The Hollies: "Head Out Of Dreams" track by track discussion thread

'Weakness' - Nice lead vocal. Peter Howarth is a lot closer to Allan Clarke than Mikael Rickfors or Carl Wayne ever were. Not great material, but good enough. 4/5

 

look like a relatively a young band now, no excuse for better material/ new songs that is.

 

They really need to get their act together and record a new album. To have Peter Howarth writing songs with Bobby Elliott and releasing them in his other band instead of The Hollies recording them (even though they've performed one of them live) with their fine legacy is disgraceful! (I'll cover the one song The Hollies have performed live, but not as yet recorded in the studio later).

 

They did release that 12 inch single of 'Purple Rain' themselves in 1990

and they initially released the 'Then Now Always' album themselves in 2009 before EMI put it out the following year with the extra track 'She'd Kill For Me' added on to the end

and they issued the live album; 'Hollies Live Hits: We Got The Tunes' themselves too

so they certainly could release a new studio album themselves IF the interest in doing so was there

I feel that Hollies band leader Tony Hicks is just not that bothered - he does not appear to be songwriting anymore, only Bobby Elliott and Peter Howarth doing that tho' Steve Lauri and Ray Stiles are both songwriters while Ian Parker is a composer too - so there is plenty of 'in house' creativity and undoubted ability to provide new material for the band plus Ray Stiles has a home recording studio with Stiles and Parker both studio guys

IF Tony Hicks really wanted to do another Hollies studio album with the same drive of a Graham Nash etc surely the band could - Allan Clarke has just issued a strong solo album he recorded himself !

I get the impression as long as the concert tours are well received Tony is quite content just doing that

 

I'm hopeful we get another studio album, with the quality of the songs Peter and Bobby are writing - 'Priceless' that we know about, I'm sure it would be better received than the outside writer albums we're going through at the moment. After all, they're not touring, so why not get some of these songs down? They don't even need to be in the same studio in this day and age... Someone needs to persuade the key personnel. Well, Tony.

 

If 'Then Now Always (Dolphin Days)', 'She'd Kill For Me', 'Skylarks' and 'Priceless' are anything to go by an all originals new Hollies album could be really something moving forward creatively and forging much more of a current Hollies identity besides singing songs largely so associated with Allan Clarke ...and Nash/Sylvester days

- especially if Tony Hicks would get back into songwriting as well....!!

 

Are you anywhere near Henley On Thames? You could pop around and persuade him!

 

LOL

I think the fact they 'made their money' a long time ago is probably a key point here - now Tony and Bobby are very much playing concerts for the sheer fun of it and likely see the back catalogue - mostly the hits - as the way ahead re future compilations

while other 'classic' groups - often bands who were less successful than The Hollies - have seen their back catalogues lovingly overhauled re sound quality and rarities etc....The Hollies Limited seem content to largely ignore anything like that !

we of course would love a new Hollies album, especially of more adventurous original material, but with the band's firm emphasis on doing concerts when they get together the chances of getting another new studio album seem sadly remote

I was hoping that Allan Clarke's fine solo album and him talking of a project with Graham Nash etc might galvanise Hicks and Elliott into doing something new with their current Hollies as a matter of pride and not wanting to be outdone etc...whatever !

 

We can but hope! I'd have thought Bobby would like to see his rediscovered skill of songwriting put to good use on a new album.

 

Peter Howarth and Steve Lauri have both done solo albums, and Peter does that Frontmen thing too

It does seem a great shame the band's creative strengths can't be harnessed for at least one more new studio album

the 'state' of the music industry is often used as an excuse and while it's true the major conglomerates might be 'cool' to veteran or 'assumed' veteran bands I think that they certainly could do something themselves

if the USA visit can be re-arranged next year and goes ahead it might get them better 'known' besides the nostalgia angle - as it is I suspect Warners just see them as an oldies act for periodic back catalogue projects as and when...

 

When you have Graham Nash releasing 'This Path Tonight', an acclaimed return to form, Allan Clarke's 'Resurgence', another acclaimed return to form, surely The Hollies are able to up their game too. As you say, 'Then Now Always (Dolphin Days)', 'She'd Kill For Me', 'Skylarks' and 'Priceless' certainly indicate that they too could 'return to form'.

