Released July 27, 2018. Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of “Strange Worlds – A Collection 1980 – 2010”, a 7CD clamshell box comprising every solo album by Barclay James Harvest founder Woolly Wolstenholme and his band Maestoso.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION A SEVEN CD CLAMSHELL BOX SET FEATURING THE ENTIRE SOLO RECORDINGS BY BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST FOUNDER MEMBER WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME & HIS BAND MAESTOSO CONTAINS THE ALBUMS “MAESTOSO”, “BLACK BOX RECOVERED”, “ONE DROP IN A DRY WORLD”, “FIDDLING MEANLY (LIVE AT THE MEAN FIDDLER)”, “GRIM” & “CATERWAULING” ALSO FEATURING A BONUS DISC OF TWENTY PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DEMOS & ALTERNATE RECORDINGS WITH AN ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET FEATURING AN ESSAY BY BJH AUTHORITIES KEITH & MONIKA DOMONE Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of “Strange Worlds – A Collection 1980 – 2010”, a 7CD clamshell box comprising every solo album by Barclay James Harvest founder Woolly Wolstenholme and his band Maestoso. Described by BJH guitarist John Lees – as “the soul of Barclay James Harvest”, Woolly departed BJH in June 1979 to plough his own musical furrow. The 1980 album “Maestoso” was a majestic work with many outstanding highlights. Unfairly overlooked at the time of its release, the album is now regarded as a classic work. A period of touring saw Wolstenholme enter the studio to begin a second album, sadly shelved. Soon after Woolly retired from music, but he would reunite with John Lees of BJH in 1998 to record and tour. “Black Box Recovered”, released in 2003, featured all of these abandoned recordings, along with a selection of rare demos and live recordings. In 2004 Woolly and his band Maestoso released the acclaimed album “One Drop in a Dry World”, featuring such highlights as ‘Blood & Bones’, ‘Souk’ and ‘Carpet’. The limited edition live album “Fiddling Meanly” was issued in 2005 and was a document of a performance at The Mean Fiddler in London the previous year. He continued to record as a solo artist alongside his work with John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest, releasing the praised album “Grim” in 2006, following this with his final solo work, “Caterwauling” in 2007. Woolly Wolstenholme tragically passed away in 2010, leaving a marvellous legacy of work, both as a member of Barclay James Harvest and as a solo artist. “Strange Worlds – A Collection 1980 – 2010” gathers together all of his solo albums (all of which have been unavailable for some years) and adds a 20 track additional CD, “The Unlost Works – Demos & Fragments”, a previously unreleased collection of recordings. The set also features an illustrated book with a new essay written by BJH authorities Keith & Monika Domone. “Strange Worlds” is a fitting tribute to the multi-faceted music of the much-missed Stuart “Woolly” Wolstenholme. DISC ONE: MAESTOSO 1. SAIL AWAY 2. QUIET ISLANDS 3. A PROSPECT OF WHITBY 4. LIVES ON THE LINE 5. PATRIOTS 6. GATES OF HEAVEN (14/18) 7. AMERICAN EXCESS 8. MAESTOSO – A HYMN IN THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 9. WAVEFORM BONUS TRACKS 10. EVEN THE NIGHT (LIVE IN VIENNA) 11. HAS TO BE A REASON (LIVE IN VIENNA) DISC TWO: BLACK BOX RECOVERED 1. DECEIVERS ALL 2. HAS TO BE A REASON 3. DOWN THE LINE 4. ALL GET BURNED 5. TOO MUCH, TOO LOUD, TOO LATE 6. EVEN THE NIGHT 7. THE WILL TO FLY 8. SUNDAY BELLS 9. OPEN 10. WHY REMAIN 11. SAIL AWAY (DEMO) 12. QUIET ISLANDS (DEMO) 13. AMERICAN EXCESS (LIVE IN VIENNA) 14. LIVES ON THE LINE (LIVE IN VIENNA) 15. DECEIVERS ALL (LIVE IN VIENNA) 16. BOOTHAM PARK ELEGY DISC THREE: ONE DROP IN A DRY WORLD 1. THE BELLS, THE BELLS! 2. BLOOD AND BONES 3. A WAITING GAME 4. IT’S YOU (SIXTIES MIX) 5. SOUK 6. ONE DROP IN A DRY WORLD 7. ANSS 8. THE END OF THE ROAD 9. EXPLORERS 10. 2 AM 11. THE STARVING PEOPLE OF THE WORLD ALL THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME 12. CARPET DISC FOUR: FIDDLING MEANLY – LIVE AT THE MEAN FIDDLER 1. ABENDROT 2. THE BELLS, THE BELLS! 3. DECEIVERS ALL 4. HAS TO BE A REASON 5. IN SEARCH OF ENGLAND 6. THE IRON MAIDEN 7. SUNDAY BELLS 8. POOR WAGES 9. THE POET / AFTER THE DAY 10. THE WILL TO FLY 11. A PROSPECT OF WHITBY 12. HARBOUR 13. EARLY MORNING 14. BIG ORGAN END DISC FIVE: GRIM 1. COMING SOON TO A CINEMA NEAR YOU 2. THROUGH A STORM 3. LOVE IS… 4. A LARK 5. THAT’S THE PRICE YOU PAY 6. THE ICEMAN COMETH 7. HEBDEN BRIDGE 8. LOOT 9. HARP AND CARP 10. BIRDS 11. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION 12. ABENDROT 13. MARSCH BURLESKE 14. PAS DE DEUX 15. A SCENE FROM A LONDON FLAT DISC SIX: CATERWAULING 1. CATERWAULING 2. SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 3. THE ROAD TO NOWHERE 4. MATILDA YARROW 5. THE COLLECTOR 6. CLOSURE 7. ALWAYS 8. I DON’T LIKE YOU 9. TONIGHT COULD BE THE NIGHT 10. SHOES 11. STRANGE WORLDS 12. QUICKSAND 13. BLOSSOM HILL 14. PILLS DISC SEVEN: THE UNLOST WORKS: DEMOS & FRAGMENTS PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED 1. YOUR STARTER FOR TEN 2. THE STREETS OF THIS TOWN 3. BRIAN MACLEAN 4. THE ANGELUS 5. FAITH, HOPE & CHARITY 6. HIRAETH 7. THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE WORLD 8. WAGON 9. MADRIGAL 10. A STOLEN LIFE 11. ALONE 12. BILL SONG 13. A FUNNY KIND OF BLUE 14. DAY SONG 15. SLEEPING 16. ROMANZE 17. IT’S A DREAM (ROBBIE’S SONG) 18. WINTER WORLD (FOR CHLOE) 19. BETHLEHEM 20. DEATH IN OLDHAM