Barclay James Harvest Album Mappe

Caught In The Light

CD: Polydor 519 303-2, Juni 1993
MC: Polydor 519 303-4, Juni 1993

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Who Do We Think We Are (Les Holroyd)
Knoydart (John Lees)
Copii Romania (Les Holroyd)
Back To Earth (John Lees)
Cold War (Les Holroyd)
Forever Yesterday (John Lees)
The Great Unknown (Les Holroyd)
Spud-U-Like (John Lees)
Silver Wings (Les Holroyd)
Once More (John Lees)
A Matter Of Time (Les Holroyd)
Ballad Of Denshaw Mill (John Lees)

Aufnahmedetails

Aufnahmestudios:
Digital aufgenommen (trotz des Fehlers auf der Disc; es sollte “DDD” heißen) in Friarmere Studios, Delph

Gemastert in The Town House, London

Aufnahmedaten: Dezember 1992 bis April 1993

Produzenten:
Barclay James Harvest & Martin Lawrence

Toningenieur: Martin Lawrence

Gastmusiker

Kevin McAlea an den Keyboards, Darren Tidsey assistierte beim Programmieren.

Titel

Der Albumtitel kam von Les' originalem Text für “Who Do We Think We Are", obwohl der erste Vers des Songs herausfiel, als er aufgenommen wurde, auch wenn er noch im Textblatt enthalten ist.

Hülle

Stammt von einem Originalgemälde von Rodney Matthews, der zuvor viele Albumcovers einschließlich Asia's Aqua entwarf. Les ist ein Fan von ihm und hatte einen Kalender mit seinen Zeichnungen, und es war seine Idee, Matthews zu beauftragen, nachdem ein früheres Design nicht zu jedermanns Befriedigung funktioniert hatte.

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Who Do We Think We Are

Bevor das Album herauskam, gab es Unstimmigkeiten über seine Länge, und einige Schnitte wurden gemacht, um auf nur 70 Minuten zu kommen, und die Band ließ den ersten Vers dieses Songs aus, als sie ihn aufnahm. Das Thema des Songs ist die Zerstörung der Erde durch den Menschen, und die Stimmeffekte im Refrain wurden durch Vocoder erreicht, die durch Peter Frampton berühmt wurden.

Text:

All around we're caught in the light of a thousand suns
Riding the wind of eternal years
Watching the Earth die before our eyes
Hearing the world crying in our ears

We kill the trees, now there isn't any rainfall
And there's burning sand where the cornfields were before
We poison seas, pouring oil on troubled waters
And the air we breathe doesn't taste good any more

We kill the land 'till there isn't any food to eat
And we fire our guns and we're fighting all our wars
See the children die like a movie on the silver screen
Now the air we breathe doesn't taste good any more

Too bad, look at your life
We are sinking in the water
Turn back, look at the time
Cast adrift on the open sea
Once more into the night
Nothing left for your sons and your daughters
We're on our ship called Earth for all eternity

Too bad, look at your life
We are sinking in the water
Turn back, look at the time
Cast adrift on the open sea
Once more into the night
Nothing left for your sons and your daughters
We're on our ship called Earth for all eternity

All around we're travelling the universe
Do we believe there's someone watching over us
Can we be sure?
Who do we think we are?

(We are the chosen people
We are the chosen ones)

All around we're travelling the universe
Do we believe there's someone watching over us
Can we be sure?
Who do we think we are?

[Les Holroyd, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Knoydart

Knoydart ist eine Halbinsel an der Westküste der schottishen Highlands, und die meisten Textbezüge sind Orte auf jener Halbinsel. Die erste Zeile des Textes sollte heißen: “heading for Mallaig", ein Ort, von wo die Fähre den Sound Of Sleat (richtige Schreibweise) nach Knoydart überquert. Spanish John, Ladhar Bheinn, Kinloch Hourn und Inverie sind alles Orte auf der Halbinsel. Die “ugly bastards”, denen dieser Song gewidmet ist, sind eine Gruppe von Johns Freunden, mit denen er jenen Ort besuchte.

Text:

On the road to nowhere, heading for Mallaig
I can feel the wild west highland breeze
Drive all my fears away
Through the raging Sound of Sleat
Safe on Spanish John
I can't wait for heaven's gate
It's paradise I'm looking on

Sky, nothing but blue sky all around
Sky, nothing but blue sky
Feel the silence calling all around
All around

Eagle high on Ladhar Bheinn
Heaven and hell beneath
Kinloch Hourn's where hell is born
And Nevis where the angels meet
Knoydart mends a broken heart
Heals a tortured soul
Brings new life to tired minds
And brightens eyes that look upon

Sky, nothing but blue sky all around
Sky, nothing but blue sky
Feel the silence calling all around
All around

