In search of my Rock Time 27 – Barclay James Harvest

看到 albertineproust 最近發表的文章 〈21世紀精神分裂者的墓誌銘【FIN】〉
(詳 http://blog.udn.com/albertineproust/5645462)
在沒看到內文之前，我很清楚其實這是從前衛搖滾樂團的前驅 King Crimson 在 1969 年的第一張專輯 "In the Court of the Crimson King" 的曲目延伸而來的。
老實說，很驚訝會有人提到 King Crimson，更遑論是被我視為普魯斯特權威的 albertineproust……

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history (including jazz and folk music, classical and experimental music, psychedelic rock, hard rock and heavy metal, new wave, gamelan, electronica and drum and bass). They have been influential on many contemporary musical artists and have gained a large cult following, despite garnering little radio or music video airplay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_rock
Bands formed by the end of the 1960s included The Moody Blues (1964), Pink Floyd (1965), Soft Machine (1966), Barclay James Harvest (1966), Gong (1967), Genesis (1967), Jethro Tull (1967), The Nice (1967), The United States of America (1967), Van der Graaf Generator (1967), Yes (1968), Caravan (1968), King Crimson (See In the Court of the Crimson King arguably the first true Progressive Rock Album 1969), Supertramp (1969) and Gentle Giant (1969).

那是什麼樣的一個年代，膽敢將爵士、民謠、古典及搖滾樂共冶一爐，融合創造出前衛、耳目一新的風格。除了大家耳熟能詳的 Pink Floyd、Genesis、The Moody Blues，除了 King Crimson 之外，我也來推薦一個自己很喜歡的樂團 Barclay James Harvest：
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barclay_James_Harvest
Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, in September 1966 by John Lees, Les Holroyd, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme (1947–2010), and Mel Pritchard (1948–2004).

http://www.books.com.tw/exep/cdfile.php?item=0020151708
「BJH樂團Barclay James Harvest」是成立於60年代末期的一支英國前衛藝術搖滾團體，由John Lees、Les Holroyd、Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme（1947–2010）、Mel Pritchard所共同創立。樂團四人自1966開始踏上搖滾音樂之路，他們充滿實驗性的音樂創意，以及帶有強烈的民謠風格與Progressive色彩，隨即獲得EMI旗下優質廠牌Parlophone的注意，簽下了一紙唱片合約。BJH樂團終於在1970年，發行首張《同名專輯Barclay James Harvest》，專輯一推出立刻受到廣大樂評讚賞，雖然沒有在商業上獲得壓倒性的勝利，卻也成功地打開了知名度。在隔年發行第二張專輯《Once Again》，在商業及口碑雙贏的激勵之下，讓樂團初嘗走紅滋味，樂團也在這張專輯當中締造出多首經典單曲〈Song For Dying〉、〈She Said〉、〈Mocking Bird〉...等。而真正讓樂團站穩腳步的可說是他們的第三張原創專輯《Barclay James Harvest And Other Short Stories》，收錄他們最具代表性的單曲〈Mockingbird〉。雖然之後，歷經樂團團員的變換更動，BJH一直持續交出漂亮的音樂成績單，讓他們在70、80、90年代也都有不少優秀的作品，截至現在為止，樂團發行的專輯作品高達二十多張。


試著從以下這一首歌〈child of the universe〉感受他們豐富多變的旋律以及感動人心的詞意吧！

I'm a child of South Africa
I'm a child of Vietnam
I'm a child of Northern Ireland
I'm a small boy with blood on his hands

Yes, I'm a child of the universe
Yes, I'm a child of the universe
You can see me on the TV every night
Always there to join in someone else's fight

I didn't ask to be born and I don't ask to die
I'm an endless dream, a gene machine
That cannot reason why

Yes, I'm a child of the universe
Yes, I'm a child of the universe
You can see me on the TV every day
I'm the child next door three thousand miles away