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SpartyScott Post subject: Hollies (1965) LP
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Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Gahanna, Ohio USA

First off, did you know that the majority of the tracks from this album were never released during the 1960's in the U.S.? That makes this something of a "lost" album to American fans.

How'd that happen? Well, while there were the same number of albums released in the US as in the UK to that point, in America, the singles were always included on the albums, while in the UK, they often were not (tracks like Stay and I Can't Let Go being exceptions to that general rule). To that, add in the fact that earliest British albums had 14 tracks while their American counterparts checked in with twelve songs, and it's easy to see how you end up with a bunch of songs left in the can at the American record company (the same thing happened to the Beatles catalog in the U.S., by the way).


So, here's the album and songs:



Very Last Day (Stokey / Yarrow)
You Must Believe Me (Mayfield)
Put Yourself In My Place (Ransford)
Down The Line (Orbison)
That's My Desire (Loveday / Kresa)
Too Many People (Ransford)
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price)
When I Come Home To You (Ransford)
Fortune Teller (Neville)
So Lonely (Ransford)
I've Been Wrong (Ransford)
Mickey's Monkey (Holland / Dozier / Holland)

I don't have my U.S. albums in front of me, but I can tell you that for sure Mickey's Monkey was on a U.S. LP, but I'm not sure about any of the other tracks. So Lonely, of course, was a b-side in America so at least that song was available to American fans.

So, what is there to say about this album? One album review by an American writer that I recall commented that these songs had been unreleased in America because taken as a whole they pretty much stunk, but that's clearly wrong. There are five Hollies (or "Ransford") originals, along with covers of rockabilly, Motown, ballads, and rock.

Very Last Day was a hit single in Scandanavia for the group, I believe, and I've always liked it. This is, of course, a cover of a Peter Paul & Mary song. There's a pretty famous video of the Hollies performing it in concert on a television show (with Calvert on bass) and the performance held its own with the other songs they did that evening.

You Must Believe Me is an enjoyable song, with a solid Clarke vocal.

Put Yourself In My Place was, in my opinion, a potential single for a lesser group. I could easily see someone like Billy J using a song like this as an album highlight. I really like this song.

Down The Line is OK -- I've heard the Orbison original, which I think is better. Tony's guitars are the best thing about this song.

That's My Desire is a slower number, where Allan tries one of his early attempts at singing a tender love song. It's no Love Me Tender, but it's enjoyable. Unfortunately, I've never heard the original version of this song by whoever first did it. I'd love to track that down and listen to it.

Too Many People is almost a Hollies attempt at an original song like Very Last Day. There was something of a controversy over this track, as there was a 'boom' sound on the original mix that I guess was supposed to make one think of a nuclear explosion. So, is this a precursor to You Know The Score? Laughing

Lawdy Miss Clawdy is the closest thing to a throwaway track we have here, as it's a cover of a pretty bad song. But since I just don't like the song itself, it's hard for me to fair to the Hollies' version of it. That said, I usually jump ahead to the next tract when I play my CD of this album.

When I Come Home To You features Graham really get up there on the harmonies. I don't care what he says, there's no way he could reach those notes without going falsetto. This is a pretty typical beat group song, and definitely not an album highlight.

Fortune Teller is a version of song (I've never heard the original) that was also covered by the Rolling Stones. Just as with "You Better Move On" from an earlier album, the Hollies actually outdo the Stones.

So Lonely is a very classy Hollies track, that probably should have been a single in its own right. In my opinion, it's easily one of the best two or three b-sides that the band ever released. This certainly has the best harmonies on the LP, which doesn't seem to have been emphasized by the group this time out.

I've Been Wrong (called "I've Been Wrong Before" when the Everly Brothers later covered it) is an exciting rocker. The uptempo sound with great vocals from both Allan and Graham -- along with a more than servicable guitar part from Tony -- make this song a real favorite of mine.

Finally, Mickey's Monkey is a cover of a Smokey Robinson & The Miracles single. While Smokey does his song as a R&B number, the Hollies take on it is strickly rock and roll. With the vocals on one side of the stereo mix and the instruments on the other side, playing with the balance control lets you really hear fun drumming by Bobby and dynamite guitar playing by Tony.

