The Hollies: "Changin' Times" Track By Track Discussion Thread

It's OK, but like most of the Dylan album, I can't get over enthused by it. Definitely one of the better tracks though. 4/5. It will be nice to hear from some different writers on the upcoming albums.

 

After actively disliking it for many years, I've come around to really liking All I Really Want To Do as much as the rest of Hollies Sing Dylan. The Hollies took chances with the arrangements of these songs, and I think their interpretations usually work quite well. I actually prefer some of these to other more well known versions, but not this song. Still, I am appreciating it more than I did before.

 

yes for what at first seems like a total LACK of creativity and imagination in just reeling off an album of Bob Dylan songs HSD is actually surprisingly imaginative and creative re the unusual instrumental arrangements and the total 're-structuring' of Dylan numbers both well known and (back then) a few lesser known to many outside Dylan's fanbase numbers

I recall a 'serious' music and big Dylan fan I knew dismissed HSD out of hand with total contempt....without even listening to it - UNTIL he later learned that his hero Jimi Hendrix owned a copy !

later he confided that he had got a copy and now quite enjoyed it...

later a big Buddy Holly friend of mine did likewise with the 1980 'Buddy Holly' LP that some Hollies fans never took to - (he got a copy too and while he wasn't too keen on a few tracks was really taken with some others) - probably the Hollies fans who disliked that later set mostly were by then fed up with the very 'smooth' keyboardy dominated style that saturated much of that album - but again quite a lot of creativity went into the 're-imagining' of those famous numbers tho' I do feel it was then the wrong move at the wrong time for The Hollies both career and musical direction wise while the two 'tribute' Hollies albums bookend the Terry Sylvester era of the band

'All I Really Wanna Do' has excellent tight Clarke-Hicks-Sylvester harmonies, interesting tempo changes, fine steel drums and nice brisk guitars with good vocal passages by Clarke and Clarke-Sylvester as they manage to find a new angle on such a well known Dylan song that has been a hit for a couple of artists in differing arrangements already

I am sure I recall hearing The Hollies do a version of Dylan's song 'Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You' on the radio a while after HSD but I can never find any record of this - anyone else recall hearing that ?

they did do a version of Dylan's 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere' - the Byrds hit - on radio as well tho' this was never recorded

 

Track 15, Disc 1: 'Do You Believe In Love'



Just over three months since the final sessions for 'Hollies Sing Dylan', and despite perhaps the most gruelling PR campaign of their career to date, to show the world that the Hollies could carry on after Graham Nash left, the Hollies returned to Abbey Road Studios in late June 1969 with a whole host of tracks to record. One of which, would become one of their career-defining moments, but more of that later...

First up, we have the simple but groovy 'Do You Believe In Love'. This should be noted as the very first Clarke/Hicks/Sylvester composition. I love the production on the whole 'Hollies Sing Hollies' sessions, Bobby's drums sound very sharp and the whole production has a fantastic shiny quality to it in terms of the recording quality. Despite the very spaced out stereo mix, this one plods along just fine. I particularly like Bernie's wandering bass line and those organ stabs, which were probably done by Bernie too, as the resident keyboard player. There's some tasty guitar licks from Tony, who'd dug out or re-bought his old Gibson guitar from the early days of the Hollies, famously selling his 1967-68 Rickenbacker 330 to Steve Mariott around this time. He'd played his Les Paul from early 1967 to around mid-1967 when he got the Rickenbacker. I believe he swapped his infamous Vox Phantom V 12-string with a member of the Turtles (something Tony said he regretted, as the Rickenbacker was harder to play) while the Hollies were on tour in America in late 1966, though the timeline doesn't make sense as his Rickenbacker doesn't appear on a Hollies record until 'Dear Eloise' in late 1967. They didn't tour America in 1967, unless the swap was done in the summer of 1967 when the Turtles came to the UK and Graham Nash put them up in his London flat and famously played them an advance copy of 'Sgt. Pepper'. But back to Tony, you can hear that the Gibson he used on "Sing Hollies" has a much mellower tone than the Les Paul he'd used on 'Sing Dylan'. 'Do You Believe In Love' for me doesn't really go anywhere, though it's catchy enough. A middling 3/5 from me.

 

This is a great headphone song as are a few others on Sing Hollies. It's certainly a better song musically than lyrically. 81/100

 

'Do You Believe in Love' - VIDEO UNAVAILABLE.

Never mind, I'll find it elsewhere... there it is.

Ah yes, I know this one. It's a bit of 'all right.' It's got a nice groove to it. Especially love Bernie's bass playing on this one. 3/5

 

Sorry, I'm not able to predict if a video will show in another country or not...

