XII is the end of an era for Barclay James Harvest — the last album to feature founding keyboardist Woolly Wolstenholme, and the last to use the Mellotron that defined their symphonic sound. Released in 1978, it’s a strong, varied set that balances Les Holroyd’s increasingly commercial songwriting with John Lees’s literary concept and Wolstenholme’s final contributions, including a fitting orchestral swansong.

The short version

XII (1978) is the ninth studio album by Barclay James Harvest — the title refers to roughly twelve years and a dozen releases since the band began, rather than the album count. Made by the classic quartet of John Lees, Les Holroyd, Woolly Wolstenholme and Mel Pritchard, it’s widely regarded as the last of their classic albums: the final record with Wolstenholme and with the Mellotron. It includes the much-loved ‘Berlin’ and Wolstenholme’s parting epic ‘In Search of England.’

The end of an era

By 1978, Barclay James Harvest were huge stars in Germany and much of continental Europe, even as they remained a cult act at home. XII would prove a turning point. It was the last album to feature Woolly Wolstenholme, the founder member whose keyboards and Mellotron had shaped the band’s symphonic identity from the start; he left in 1979 to pursue solo work and, later, a quieter life. The recording was troubled — producer David Rohl, who had overseen the previous two albums, was replaced midway by engineer Martin Lawrence — and the results are noticeably more commercial than before, pointing toward the AOR direction the band would take in the 1980s.

The sound

XII is a transitional album, caught between the band’s symphonic past and its more streamlined future. Several of Holroyd’s songs are polished, commercial pop-rock, while Lees contributes a loose concept, his tracks each named for a literary genre — Fantasy, Classics, Fact, Science Fiction, Fiction — though the others didn’t follow the scheme. Wolstenholme’s presence still lends the album grandeur, especially on his two contributions, and the Mellotron gets one last outing. It’s less consistently progressive than their mid-Seventies peak, but it contains some of the band’s finest individual songs.

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The songs

The album opens with Lees’s upbeat rocker ‘Fantasy: Loving Is Easy,’ but its most celebrated track is Holroyd’s ‘Berlin’ — a beautiful, melancholy ballad about the then-divided city that became one of the band’s best-known songs and foreshadowed their famous 1980 Berlin concert. Lees’s ‘Science Fiction: Nova Lepidoptera’ is often singled out as the album’s most classic-sounding BJH moment, while ‘Fact: The Closed Shop’ adds a folky, Jethro Tull-like flavour. Wolstenholme bows out with two songs: the gentle ‘Harbour’ and the sweeping, Mellotron-rich ‘In Search of England,’ a fine final statement.

Reception and legacy

XII was another commercial success, earning a silver disc in the UK and gold in Germany, and consolidating the band’s huge European following. It’s widely regarded as the last of Barclay James Harvest’s classic albums — the final chapter of their original line-up and symphonic sound. With Wolstenholme’s departure, the band moved increasingly toward polished AOR, finding continued success, especially in Europe, but leaving behind the orchestral grandeur of their early years. ‘Berlin’ in particular endured, becoming a centrepiece of their landmark 1980 concert before hundreds of thousands in West Berlin.

The verdict

XII is essential for Barclay James Harvest fans as the closing statement of their classic era — a varied, tuneful album with several standout songs, even if it lacks the consistency of their mid-Seventies best. If you love ‘Berlin,’ or want to hear Woolly Wolstenholme’s Mellotron one last time, it’s well worth your time. Come for ‘Berlin,’ ‘Nova Lepidoptera’ and ‘In Search of England,’ and enjoy a fond, fitting farewell to the original Barclay James Harvest.

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