So there you have it. Not one of the Hollies' top five albums, but certainly worthy of release in the U.S. Shame on Imperial Records for not doing these songs justice back in 1965.
PostPosted:Thu May 11, 2006 14:45 pm
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Dennis Post subject: Re: Hollies (1965) LP
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Joined: 17 Feb 2004
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Location: Los Angeles

SpartyScott wrote:
First off, did you know that the majority of the tracks from this album were never released during the 1960's in the U.S.? That makes this something of a "lost" album to American fans.

How'd that happen? Well, while there were the same number of albums released in the US as in the UK to that point, in America, the singles were always included on the albums, while in the UK, they often were not (tracks like Stay and I Can't Let Go being exceptions to that general rule). To that, add in the fact that earliest British albums had 14 tracks while their American counterparts checked in with twelve songs, and it's easy to see how you end up with a bunch of songs left in the can at the American record company (the same thing happened to the Beatles catalog in the U.S., by the way).


So, here's the album and songs:



Very Last Day (Stokey / Yarrow)
You Must Believe Me (Mayfield)
Put Yourself In My Place (Ransford)
Down The Line (Orbison)
That's My Desire (Loveday / Kresa)
Too Many People (Ransford)
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price)
When I Come Home To You (Ransford)
Fortune Teller (Neville)
So Lonely (Ransford)
I've Been Wrong (Ransford)
Mickey's Monkey (Holland / Dozier / Holland)

I don't have my U.S. albums in front of me, but I can tell you that for sure Mickey's Monkey was on a U.S. LP, but I'm not sure about any of the other tracks. So Lonely, of course, was a b-side in America so at least that song was available to American fans.

So, what is there to say about this album? One album review by an American writer that I recall commented that these songs had been unreleased in America because taken as a whole they pretty much stunk, but that's clearly wrong. There are five Hollies (or "Ransford") originals, along with covers of rockabilly, Motown, ballads, and rock.

Very Last Day was a hit single in Scandanavia for the group, I believe, and I've always liked it. This is, of course, a cover of a Peter Paul & Mary song. There's a pretty famous video of the Hollies performing it in concert on a television show (with Calvert on bass) and the performance held its own with the other songs they did that evening.

You Must Believe Me is an enjoyable song, with a solid Clarke vocal.

Put Yourself In My Place was, in my opinion, a potential single for a lesser group. I could easily see someone like Billy J using a song like this as an album highlight. I really like this song.

Down The Line is OK -- I've heard the Orbison original, which I think is better. Tony's guitars are the best thing about this song.

That's My Desire is a slower number, where Allan tries one of his early attempts at singing a tender love song. It's no Love Me Tender, but it's enjoyable. Unfortunately, I've never heard the original version of this song by whoever first did it. I'd love to track that down and listen to it.

Too Many People is almost a Hollies attempt at an original song like Very Last Day. There was something of a controversy over this track, as there was a 'boom' sound on the original mix that I guess was supposed to make one think of a nuclear explosion. So, is this a precursor to You Know The Score? Laughing

Lawdy Miss Clawdy is the closest thing to a throwaway track we have here, as it's a cover of a pretty bad song. But since I just don't like the song itself, it's hard for me to fair to the Hollies' version of it. That said, I usually jump ahead to the next tract when I play my CD of this album.

When I Come Home To You features Graham really get up there on the harmonies. I don't care what he says, there's no way he could reach those notes without going falsetto. This is a pretty typical beat group song, and definitely not an album highlight.

Fortune Teller is a version of song (I've never heard the original) that was also covered by the Rolling Stones. Just as with "You Better Move On" from an earlier album, the Hollies actually outdo the Stones.

So Lonely is a very classy Hollies track, that probably should have been a single in its own right. In my opinion, it's easily one of the best two or three b-sides that the band ever released. This certainly has the best harmonies on the LP, which doesn't seem to have been emphasized by the group this time out.

I've Been Wrong (called "I've Been Wrong Before" when the Everly Brothers later covered it) is an exciting rocker. The uptempo sound with great vocals from both Allan and Graham -- along with a more than servicable guitar part from Tony -- make this song a real favorite of mine.

Finally, Mickey's Monkey is a cover of a Smokey Robinson & The Miracles single. While Smokey does his song as a R&B number, the Hollies take on it is strickly rock and roll. With the vocals on one side of the stereo mix and the instruments on the other side, playing with the balance control lets you really hear fun drumming by Bobby and dynamite guitar playing by Tony.