 

'Do You Believe in Love' is an early disco number - not the later 'Saturday Night Fever' disco as we think of the term but the earlier seventies 'Discoteque' dance club style to which dance groups like say Pan's People or The Young Generation would perform to on UK TV shows in the manner of a number of 'singalong' style dance tunes like a sort of anthem hence the repeated calls of the song title and maybe rather forgettable when read lyrics like;

'You can walk down any street there's bound to be someone you can meet...someone who believes in love, someone who'll only need a little shove...'

that nevertheless works within the structure of the song, so on a lyrical level it's not intended to be mega profound etc just 'dancey' with a chanted style repeat etc, but instrumentally it is a very fine number as mentioned above and I love the 'driving' backup guitar flowing throughout behind Tony's lead lines and Bernie's bass and keyboards plus Bobby's industrious percussion work

It was not a fav track of mine at all when I first got my copy of HSH however over the years I have warmed to it rather more, especially re that interplay between lead guitar, backup guitar, bass, keyboards and drums

Curiously - probably due to the repeating nature of the number - I find that it has a certain rather hypnotic quality about it like earlier say; 'Stop Stop Stop', 'Then The Heartaches Begin', 'Heading For A Fall' etc....

 

No problem. I am always able to find one I can play.

 

This really isn't much of a song. It might have worked for another band to cover but not the Hollies. It doesn't suit their vocal style and I think the recording is pretty flat. A but half-written too.

But still it is listenable, not terrible or anything!

 

Nicely said. To me, Do You Believe In Love is a well-played return to an RnB sound, different in execution but similar to what they had left behind in 1964, . It's an interesting departure from the poppy and/or trippy songs of the previous couple of years, and to me it's clear they were serious about exploring their sound with Terry now in the band.

It would have worked better if the lyrical material had been stronger, (Hicks and Clarke were capable of so much more), but it's still a very listenable track if you don't listen too hard.

 

My least favourite of the next half-dozen or so albums, I'm hoping this re-appraisal will give me greater appreciation of 'Hollies Sing Hollies. This first selection isn't helping though. 2/5

 

Well, this LP is better if played as intended. Starting off with 'Why Didn't You Believe' gives you a much different impression. I would actually prefer to go in LP order for these threads and just add the related tracks be tacked on the end. So starting off with 'Do You Believe In Love' does no favors for this particular LP.

The record could have been improved with 'She Looked My Way'. Anyway after this is what I think is the best thing they did post Nash, Confessions of the Mind.

 

Track 16, Disc 1: 'Please Sign Your Letters'



Unfortunately, not a great track to prove that the Hollies did well after 'Hollies Sing Dylan'! I think this is the weakest track on 'Hollies Sing Hollies'. I don't know where to start analysing it, other than it's just awful. 1/5.

 

'Please Sign Your Letters' - I like the country vibe and the bass notes throughout. However, the harmonies are a bit grating - kind of on the whining side. Not their best effort, unfortunately. 2/5

US-playable link:

 

I agree on 'Confessions Of The Mind' to an extent, it could be the best of their entire career, not just the post Nash years.

 

It's certainly not much good! I'd be disappointed to find it tucked away on a 'B' Side. Lyrically poor, might have been OK in 1959, but 1969, noooo! 1/5

 

Two attempts at a cover, US and UK, both unbelievably hideous.

 

Have you ever seen the gatefold of the UK version? It’s a hideous attempt at editing 5 separate photos together into a “group shot”. Visually, this album screams “GET AWAY”.

 

Does anybody know why Bobby suddenly has hair? He was clearly balding in a promo video a few years earlier and from this point on he’s no longer wearing hats and his hair actually looks like it grows through at least the mid 70s. I’m not judging as I had a hair transplant in my early 40s but the procedure wasn’t available then

 

Bobby's hair was 'removable'...

 

He started wearing a wig to fit in with the long haired fashion of the time.

 

Yeah, I also have it on the digipak CD. For some reason, the front cover reminds me of More Of The Monkees.

 

I don't like Please whine Your Letters. Remove this song and replace with She Looked My Way sure would have helped. 50/100

Also, starting off with the 2 worse songs on the LP does it no favors. I rather like the record and one bad country song (I do skip if playing in car) doesn't ruin it for me. Sure the lyrics are not that strong but I like the easy listen and the vocals and music is top notch.

I am glad they never did a Hollies Sing Country, however!

 

Apparently the album came out while the band were on their first tour of Australia in late 1969. There's a fan (I'm sorry I forget who) who's on the Elevated Observations forum who asked them to sign that LP backstage on that tour and Allan Clarke couldn't believe it as he hadn't actually seen it in person!