 

If Frontm3n can release an album 'One For All', which includes their version of 'Priceless', I'm sure The Hollies could - if they wanted to.

 

Track Ten from 'Staying Power' is 'Live It Up', the third cover version of a previously released Enrique Iglesias track. One website preview for The Hollies then upcoming release was that Enrique had written four songs for The Hollies new album. I can remember from the time that the blurb was that these tracks had been written 'for' The Hollies, not that they were cover versions from an already released album. Marketing I suppose!

There are however four tracks on Enrique's '7' written by the poptastic team of Rob Davis, Gregg Alexander and Enrique Iglesias, so perhaps they'd also recorded 'Say It' and it's languishing in Tony Hicks' cellar... Of course that'd be typical of The Hollies, as it would give the album a very pleasant ballad, possibly the best of the four tracks 'Iglesias, Alexander, Davis' wrote on Enrique's album.

Anyway, back to 'Live It Up', and from these writers a powerful message about no matter who you are you can get 'trapped inside our little lives', so go out and party! It's got a nice tune, but keyboard led. A bit of guitar can be heard here and there. I don't mind it to be honest, it's a catchy pop song. 4.1/5

 

Enrique Iglesias ended his '7' album with 'Live It Up Tonight', the original version of the song. The Hollies version is a pretty much straight cover version.

 

And as we've no live version from The Hollies of 'Live It Up', I don't think it has been attempted live, I'll give you this bonus from Enrique Iglesias, the possible fourth track recorded by The Hollies for 'Staying Power' written by the team of Enrique Iglesias, Gregg Alexander and Rob Davis on the album '7'. (Gregg's trying to sound 'edgy' by calling himself Alex Ander in the song credits...) 'Say It' is a nice ballad which could have suited The Hollies well. Is it languishing in the Hollies vault somewhere?

 

Not convinced of cover songs myself.
Suits the goalkeepers son better.
If it gives the band some attention then fine I guess, makes them more contemporary.

 

I'd agree it (and the other songs) suits the younger Iglesias better.

I suppose as a marketing tool, to say you've had three songs written 'for' you by the trendy, hot young Iglesias, not too long after his massive success with 'Hero' is a good selling point. I'd rather they'd recorded more suitable songs for themselves though. Mr Hicks chasing that eternal youth through music I suppose...

 

Tony Hicks should be the lead vocalist looks way more cuter.
His voice his fine with the right catchy song, ala Brit Pop.

 

He gets to sing the opening track on the next album.

 

He's no Alan Clarke, but with the right catchy song I think the Hollies could get a hit record again.

Co-write with John Power perhaps.

 

'Live It Up' - this certainly sounds like a 2006 pop song. The Hollies were far more commercial (and energetic) than I figured they would be at this stage of the game. I'm kind of surprised that they didn't get any chart singles out of this bunch. The potential was certainly there. 4/5

 

I think they were a bit stuck, with their older fans finding it 'too modern', and younger music buyers finding the band 'too old'. A no win situation.

 

Track eleven from 'Staying Power' is 'Yesterday's Gone'. Mark Read of A1 is back with writing duties on this one, along with Mark Topham and Karl Twigg. Topham and Twigg seem to be something of a writing team, writing and producing several tracks (and hit singles) for UK pop act Steps across their first three albums. ('One For Sorrow', 'After The Love Has Gone', 'Deeper Shade Of Blue', 'When I Said Goodbye', 'Summer Of Love', and 'Stomp' were all big hits. They then moved on to different writers to aim for a 'more mature audience'...

Certainly 'hit' writers and The Hollies were certainly aiming for the vacuous pop market with some of the songs on this album...

Anyway, 'Yesterday's Gone' (which is not the 1963 hit by Chad and Jeremy) is another pop song (obviously) which lyrically seems to be about seeing all the problems in the world, but saying 'sod it', I'm out of here. To be honest, it doesn't make much sense.

In the city where no one speaks
Where people live in just to make ends meet
And looking back over the shoulders
At the road, this should be on

It gets me wishing, I could catch a way
Right out of nowhere and be on my way
I'm drinking red wine and the sunshine
Is sleeping away too long

Musically there's some nice guitar work, although the direct lift from 'I Can't Let Go' seems incongruous. Nice guitar solo. 3.3/5

 

'Yesterday's Gone' - love the driving rhythm guitar on this one. Good, catchy number. 4/5