So there you have it. Not one of the Hollies' top five albums, but certainly worthy of release in the U.S. Shame on Imperial Records for not doing these songs justice
back in 1965.


You have your albums mixed up. This LP was indeed released in the US. Titled "Hear! Here!", it featured the same songs except "Mickey's Monkey" (which later showed up on the US "Bus Stop" LP) and "Fortune Teller" (done much better by The Rolling Stones). Those two tracks were replaced by the singles "I'm Alive" and "Look Through Any Window". I don't know if the LP was released in true stereo (as I only have a DJ mono copy). Does anyone know?
The UK LP that didn't get released in the US is their second LP "In The Hollies Style". Not a terribly impressive LP, but neither was their first, "Stay With...", in my opinion. The Hollies' third LP, however, is a terrific beat LP, especially the US version. The addition of the singles helps a lot.
PostPosted:Thu May 11, 2006 15:57 pm
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SpartyScott Post subject: Re: Hollies (1965) LP
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Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Gahanna, Ohio USA

Dennis wrote:
SpartyScott wrote:
First off, did you know that the majority of the tracks from this album were never released during the 1960's in the U.S.? That makes this something of a "lost" album to American fans.

How'd that happen? Well, while there were the same number of albums released in the US as in the UK to that point, in America, the singles were always included on the albums, while in the UK, they often were not (tracks like Stay and I Can't Let Go being exceptions to that general rule). To that, add in the fact that earliest British albums had 14 tracks while their American counterparts checked in with twelve songs, and it's easy to see how you end up with a bunch of songs left in the can at the American record company (the same thing happened to the Beatles catalog in the U.S., by the way).


So, here's the album and songs:



Very Last Day (Stokey / Yarrow)
You Must Believe Me (Mayfield)
Put Yourself In My Place (Ransford)
Down The Line (Orbison)
That's My Desire (Loveday / Kresa)
Too Many People (Ransford)
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price)
When I Come Home To You (Ransford)
Fortune Teller (Neville)
So Lonely (Ransford)
I've Been Wrong (Ransford)
Mickey's Monkey (Holland / Dozier / Holland)

I don't have my U.S. albums in front of me, but I can tell you that for sure Mickey's Monkey was on a U.S. LP, but I'm not sure about any of the other tracks. So Lonely, of course, was a b-side in America so at least that song was available to American fans.

So, what is there to say about this album? One album review by an American writer that I recall commented that these songs had been unreleased in America because taken as a whole they pretty much stunk, but that's clearly wrong. There are five Hollies (or "Ransford") originals, along with covers of rockabilly, Motown, ballads, and rock.

Very Last Day was a hit single in Scandanavia for the group, I believe, and I've always liked it. This is, of course, a cover of a Peter Paul & Mary song. There's a pretty famous video of the Hollies performing it in concert on a television show (with Calvert on bass) and the performance held its own with the other songs they did that evening.

You Must Believe Me is an enjoyable song, with a solid Clarke vocal.

Put Yourself In My Place was, in my opinion, a potential single for a lesser group. I could easily see someone like Billy J using a song like this as an album highlight. I really like this song.

Down The Line is OK -- I've heard the Orbison original, which I think is better. Tony's guitars are the best thing about this song.

That's My Desire is a slower number, where Allan tries one of his early attempts at singing a tender love song. It's no Love Me Tender, but it's enjoyable. Unfortunately, I've never heard the original version of this song by whoever first did it. I'd love to track that down and listen to it.

Too Many People is almost a Hollies attempt at an original song like Very Last Day. There was something of a controversy over this track, as there was a 'boom' sound on the original mix that I guess was supposed to make one think of a nuclear explosion. So, is this a precursor to You Know The Score? Laughing

Lawdy Miss Clawdy is the closest thing to a throwaway track we have here, as it's a cover of a pretty bad song. But since I just don't like the song itself, it's hard for me to fair to the Hollies' version of it. That said, I usually jump ahead to the next tract when I play my CD of this album.

When I Come Home To You features Graham really get up there on the harmonies. I don't care what he says, there's no way he could reach those notes without going falsetto. This is a pretty typical beat group song, and definitely not an album highlight.

Fortune Teller is a version of song (I've never heard the original) that was also covered by the Rolling Stones. Just as with "You Better Move On" from an earlier album, the Hollies actually outdo the Stones.

