The Hollies "Would You Believe" Thoughts...

The band's fourth album is ample proof.
On one hand, they are putting songs on it that are clearly and openly displaying some sort of message.
The clearest thing about the message is the I Wanna Be Free attitude, which, for all the formula and dependence on producers and corporate songwriters, they manage to convey with just enough sincerity - no doubt, due to Clarke's typically outstanding powerhouse vocals and Nash's individual personality.

Songs like 'I Take What I Want' and 'I've Got A Way Of My Own', no matter whether penned by the Hollies or outside songwriters, cannot be classified as filler no matter how much you might dislike them. They are also displaying a new-found readiness to experiment - toying with country, European pop art, and the word 'oriental' is all indicative of that.

On the other hand, they're covering 'Sweet Little Sixteen' in an album released in 1966!!!

The main problem is they're still lacking enough original songs to fill an entire album. For instance, the Rolling Stones did 'That's How Strong My Love Is' one year ago, when straightforward covers of black soul material still mattered (a little). The Hollies - technically, at least - come out with a better version than the Stones' one; but it's so inappropriate for the times it's kinda hard to appreciate it even within the context of its own album.
The exact same thing goes for Buddy Holly's 'Take Your Time'; I like the song, I like the ringing guitar sound, but nothing beats Buddy Holly as played by Buddy Holly.

Then there are the lesser known covers or songs written by outside people specially for the Hollies, such as the gritty album opener 'I Take What I Want' and the hit single 'I Can't Let Go'. The former, in my little red book, ranks as one of the three or four best Hollies' rockers ever put to tape.

As for 'I Can't Let Go', well, that just happens to be one of the timeless classics. I do believe that no-one in Britain at the time could reproduce those vocal harmonies. Has Graham Nash ever given out a more mind-blowing vocalic tone than at the end of the song's chorus?

As for the "Ransford" team, 'Hard Hard Year' is my favourite of these, mainly for the creaky, almost psychedelic guitar solo in the middle. 'Oriental Sadness', despite the title, doesn't really sound all that Oriental - in fact, it doesn't sound Oriental at all, unless you count those opening chords.

'Fifi The Flea by Nash, is a quiet acoustic pop song about an unhappy love between circus performers.

In any case, I would actively disagree with the existing point of view that treats "WYB" as sort of a "gap" between the far superior self-titled album and the ensuing "For Certain Because"

The band's progression, was by all means, well, progressive, and every new album brought forth new ideas and experiments. It's just that obsolete covers like 'Sweet Little Sixteen' tend to overshadow the generally solid songwriting of 'Hard Hard Year', 'Don't You Even Care' and so on.

 

I Take What I Want Is another soul cover, but a very good one. Bobby Elliott's drumming is fantastic on it. A great opener. The original is by Sam & Dave. I'm a Sam & Dave fan, obsessively into mid 60s soul, but I actually prefer The Hollies version of this one.

The rest of the album is patchy and probably the weakest of the Nash era. As you said, too much of it is behind the times and obvious filler. There's the awful Fifi The Flea too.

I Take What I Want, the fantastic Hard Hard Year, Oriental Sadness, I Can't Let Go and I've Got A Way of My Own are the five great tracks here. All are top notch Hollies music. I can live without the rest.

Dreadful sleeve on this album too. Very mundane.

 

I think there was a big gap in the recordings for this album. Sessions from the fall of 1965, then sessions that began early 1966. It's probably because of this the album is a bit uneven with half covers/half very progressive. From then on, they do some amazing stuff. This also must be around the same time they were working on The Everly Brothers Two Yanks In England album. One could probably make a great revisionist '66 album by the group.

 

I love the record ! There was still a vibrant Beat scene happening in the UK and Europe in '66, despite the Beatles pushing further into the then-hitherto uncharted and with psychedelia really beginning to take root. The opening track is a solid example showing the Hollies to be cream of the crop. 'Hard, Hard Year' follows, a lovely Folk ballad a la Rubber Soul - lest they risk being seen as a back-dated act. So far, so good; this is the Hicks/Haydock/Elliot-centred line-up in fine form. 'That's How Strong my Love Is'
is another excellent example of the Hollies' ability to take a great R&B number and make it entirely their own.
'Sweet Little Sixteen' is prime R&R British Beat at its best. 'Oriental Sadness' showcases the group's talent for crafting pop gems that feature unusual melodic arrangements, one of the things I love most about the early Hollies. 'I am a Rock' to me is an astonishing recording. It almost sounds as if it had been written specifically for the vocal virtuosity of the Clarke-Nash-Hicks harmonic powerhouse - it's one of my favourite cover songs of all time. Buddy would've no doubt been proud of his namesake-group's version of 'Take Your Time' , an irresistible nugget of mid-'6Os garage-band heaven. 'Don't You Even Care' keeps the jubilation in overdrive, out-doing every other band on the planet that ever attempted anything similar. 'Fifi the Flea' is another remarkable, if simple, number with a folk-side atmosphere, featuring one of the most sublime Nash vocals on record. 'Stewball' another folk number, surpasses it in sophistication and pensive feeling with an incredible Clarke vocal & Nash-Hicks harmonies that to me are haunting. 'I've Got a Way of My Own' is another timeless classic - one of the very best tracks on the record and among my top favourite and most listened-to Hollies recordings. Possibly saving the best for last, 'I Can't Let Go' closes the album in the very way every band's album-closers should - by leaving the listener yearning for more, and invariably counting up one's pin-money in an effort to ascertain how soon the next album might be purchased !

