The Hollies :: View topic

Joined: 08 Oct 2010 Posts: 2

Hi ! I have a question about Graham Nash's guitar playing in the early days (1962-64). Even though I'm pretty sure he played (studio chat -"Ain't That Just Like Me') I can't hear a second guitar on many songs , unless he played just a regular acoustic and he was drowned out. I thought I read somewhere that he drew lines on his fretboard to look like strings . in later years did Tony play rhythm and overdub the lead? I know on one version of "Yes I Will" you can hear two guitars and Tony saying he was going to "dub the solo" I also know that in 1968 you can hear Graham playing an acoustic when they are playing "The Times They Are A -Changing live . Any insite anyone? Thumbsgherkin

Graham was not a professional quality guitarist in the early days of the Hollies, and I think that he'd be the first to admit that.

On that Yes I Will song that you reference, I am pretty sure that is studio chatter tacked onto the front of the finished song. So what we hear as the music might have a hundred dubs for all we know, and is certainly not the product of a single take.

I've heard too that Graham had no strings on his guitar in the early Cavern Club days. I've also read that he played unplugged!

That said, he clearly knew the chords and could play piano. That's Graham on the rather simple strumming on Fifi The Flea, and I would not be at all surprised to learn that Graham does the rhythm work on I'm Alive.

Graham plays the intro on King Midas, but of course that is past the time period in question. He also plays "plugged in" in the Croatian TV show that has been making the rounds - again, well past the time in question.

Note that Graham does not appear as a musician at all on the premier Crosby Stills & Nash album. And he plays some pretty good piano, I seem to recall, on the 1972 Four Way Street concert album.

So I think it safe to say that Graham was pretty much a hack in 1962 (no shame there. I could name several British Invasion bands with virtually no musicianship who relied on studio aces for their records), but I think that he worked at his craft and by the time his time with the Hollies was over Nash was at least serviceable.

Banjo Joined: 03 May 2009 Posts: 35 Location: Toronto

You can also hear him playing the rhythm and the counterpoint to Tony's solos in the "Beat Beat Beat" footage for "Bus Stop"...so he must have been plugged in at least some of the time on stage. Not sure about his general in-studio rhythm role though.