So Lonely is a very classy Hollies track, that probably should have been a single in its own right. In my opinion, it's easily one of the best two or three b-sides that the band ever released. This certainly has the best harmonies on the LP, which doesn't seem to have been emphasized by the group this time out.

I've Been Wrong (called "I've Been Wrong Before" when the Everly Brothers later covered it) is an exciting rocker. The uptempo sound with great vocals from both Allan and Graham -- along with a more than servicable guitar part from Tony -- make this song a real favorite of mine.

Finally, Mickey's Monkey is a cover of a Smokey Robinson & The Miracles single. While Smokey does his song as a R&B number, the Hollies take on it is strickly rock and roll. With the vocals on one side of the stereo mix and the instruments on the other side, playing with the balance control lets you really hear fun drumming by Bobby and dynamite guitar playing by Tony.

So there you have it. Not one of the Hollies' top five albums, but certainly worthy of release in the U.S. Shame on Imperial Records for not doing these songs justice
back in 1965.


You have your albums mixed up. This LP was indeed released in the US. Titled "Hear! Here!", it featured the same songs except "Mickey's Monkey" (which later showed up on the US "Bus Stop" LP) and "Fortune Teller" (done much better by The Rolling Stones). Those two tracks were replaced by the singles "I'm Alive" and "Look Through Any Window". I don't know if the LP was released in true stereo (as I only have a DJ mono copy). Does anyone know?
The UK LP that didn't get released in the US is their second LP "In The Hollies Style". Not a terribly impressive LP, but neither was their first, "Stay With...", in my opinion. The Hollies' third LP, however, is a terrific beat LP, especially the US version. The addition of the singles helps a lot.



Mad

And THAT'S what I get for relying on memory about U.S. LP's that I haven't played in fifteen years!!!!!

But, I'll still stick with my assessment of the songs on the album!

By the way, if you hadn't quoted me, I could have edited my post to take out the confusion of the U.S. LP's, and no one would have been the wiser!
PostPosted:Thu May 11, 2006 16:45 pm

Last edited by SpartyScott on Fri May 12, 2006 0:26 am; edited 1 time in total
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Dennis Post subject: Re: Hollies (1965) LP
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Joined: 17 Feb 2004
Posts: 773
Location: Los Angeles

SpartyScott wrote:
Dennis wrote:
SpartyScott wrote:
First off, did you know that the majority of the tracks from this album were never released during the 1960's in the U.S.? That makes this something of a "lost" album to American fans.

How'd that happen? Well, while there were the same number of albums released in the US as in the UK to that point, in America, the singles were always included on the albums, while in the UK, they often were not (tracks like Stay and I Can't Let Go being exceptions to that general rule). To that, add in the fact that earliest British albums had 14 tracks while their American counterparts checked in with twelve songs, and it's easy to see how you end up with a bunch of songs left in the can at the American record company (the same thing happened to the Beatles catalog in the U.S., by the way).


So, here's the album and songs:



Very Last Day (Stokey / Yarrow)
You Must Believe Me (Mayfield)
Put Yourself In My Place (Ransford)
Down The Line (Orbison)
That's My Desire (Loveday / Kresa)
Too Many People (Ransford)
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price)
When I Come Home To You (Ransford)
Fortune Teller (Neville)
So Lonely (Ransford)
I've Been Wrong (Ransford)
Mickey's Monkey (Holland / Dozier / Holland)

I don't have my U.S. albums in front of me, but I can tell you that for sure Mickey's Monkey was on a U.S. LP, but I'm not sure about any of the other tracks. So Lonely, of course, was a b-side in America so at least that song was available to American fans.

So, what is there to say about this album? One album review by an American writer that I recall commented that these songs had been unreleased in America because taken as a whole they pretty much stunk, but that's clearly wrong. There are five Hollies (or "Ransford") originals, along with covers of rockabilly, Motown, ballads, and rock.

Very Last Day was a hit single in Scandanavia for the group, I believe, and I've always liked it. This is, of course, a cover of a Peter Paul & Mary song. There's a pretty famous video of the Hollies performing it in concert on a television show (with Calvert on bass) and the performance held its own with the other songs they did that evening.

You Must Believe Me is an enjoyable song, with a solid Clarke vocal.

Put Yourself In My Place was, in my opinion, a potential single for a lesser group. I could easily see someone like Billy J using a song like this as an album highlight. I really like this song.