One of the best albums of the 196Os by any band, without a doubt imo.

 

I have to strongly disagree here.

While Buddy deserves kudos for writing the song, his own version of "Take Your Time" is rather dreadful. There's just no way of defending that roller rink organ — it's the very definition of cheesiness.

On the other hand, The Hollies' version of "Take Your Time" is a joyous celebration of chiming guitars and strong vocals. It is — quite simply — the best cover of a Buddy Holly song done by anyone…anytime…anywhere.

 

I like the preceding Hollies album much better (particularly in its US configuration with the addition of "I'm Alive" and "Look Through Any Window"). But I do give its successor credit for "Hard Hard Year," "I've Got a Way of My Own" "I Can't Let Go" and most especially "Don't You Even Care," a really superb song.

In the end, though, it's dragged down by "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "I Am a Rock," a cover that's as awful as it is unnecessary.

 

I kind of wonder if someone in the Hollies camp knew Simon from his days in England and were throwing him a bone with "I Am A Rock." I'm seeing the S&G version wasn't released until May 1966 and WYB? came out in June. Chances are it was a song already in the can and someone like Nash saw some potential in it. I think it's a good song in the Simon & Garfunkel canon, but I've never really heard a cover of it I liked. The same goes for a lot of S&G songs honestly.

As far as "Sweet Little Sixteen" goes, I do like the Animals cover of it recorded in 1966. However, they were smokin' in '66, covers or not.

 

There may be something to this. Now that you mention it, I recall reading quite some time ago that The Hollies' "I Am a Rock" can't really be considered a cover in that it was likely recorded at a time when S&G's version had barely come out, if at all.

Doesn't make me like The Hollies version any better, though. I find the tone on Hicks' guitar to be annoying, some of the harmonies are off — and truthfully, as a song it's one of my lesser favorites in the S&G canon anyway.

 

"I Am a Rock" first appeared in "Paul Simon Songbook", that it was released in June of 1965. S&G version was released in January of 1966.

The Hollies version was recorded on 25 march of 1966.

 

The Paul Simon Songbook version of "I Am a Rock" is irrelevant, since it doesn't contain the distinctive guitar riff of the S&G version, which is duplicated by Tony Hicks on the Hollies version.

It's clear, though, that they got the song from the album The Sounds of Silence, and recorded it before it was chosen as a single several months after the LP's January release.

So I have to revise my "unnecessary" accusation, since The Hollies chose to record this song at a time when it was just an album cut, not a hit single. I still don't like it, though!

 

Would You Believe? is one of my favorite Hollies albums, probably third in my listing (after For Certain Because and the 1965 S/T LP).

We've got some strong originals on this one - 'Hard, Hard Year,' 'Oriental Sadness,' and 'I've Got a Way of My Own.' The only one that I feel is sub-standard is 'Fifi the Flea.'

My favorite cover on the album is 'Stewball' - incredible harmonies on that one. 'I Am a Rock' is a very good cover - again, those harmonies, but ultimately I'll take Simon and Garfunkel's version. They made another good effort on 'Take Your Time' too, but the pacing is a little too slow for me, and the Hollies' vocal ensemble lacks the warmth of Buddy Holly's vocal on the original. 'Sweet Little Sixteen' is a pointless cover for an English group to be making in 1966, but we should point out that the Animals also issued a cover of this song on Animalization that same year. The Hollies' version, like the one by the Animals, is just taking up space here. 'That's How Strong My Love Is' is more successful, but I can't put it above Otis Redding's version (or even the version by the Rolling Stones, for that matter).

The other songs from outside songwriters come off pretty well - 'I Take What I Want' and 'Don't You Even Care (What's Gonna Happen to Me)' are both good efforts. And the final song on the LP, 'I Can't Let Go,' is an indisputable Hollies classic that was justifiably a big hit single in the UK, and sadly missed the Top 40 in the US.