Inverie, oh Inverie, ancient hearts of old
Ugly bastards one and all
We'll gather just to look upon

Sky, nothing but blue sky all around
Sky, nothing but blue sky
Feel the silence calling all around
All around

Sky, nothing but blue sky all around
Sky, nothing but blue sky
Feel the silence calling
Hear the silence calling
Feel the silence calling
All around
All around

[John Lees, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Copii Romania

Les' liebster Song auf Caught In The Light; Der Song geht um die Notlage in Rumänien nach dem Zerfall des sovietischen Blocks, und der englische Untertitel war “Kinder von Rumänien”. Les spendete all seine Einkünfte an den Fond für die verwaisten Kinder von Rumänien. Lautari sind Zigeunerfiedler, und “the mighty Karpatii" ist das mächtige Karpatengebirge.

Text:

Gone you sons of darkness
Gone you tyrants of old
From the land where we hear lautari playing
Here in the outfield of Europe
A cry for freedom was heard
Rang out to the world
And we all stood watching

Hold the light
Keep it burning so bright
For the children

Copii Romania
Must they live so long In the shadows
Copii Romania
Will we turn and say
Like many times before
We did not know?

Once there was a proud people
Filled with laughter and song
Could they feel something wrong
Through the air was blowing?
Here by the mighty Karpatii
The fight for freedom began
The fight for life still goes on
But no-one listens any more

Hold the light
Keep it burning so bright
For the children

Copii Romania
Must they live so long In the shadows
Copii Romania
Will we turn and say
Like many times before
We did not know?

[Les Holroyd, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Back To Earth

Ein sehr persönlicher Song von John, geschrieben 1992 nach dem Tode seines Vaters. John widmete ihn nicht nur der Erinnerung an seinen Vater, sondern auch allen, die den Verlust eines geliebten Menschen betrauern.

Text:

I've been so sad since you went away
I've been so lost without you
I wanted to be there
I wanted to hold on and tell you
How much, how much I loved you

I never thought that this day would come
Never dreamed we'd have to part
And now that you're gone and there's only memories
It's left such a hole, hole in my heart

Whenever skies are cloudy and the raindrops fall
I pray that you'll be waiting to catch me when I fall
So many words that were left unsaid
So many things still to share
Amd through all the tears and all of the memories
I hope that you know how much I cared

Whenever skies are cloudy and the raindrops fall
I pray that you'll be waiting to catch me when I fall
I've been so sad since you went away
I've been so lost without you
I wanted to be there
I wanted to hold on and tell you
How much, how much I loved you

I never thought that this day would come
Never dreamed we'd have to part
And now that you're gone and there's only memories
It's left such a hole, hole in my heart

[John Lees, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Cold War

Les widmete diese Antikriegs-Klage seiner Cousine Marguerette, die im früheren Jugoslavien wohnt, zu einer Zeit, als das Land durch einen bitteren Bürgerkrieg zerrissen wurde. Die schöne klassische Gitarre am Ende spielte Les, der uns sagte, das sei sein erstes Instrument gewesen, bevor er den Baß spielte. Zugabe, bitte!

Text:

Born in a cold war
Opened up my eyes
See the bombers riding
Dark against the sky

Fly like an eagle
Carried on the wind
See our hearts are broken
So many lives are gone
Waiting for this dream to end

We're not alone
We'll live on forever
They echo the songs
Of the partisans

Don't be afraid
We're heading for glory
The fears of the past
Bring tears of today

Nothing's going to change

Cold is the winter
Chills you to the bone
Praying for the silence
Will the morning come?

Out on the border
Lost without a friend
Searching for a reason
The battle rages on
Waiting for this dream to end

We're not alone
We'll live on forever
They echo the songs
Of the partisans

Don't be afraid
We're heading for glory
The fears of the past
Bring tears of today

Nothing's going to change

[Les Holroyd, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Forever Yesterday

Johns historischer Song behandelt die schandvolle Geschichte der Highland-Räumungen. Im 19 Jahrhundert waren die schottischen Highland-Bewohner zumeist Bauern, die im traditionellen Runrig-System arbeiteten, wobei jeder Bauer mehrere getrennte Streifen Land hatte. Ihre englischen, abwesenden Landherren waren zufrieden, solange das Land nicht anderweitig genutzt werden konnte. Als aber neue Schafzüchtungen wie die schwarzköpfigen Lintons und Great Cheviots auf dürftigen Hügeln überleben konnten, sahen die Landeigner die Chance großen Gewinns. Die Farmer wurden oft mit Gewalt hinausgeworfen, und viele zogen in die Neue Welt. John Morrison (Murdo) und Neil Morrison, die als Inspiration des Songs genannt werden, wohnten in Knoydart, und als John Lees dort im Urlaub war, kam ihm die Sache zum ersten Mal zu Ohren. “Forever Yesterday” war auch ein Opfer jener falschen Entscheidung, das Album zu kürzen, als die Coda mit einem besonders tollen Gitarrensolo von der CD gebannt wurde, obwohl sie aus unerfindlichen Gründen auf der Cassette draufblieb. Eine deutsche Nur-Promo-CD-Single hat die volle 7:10 Version.