Down The Line is OK -- I've heard the Orbison original, which I think is better. Tony's guitars are the best thing about this song.

That's My Desire is a slower number, where Allan tries one of his early attempts at singing a tender love song. It's no Love Me Tender, but it's enjoyable. Unfortunately, I've never heard the original version of this song by whoever first did it. I'd love to track that down and listen to it.

Too Many People is almost a Hollies attempt at an original song like Very Last Day. There was something of a controversy over this track, as there was a 'boom' sound on the original mix that I guess was supposed to make one think of a nuclear explosion. So, is this a precursor to You Know The Score? Laughing

Lawdy Miss Clawdy is the closest thing to a throwaway track we have here, as it's a cover of a pretty bad song. But since I just don't like the song itself, it's hard for me to fair to the Hollies' version of it. That said, I usually jump ahead to the next tract when I play my CD of this album.

When I Come Home To You features Graham really get up there on the harmonies. I don't care what he says, there's no way he could reach those notes without going falsetto. This is a pretty typical beat group song, and definitely not an album highlight.

Fortune Teller is a version of song (I've never heard the original) that was also covered by the Rolling Stones. Just as with "You Better Move On" from an earlier album, the Hollies actually outdo the Stones.

So Lonely is a very classy Hollies track, that probably should have been a single in its own right. In my opinion, it's easily one of the best two or three b-sides that the band ever released. This certainly has the best harmonies on the LP, which doesn't seem to have been emphasized by the group this time out.

I've Been Wrong (called "I've Been Wrong Before" when the Everly Brothers later covered it) is an exciting rocker. The uptempo sound with great vocals from both Allan and Graham -- along with a more than servicable guitar part from Tony -- make this song a real favorite of mine.

Finally, Mickey's Monkey is a cover of a Smokey Robinson & The Miracles single. While Smokey does his song as a R&B number, the Hollies take on it is strickly rock and roll. With the vocals on one side of the stereo mix and the instruments on the other side, playing with the balance control lets you really hear fun drumming by Bobby and dynamite guitar playing by Tony.

So there you have it. Not one of the Hollies' top five albums, but certainly worthy of release in the U.S. Shame on Imperial Records for not doing these songs justice
back in 1965.


You have your albums mixed up. This LP was indeed released in the US. Titled "Hear! Here!", it featured the same songs except "Mickey's Monkey" (which later showed up on the US "Bus Stop" LP) and "Fortune Teller" (done much better by The Rolling Stones). Those two tracks were replaced by the singles "I'm Alive" and "Look Through Any Window". I don't know if the LP was released in true stereo (as I only have a DJ mono copy). Does anyone know?
The UK LP that didn't get released in the US is their second LP "In The Hollies Style". Not a terribly impressive LP, but neither was their first, "Stay With...", in my opinion. The Hollies' third LP, however, is a terrific beat LP, especially the US version. The addition of the singles helps a lot.



Mad

And THAT'S what I get for relying on memory about U.S. LP's that I haven't played in fifteen years!!!!!

But, I'll still stick with my assessment of the songs on the album!


And I'll stick with mine. One of the best early British Invasion albums. I won't pick it apart; the whole LP holds up quite well compared to others from 1965.
PostPosted:Thu May 11, 2006 19:56 pm
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KingRickfors Post subject: Re That's My Desire



Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 17
Location: UK

I think That's My Desire is a really old song from the 1930's and i think it was then Frankie Laine who recorded it much later (probably late 40's or early 50's) Most of us sixties kids of course first remember hearing it on the Shadows first album ...... (i've a feeling that Cliff Richard also did a version around the same time ....)
I guess the Hollies were way down the line on this one and from memory their version is not that much different from the Shadows version.
PostPosted:Thu May 11, 2006 20:09 pm
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Dennis Post subject:
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It's a beautiful little tune, that's for sure. It's an excellent showcase for harmonies, obviously why they chose to record it.
PostPosted:Fri May 12, 2006 4:22 am
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benny-b-goode Post subject:
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The Hollies 1965 is my favourite LP by The Hollies of the Beat-era before flower power came.
I think that this is the earliest album where The Hollies show their versatility and how much better they sounded than many other Beat bands of that time.