The sleeve notes have always bothered me a little - a paragraph each for Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, and Bobby Elliott. Meanwhile, Eric Haydock's 'paragraph' consisted of six words:

"Eric is something of an enigma."

Overall, a very solid album, and an enjoyable listen.

 

Oh how I love the HOLLIES.

Got a complete set of original UK pressings and they are heaven to listen to.



This album never fails to lift my spirits. I’m usually really against messing with history but sometimes I like to listen to a homemade version of this album, with more emphasis on Hollie originals.

SIDE ONE :
1. She Gives Me Everything I Want
2. Hard, Hard Year
3. I Got A Way Of My Own
4. You In My Arms
5. Oriental Sadness
6. Running Through The Night

SIDE TWO :
1. Don’t Run And Hide
2. Don’t You Even Care (What’s Gonna Happen To Me)
3. Fifi The Flea
4. I Can’t Get Nowhere With You
5. Go Away (Graham demo)
6. I Can’t Let Go

Anyways, thanks for starting a thread about such a wonderful album.

 

I agree with both of the above - swap out SL16 for She Gives Me Everything I Want (which was recorded much earlier!) for a quick improvement! You in My Arms would make a solid side 2 change for... Take My Time I guess?

 

Graham "Go Away" demo was sent to a British band called "The Mirage". They released as A-Side single in November 1965.

 

Ah, The Mirage (featuring a pre-Elton John Dee Murray)! They put out some killer stuff.

I would LOVE to hear a Hollies rendition of “Go Away” but I’m happy to have it in some form.

Talking of “WOULD YOU BELIEVE”, I really hope someday soon we get to hear the outtakes “Now That You’re Gone”, “Stay Away”, and the 1966 takes of “Like Every Time Before” and “Have You Ever Loved Somebody”.

 

Anything by the Hollies is always worth listening to.

 

I do very much enjoy this album regardless though - some top tier highlights, and a huge step up from the previous album, which I know a lot of people love, but I find it weak compared with Style, outside of a couple of standouts (a strong opening trilogy mainly!).

 

The Animals also covered Sweet Little Sixteen on 'Animalisms' in 1966 while other bands were also still doing older songs covers around 1965-66 period

on 'Would You Believe' they looked forward with their own songs - 'Hard Hard Year' was quite a stark song re very real issues, plus had that great Hicks guitar solo, 'I've Got A Way of My Own' was a song re self belief with Nash and Clarke swapping lead vocal roles, people too quickly dismiss the comedic yet tragic 'Fifi The Flea' but it's a first solo acoustic number pointing Nash towards 'Clown', 'Stop Right There', 'Everything is Sunshine'...and on to 'Lady of The Island' etc....and Clarke towards 'Marigold' while 'Oriental Sadness' (a title never mentioned in the song aka 'She'll Never Trust in Anybody No More') again is a song about others inflicting pain with false words - much like 'Don't Run and Hide' also then does - and features unusual vocal tangents plus instrumentation sounding suitably 'oriental' notably the guitar hooks and gong

they had more original songs they could and probably should have then included but I suspect they were encouraged to 'play it safe' with some covers and 'proper' songwriters material (Paul Simon, Clint Ballard jnr) by producer Ron Richards (who seemingly was never a great 'champion' of the band's own works unlike say fellow EMI producers George Martin or Norrie Paramor re Beatles / Shadows - Richards later notably disliked 'King Midas in Reverse', 'Marrakesh Express' and 'Long Cool Woman in A Black Dress' !) - hence their live show songs such as their longtime fav 'Stewball' and the gritty 'I Take What I Want' plus the Clarke solo spotlight cover of 'That's How Strong My Love is' (like 'Down The Line' on the previous album in 1965) being rather shoehorned in over stronger original songs they had recorded

you can see why Graham Nash was beginning to get frustrated over their musical direction somewhat (one step forward, three steps sideways !)

An interesting Byrds / Buddy Holly version of 'Take Your Time' was a strong track and wisely they included the big hit 'I Can't Let Go' to close the set which actually was released after 'Bus Stop' had been recorded which featured Eric Haydock's replacement Bernie Calvert

Jennifer Sebley's pencil sketch cover got all faces except Bobby Elliott's accurate....and significantly depicted Eric Haydock's face looking in the opposite direction to the other four band members

 

Note how 'Stewball' vocally builds up and then back down from first Clarke then Clarke-Nash then Clarke-Hicks-Nash before they all sing at the conclusion showing us who contributes what vocally in The Hollies harmony sound

'Be With You' on 'Russian Roulette' album ten years later in 1976 does likewise for Clarke-Hicks-Sylvester

 

"Be With You" is probably, the best song on "Russian Roulette".