Text:

Talk about a loser, I was just about to go
When someone grabbed me by the arm, a man I did not know
He said he'd been a drover, a member of the clan
With runrig in his very soul and nowhere left to stand

Now me I'm just a highland boy and cottar was my trade
He'd seen me at Kildoanan when the black-face came to stay
He'd oatcakes and he'd whisky and one foot in the grave
For us it's over
Bitter tears began to fall as whisky tore away the years
From the straths and the braes
Forever yesterday

The royal George it was that brought the Countess to our door
She wanted us to leave the hills for crofts upon the moor
She took our piece of paradise and left us on the shore
For us it's over
Bitter tears began to fall as whisky tore away the years
From the straths and the braes
Forever yesterday

They cleared the clans from Strathnavar, the heart of Sutherland
They cleared us from our highland homes by ship to foreign glens
There's Linton and there's Cheviot and red deer on the bens
For us it's over, over, over, my friend

[John Lees, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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The Great Unknown

Ein kirchenähnliches Keyboard schafft die Scene für diesen nachdenklichen Song über Liebe und das Älterwerden, bevor Gitarre und Drums für die zweite Hälfte hereinbrechen. Schöne vokale Variationen und Vocoder vollenden den Effekt.

Text:

All lovers in the night
Look up and see the dawn
Reach out into the light
Before you travel on

All you have to do is smile for me
Lonely days will disappear

All lovers of the world
We thought we had it all
Reach out and touch someone
Across the great unknown

All you have to do is smile for me
Lonely nights will disappear

Promises are soon forgotten
Watch them falling one by one
Nothing stays the same forever
See the years go on and on they fly

We'll wait for the day
Changing our ways
All over the world
Reach out for someone
All over the world

All you have to do is smile for me
Lonely nights will disappear
All of my life

Lovers of the world...

[Les Holroyd, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Spud-U-Like

Untertitel “David's Rock Song". Gemeint ist David Walker von Handle Artists. Der Song ist ein paar Jahre alt, aber es war Martin Lawrence, der John überrredete, ihn zu vollenden und für dieses Album aufzunehmen. “Spud-U-Like” ist sowohl der Name einer Fastfoodkette, die sich in gebackenen Kartoffeln spezialisiert, aber auch ein Videospiel, daher der eher unübliche Titel für einen Song, der die Oberflächlichkeit von Videospielen zu deren Ungunsten mit den eher bleibenden Freuden von Rock and Roll vergleicht.

Text:

Super mean machine
Taking over all the kids you've ever seen
Locked into the screen
Jabbing at the buttons like they're in a dream
Don't want a Mega drive
Just give me spud-u-like
And lots of records that'll make me scream
Give me the radio playing all the songs I know
Don't want no Gameboy just a rock and roll

Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a Gameboy just rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a system that ain't got no soul

Virtual reality taking over grown ups like you've never seen
Locked into the screen
Simulated mass-destruction oh so clean
Don't want a Mega drive
Just give me spud-u-like
And lots of records that'll make me scream
Give me the radio playing all the songs I know
Don't want no Gameboy just a rock and roll

Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a Gameboy just rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a system that's not rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a Gameboy just rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a system that ain't got no soul

Kids grow up to be
Simulation junkies when the game's for real
Don't want no C.T.V. when they're pushing all the buttons
And the game's for free
Don't give me a Mega drive
Just give me spud-u-like
And lots of music that'll make me scream
No mean machine in my dreams
I need you, radio
I want you, radio
I need you, radio
I want you for the things you do
No more Gameboy just want rock and roll
No more Top Gun just want rock and roll
No more smart bombs just want rock and roll
No more Gameboy just want rock and roll

Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a Gameboy just rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a system that's not rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a Gameboy just rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a system that ain't got no soul
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want smart bombs just rock and roll
Oh a oh give me a radio
Don't want a system that's not rock and roll

[John Lees, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Silver Wings

Les beschrieb Caught In The Light als “ein sehr persönliches Album", und dieser schöne, aber bittersüße Song fällt sicher in diese Kategorie, wenn er nur zu erfolgreich die Qual beschreibt, die das Ende einer Beziehung mit sich bringt. Im Nachhinein gesehen, könnte man es auch als Kommentar zu der schweren Zeit sehen, die die Band zu der Zeit durchmachte, obwohl das wohl mehr hineinsteckt, als der Komponist beabsichtigte.