"Very Last Day" was a brilliant idea to start the album with: it knocked me out when I pressed play on my CD player and the guitar came in (Yes, I am a member of the CD generation Wink ). A great guitar solo and wonderful harmony singing makes the song to one of the best ones on the album.
"You Must Believe Me" is another highlight of the album.
"That's My Desire" is outstanding, I think. Until then The Beach Boys were the kings of harmony singing but with "That's My Desire" which is done in the spirit of The Beach Boys' "In My Room" ( so it seems to me, at least ) they convinced me that they were as good as The Beach Boys in their harmony singing.
"Too Many People" is great, as well. It sounds, as if Beat music had met folk music lyrically here. It also surprised me that there is a noise at the end of the song. The Beatles always had the reputation to be the precursors of trends in the 1960s but as far as I know they used noises on their records only from 1966 on starting with "Yellow Submarine" on "Revolver", right ?
I also like "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" but I'm honestly not a fan of "Fortune Teller". But I don't like the song itself. I also don't like The Stones' version of it.
Of course, "So Lonely" is great and it was the B-side of "Look Through Any Window". One of the many examples of how good the B-sides of The Hollies' singles are.
"I've Been Wrong" is great, as well. It has a nice melody and a great gutar riff. I also like the bridge because it interrupts the drumming of the chorus somehow. I think that it sounds great.
The final song made me react in almost the same way I reacted when I listened to "Very Last Day". "Micky's Monkey' is a great song and The Hollies seemed to love it, as well. It sounds like they're having real fun. Especially Bobby's drumming sounds explosive. From this moment on I was convinced that Bobby was one of the best Beat drummers. I love The Beatles, as well but Ringo never could have played "Mickey's Monkey" that way. I always wanted to see Bobby playing drums to that song. I always wanted to know how this bombastic sound would look like.
The following album "Would You Believe ?" is almost as great as Hollies 1965 but somehow this album will always be connected for me with the recognition that The Hollies were not just great song writers or recorded great songs but also that they were one of the best musicians ever (especially in the cases of "Very Last Day", "That's My Desire" and "Mickey's Monkey").
PostPosted:Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:52 am
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Lou Post subject:
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 107

My take is this is the very best of the Hollies early (pre For Certain Because) albums. Cool

I have both the Imperialized Hear! Here! (with the In The Hollies Style cover shot)
and the real british vinyl album. (as well as the EMI cd reissue).

I never tire of hearing it. Many faves including Thats My Desire , Lawdy Miss
Clawdy, So Lonely ... wait...they're ALL my faves off that album. I dig it.
Oh man, that guitar lick from When I come Home To You ,just smokes.

What does bug me is how the American albums ALWAYS
have to be different from the way the Hollies themselves
intended them to be. I mean tacking on the current hit single
is one thing , but changing the album title, contents and order
of songs just bugs me . Rolling Eyes (probably a thread about that)

I hope that last comment is not `flaming' as I'm not
calling anyone out, just giving my opinion. Very Happy

_________________
then now, always
PostPosted:Wed May 02, 2007 14:11 pm
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SpartyScott Post subject:
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Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Gahanna, Ohio USA

Lou wrote:
My take is this is the very best of the Hollies early (pre For Certain Because) albums. Cool

I have both the Imperialized Hear! Here! (with the In The Hollies Style cover shot)
and the real british vinyl album. (as well as the EMI cd reissue).

I never tire of hearing it. Many faves including Thats My Desire , Lawdy Miss
Clawdy, So Lonely ... wait...they're ALL my faves off that album. I dig it.
Oh man, that guitar lick from When I come Home To You ,just smokes.

What does bug me is how the American albums ALWAYS
have to be different from the way the Hollies themselves
intended them to be. I mean tacking on the current hit single
is one thing , but changing the album title, contents and order
of songs just bugs me . Rolling Eyes (probably a thread about that)

I hope that last comment is not `flaming' as I'm not
calling anyone out, just giving my opinion.
Very Happy


That's OK - I'm sure that the Imperial Records executives who made that decision won't post a rebuttal. Wink
PostPosted:Wed May 02, 2007 14:50 pm
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Phil Cohen Post subject: Re: Hollies (1965) LP
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Joined: 27 Mar 2011
Posts: 127
Location: Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, U.S.A.

SpartyScott wrote:
First off, did you know that the majority of the tracks from this album were never released during the 1960's in the U.S.? That makes this something of a "lost" album to American fans.

