How To Get Into The Hollies?

They were always there, but other than "Bus Stop" I couldn't name any of their songs. Armed with store trade credit I took a chance on Evolution, the recently reissued 2xLP with mono and stereo mixes on separate LPs. It's pleasantly psychedelic and very much of its time, and the mono mix especially sounds superb (this set seems to be AAA). Working backward I've picked up "The Hollies' Greatest Hits," a great sounding LP with all the hits I knew from the radio, like Carrie-Anne, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, and On A Carousel. Am I missing any particular Hollies highlights?

 

https://www.discogs.com/Hollies-All-The-Hits-And-More-The-Definitive-Collection/release/4236177

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Add "Pay You Back With Interest" and "Dear Eloise" to the list of great Hollies singles.

 

If you like "Evolution" you'd probably also like the next LP, "Butterfly." The album just before "Evolution," the pre-psychedelic "For Certain Because," isn't quite as strong but it's still got some very good material. Those three albums, for me, are the Hollies at their peak, writing their own material rather than rummaging through the shelves at Tin Pan Alley.

 

Of course there's "King Midas In Reverse", which is not just a great song, but one of the best things Graham Nash ever wrote.

 

That's one of a handful of live tracks from 1968 included on the 6CD "Clarke-Hicks-Nash Years" collection. It's an interesting coincidence that there is almost no high-quality live material from any of the CSN precursor groups. (I'm not counting live recordings by the post-Nash Hollies or post-Crosby Byrds, or by Buffalo Springfield Revisited for that matter.)

 

I agree with all of you in that King Midas In Reverse, Pay You Back With Interest, On A Carousel and Bus Stop are pop masterworks. If you can, get the two recent Japanese Platinum SHM 'Greatest Hits + Singles' discs which include the original glorious mono mixes (stereo too) of their 1964-1974 A and B sides. Definitely listen to their oeuvre from For Certain Because to the Butterfly LP.

 

I've a mono UK EMI LP and by gawd it sounds great...nice and punchy.

 

The first thing of theirs I ever owned was the 3CD 30th Anniversary Collection. I'd recommend it.

 

The thing is, The Byrds were a far better studio band. It's a shame they couldn't have put in a professional performance and setlist at Monterey, as it's the only sonically great sounding live Byrds document, from the Crosby era...we could've gotten a good performance w/attention to detail, tempos and harmonies:


So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star
Hey Joe
Chimes Of Freedom
Mr. Tambourine Man
Mr. Spaceman
Renaissance Fair
Eight Miles High
He Was A Friend of Mine
My Back Pages
Turn Turn Turn

Instead we get a folk-punk band, on the verge of breaking up...with the egotistical ramblings of Crosby...they sound like they all took speed before playing.

1. Renaissance Fair
2. Have You Seen Her Face
3. Hey Joe
4. He Was a Friend of Mine
5. Lady Friend
6. Chimes of Freedom
7. I Know My Rider
8. So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star

 

Have a few beers (if you choose), listen to 'Stewball', then proceed to purchase all albums between 65-67.

 

I assume you would need to have a Manchester accent and sing harmonies really well to get into the Hollies.

 

"For Certain Because" but I like LPs that teeter on psychedelia rather than fully take the dive (lps like Kinks "Face to Face" Beatles "Rubber Soul" or "Revolver" etc)

 

I've always loved Hear! Here!, mono edition.

 

I dunno, man, are they even auditioning for new members?

 

Do not overlook the Nash-less years in the 70s. Some very fine albums were made including a stellar Live album released in 1976.

 

I get what you are saying, but I kinda like the raw quality of the Monterey set. That said, I'm sure it was far from their best live show, even with the hit-or-miss nature of that original band.

 

The 6-CD box set me back maybe $20. I dig it.

 

I enjoy it for what it is, but I also lament it for what it could've been.

 

The 1974 Hollies album (with "The Air That I Breathe") is perfect from beginning to end.

 

With ya.

 

Their UK albums, Evolution and Butterfly, from '67 were recently reissued by EMI with both mono and stereo LPs included, in retro laminated flip back style covers. They sound great too!

 

Another vote for this. I have all their albums and enjoy them, but they were one of the best singles bands of the mid to late '60s, in my opinion. Not just great A sides, but great B sides as well. While I love the songs, I'm not a big fan of a lot of their stereo mixes and greatly prefer the mono mixes. Enjoy discovering their catalog!

 

There are at least 2 Hollies songs out there from 1968, one officially ("Man With No Expression"), and one very much unofficially ("Marakesh Express") that Nash would go on to record with CSNY. They make for very interesting comparisons, even if the later is just a basic backing track.

 

Please, PLEASE just get the Clarke, Hicks & Nash years set and go from there. It's the best thing for someone who doesn't have all that stuff in their collection. I promise you.