Text:

Did we take away the daylight from our life?
Dreams are over, faded with the night
We've been here so long, didn't we see the way
Love grown cold as ice melted with the rain

After all these years
Can't believe it's true
Is it really over
After all that we've been through?
I need you here
To take away the pain
I just want to be with you again

Did you see the way
We broke the things we made
Gone forever, never be the same
Torn away on "silver wings"
Love like lightning ended in the rain
After all this time
You're still the only one
Can't be over, all we've said and done

I need you back
To take away the pain
I just want to be with you again

I need you back
To take away the pain
I just want to be with you again

[Les Holroyd, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Once More

Außer der offensichtlichen Neuversion von “Mocking Bird" zitiert der Song auch musikalisch aus “Galadriel" und erwähnt “Pools Of Blue", welches zur gleichen Zeit entstand. Zu einer Zeit, wo die Autorenschaft von “Mocking Bird” angezweifelt wurde, war dies Johns Art, seine Echtheit zu beweisen.

Text:

With these arms I'll hold you
Let my love enfold you
Please don't cry
Night and day forever
Rain, sea, surf, sand, clouds then sun will shine

Born in the spirit of love
You took flight
Soaring so high and so free
No-one can stop you
You'll always be heard
Our hearts know the truth

In pools of blue I found you
Let my love surround you
Gave you life
From that day forever
Rain, sea, surf, sand, clouds then sun will shine

Born in the spirit of love
You took flight
Soaring so high and so free
No-one can stop you
You'll always be heard
Our hearts know the truth

Born in the spirit of love
You took flight
Soaring so high and so free
No-one can stop you
You'll always be heard
They'll never kill the mockingbird
She'll fly free

[John Lees, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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A Matter Of Time

Les kehrt zum Thema einer Beziehung zurück, die nicht glatt läuft. Es ist der eine Les-Song des Albums, der live gespielt wurde.

Text:

It's a matter of time before we know
If you follow the signs, let your feelings show
Oh babe, you've got nothing to lose

We can talk for a while and that's all right
I can see in your eyes what you feel inside
You don't know what you've been doing
Leave me standing here
We are on the edge of reality

We've gone too far
Not the way that it's meant to be
It's a matter of time
It's just a matter of time

It's a matter of time before we say
We got out of line looking for the way
Oh babe, you've got something to hide

You can stay for a while and that's all right
I see in your smile what you feel tonight
You don't know what you've been doing
Leave us standing here
We are on the edge of reality

We've gone too far
Not the way that it's meant to be
It's a matter of time
It's just a matter of time

Are you really looking for someone
Who'll turn you on
And always be around you?

Take another look and you will see
That I will be waiting
It's a matter of time
It's a matter of time
Oh babe, it's just a matter of time

[Les Holroyd, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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Ballad Of Denshaw Mill

Inspiriert durch eine Saddleworther Legende, die auf Tatsachen basiert. Denshaw Mill war eine Wollspinnerei, die bis Ende der 1880er arbeitete, und war zur Zeit des ersten Weltkrieges bereits außer Betrieb, als die Vorfälle im Song sich ereigneten. Die Zeile “ein Loch, so verrottet wie nur möglich, verdarb die grüne Erde" ist aus einem Vers des örtlichen Dichters Ammon Wrigley, und die Gegend ist ein Teil der Friarmere-Division von Saddleworth, dort als die Darkside bekannt. Harold McKlintock, dessen Erinnerung der Song gewidmet ist, war ein alter Freund und Nachbar und inspirierte John, als er den Song schrieb, der zuerst für Ring Of Changes vorgeschlagen wurde - und abgelehnt.

Text:

On a cold starry night in the winter time
Stood three old men by a mill pond in the moonlight
And they spoke of their young men in the front line
How they all wished them home for the Christmas time
As they spoke from the east came a bright light
And it sparkled like pure gold in their sad eyes
And an angel came down on Denshaw Mill
Spreading her light all around on the Darkside

Are you blind can you not see
Do you think that it's me who deceives?
He promised to be there if you believe, to carry you home

A hole as rotten as ever fouled the green earth
Was this old mill in its day, spoke the angel
Yet there's many a poor boy in foreign climes
Who would think this old mill now a palace fine

As she spoke from the mill there came laughter
Came the warm sounds of their young men like a summer breeze
And they rose in the night like fire bright
Spreading their light all around on the Darkside

Are you blind can you not see
Do you think that it's me who deceives?
He promised to be there if you believe, to carry you home

No-one knows what became of the bonny lads
Posted missing, lost in action in a far land
Fools and heroes, gallant men, now side by side
With the old men who believed they came home that night
To the warmth of their homes at Christmas time
To the peace of their homes at Christmas time

[John Lees, © BJH Ltd/Handle Music Ltd]

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