How'd that happen? Well, while there were the same number of albums released in the US as in the UK to that point, in America, the singles were always included on the albums, while in the UK, they often were not (tracks like Stay and I Can't Let Go being exceptions to that general rule). To that, add in the fact that earliest British albums had 14 tracks while their American counterparts checked in with twelve songs, and it's easy to see how you end up with a bunch of songs left in the can at the American record company (the same thing happened to the Beatles catalog in the U.S., by the way).


So, here's the album and songs:



Very Last Day (Stokey / Yarrow)
You Must Believe Me (Mayfield)
Put Yourself In My Place (Ransford)
Down The Line (Orbison)
That's My Desire (Loveday / Kresa)
Too Many People (Ransford)
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price)
When I Come Home To You (Ransford)
Fortune Teller (Neville)
So Lonely (Ransford)
I've Been Wrong (Ransford)
Mickey's Monkey (Holland / Dozier / Holland)

I don't have my U.S. albums in front of me, but I can tell you that for sure Mickey's Monkey was on a U.S. LP, but I'm not sure about any of the other tracks. So Lonely, of course, was a b-side in America so at least that song was available to American fans.

So, what is there to say about this album? One album review by an American writer that I recall commented that these songs had been unreleased in America because taken as a whole they pretty much stunk, but that's clearly wrong. There are five Hollies (or "Ransford") originals, along with covers of rockabilly, Motown, ballads, and rock.

Very Last Day was a hit single in Scandanavia for the group, I believe, and I've always liked it. This is, of course, a cover of a Peter Paul & Mary song. There's a pretty famous video of the Hollies performing it in concert on a television show (with Calvert on bass) and the performance held its own with the other songs they did that evening.

You Must Believe Me is an enjoyable song, with a solid Clarke vocal.

Put Yourself In My Place was, in my opinion, a potential single for a lesser group. I could easily see someone like Billy J using a song like this as an album highlight. I really like this song.

Down The Line is OK -- I've heard the Orbison original, which I think is better. Tony's guitars are the best thing about this song.

That's My Desire is a slower number, where Allan tries one of his early attempts at singing a tender love song. It's no Love Me Tender, but it's enjoyable. Unfortunately, I've never heard the original version of this song by whoever first did it. I'd love to track that down and listen to it.

Too Many People is almost a Hollies attempt at an original song like Very Last Day. There was something of a controversy over this track, as there was a 'boom' sound on the original mix that I guess was supposed to make one think of a nuclear explosion. So, is this a precursor to You Know The Score? Laughing

Lawdy Miss Clawdy is the closest thing to a throwaway track we have here, as it's a cover of a pretty bad song. But since I just don't like the song itself, it's hard for me to fair to the Hollies' version of it. That said, I usually jump ahead to the next tract when I play my CD of this album.

When I Come Home To You features Graham really get up there on the harmonies. I don't care what he says, there's no way he could reach those notes without going falsetto. This is a pretty typical beat group song, and definitely not an album highlight.

Fortune Teller is a version of song (I've never heard the original) that was also covered by the Rolling Stones. Just as with "You Better Move On" from an earlier album, the Hollies actually outdo the Stones.

So Lonely is a very classy Hollies track, that probably should have been a single in its own right. In my opinion, it's easily one of the best two or three b-sides that the band ever released. This certainly has the best harmonies on the LP, which doesn't seem to have been emphasized by the group this time out.

I've Been Wrong (called "I've Been Wrong Before" when the Everly Brothers later covered it) is an exciting rocker. The uptempo sound with great vocals from both Allan and Graham -- along with a more than servicable guitar part from Tony -- make this song a real favorite of mine.

Finally, Mickey's Monkey is a cover of a Smokey Robinson & The Miracles single. While Smokey does his song as a R&B number, the Hollies take on it is strickly rock and roll. With the vocals on one side of the stereo mix and the instruments on the other side, playing with the balance control lets you really hear fun drumming by Bobby and dynamite guitar playing by Tony.

So there you have it. Not one of the Hollies' top five albums, but certainly worthy of release in the U.S. Shame on Imperial Records for not doing these songs justice back in 1965.


Please note: the nuclear explosion and splintering wood sounds at the end of "Too Many People" are only in the mono mix, but not in the stereo mix.

