 1968)" | Les Holroyd, John Lees, Mel Pritchard, Woolly Wolstenholme | 2:34 |
| 2. | "Poor Wages (Single B-side, 1969)" | Wolstenholme | 2:33 |
| 3. | "Brother Thrush (Single A-side, 1969)" | Lees | 3:04 |
| 4. | "Mr. Sunshine (Single B-side, 1968)" | Wolstenholme | 2:54 |
| 5. | "Taking Some Time On (From Barclay James Harvest)" | Lees | 5:31 |
| 6. | "Mother Dear (From Barclay James Harvest)" | Lees | 3:20 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mocking Bird (From Once Again)" | Lees | 6:39 |
| 2. | "Song With No Meaning (From Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories)" | Holroyd | 4:23 |
| 3. | "I'm Over You (Single A-side, 1972)" | Lees | 3:53 |
| 4. | "Child of Man (Single B-side, 1972)" | Lees | 3:21 |
| 5. | "After the Day (From Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories)" | Lees | 4:49 |
Personnel
- Barclay James Harvest
- John Lees – vocals, guitars
- Les Holroyd – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards
- Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme – vocals, mellotron, keyboards
- Mel Pritchard – drums, percussion
- Additional personnel
- James Litherland – guitar on "Taking Some Time On"
- The Barclay James Harvest Symphony Orchestra
- Orchestra Leader: Gavyn Wright
- Conductor and Musical Director: Robert John Godfrey