Also, while "You Must Believe Me" is a fine song, the performance underscores the fact that, in the early days, Hollies album tracks were recorded quickly. In the final chorus, Eric Haydock hits a bad bass note, and you can hear one unidentified Hollie laughing or going "oops!"at the mistake. In those days, the bass, drums & Rhythm guitar were together on one track, and a bad bass note couldn't be corrected. The Byrds had a few similar bad bass notes(on "Spanish Harlem Incident" & "She Has a Way"). The take of "You Must Believe Me" was obviously considered to be the best take overall.

Back then, no one was thinking in terms of making technically perfect records(perfect in performance or sound); records to last for the ages. I think Ron Richards once expressed his surprise that records he produced were still being played on the radio 40 years later.

Even The Beatles had a few audible mistakes on their early records(usually vocal lyric mistakes) on tracks such as "Slow Down", "I'll Get You"(where overdubbed or harmony voices accidentally sing different words than those sung by the lead vocal), and of course, in the stereo version of "Please Please Me"("Why do you never even try girl" instead of "I Know You Never Even Try Girl")

In those early days of 2-track & 4-track recording, EMI producers such as Ron Richards & George Martin obviously though that getting a good overall sound or feel was more important than getting perfection, and an occasional mistake could be permitted to get into the mix.
PostPosted:Sat Apr 09, 2011 22:09 pm
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Phil Cohen Post subject:
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Joined: 27 Mar 2011
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Location: Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, U.S.A.

Sparty,


You say that "Put Yourself in My Place" would have been a potential single for a lesser group.
It was a single A-side for Harrow, England pop group "Episode Six", whose Ian Gillan & Roger Glover went on to a successful career in heavy metal with Deep Purple. The single was on the Pye label.
PostPosted:Sat Apr 09, 2011 23:30 pm
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SpartyScott Post subject:
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Phil Cohen wrote:
Sparty,


You say that "Put Yourself in My Place" would have been a potential single for a lesser group.
It was a single A-side for Harrow, England pop group "Episode Six", whose Ian Gillan & Roger Glover went on to a successful career in heavy metal with Deep Purple. The single was on the Pye label.


That track gets a lot of play on my ipod, as well as on my computer on itunes.

But check this out -- I went looking for the Episode Six version that you mention, and found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twEG77icQfs
PostPosted:Sun Apr 10, 2011 0:04 am
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Phil Cohen Post subject:
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Location: Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, U.S.A.

SpartyScott wrote:
Phil Cohen wrote:
Sparty,


You say that "Put Yourself in My Place" would have been a potential single for a lesser group.
It was a single A-side for Harrow, England pop group "Episode Six", whose Ian Gillan & Roger Glover went on to a successful career in heavy metal with Deep Purple. The single was on the Pye label.


That track gets a lot of play on my ipod, as well as on my computer on itunes.

But check this out -- I went looking for the Episode Six version that you mention, and found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twEG77icQfs


It doesn't surprise me that you didn't find any video material of Episode Six. The only existing video footage of this hitless group are two songs performed on Germany's "Beat Beat Beat" T.V. show.
PostPosted:Sun Apr 10, 2011 0:16 am
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Gee Post subject:
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This album clearly depicts the band's progression....and both their early and contemporary influences...thus it's a pivotal point between the band's original work, their absorbing influences, and their later progression as artists....evidence of all can be clearly found on this set.

'Very Last Day' - a number 2 hit in Sweden - is a folky Peter, Paul & Mary song (as was 'Stewball' in their repertoire)....influencing Their own folky 'Too Many People'

The Soul / Black R & B influence is there in The Miracles 'Mickey's Monkey', ( penned by Holland-Dozier-Holland as later 'Stop In The Name of Love' while Lamont Dozier later also wrote 'Emotions') & Curtis Mayfield's Impressions number 'You Must Believe Me'

'Down The Line' (like 'Candy Man' by Ross-Neil earlier) is Roy Orbison material (this time an early song penned by Roy himself from his Sun Records days)...one of a few Rock'n'Roll tracks, this one with a country tinge.

'That's My Desire' dates from 1932 by Carrol Loveday & Helmy Kretza - a big hit for Frankie Laine & covered by both The Shadows & Cliff Richard seperately - Apparently cut against their wishes it was Ron Richards idea to do this in order to to appeal to a wider market (Romantic Ballads were being big hits in the UK & USA then) - apparently they LOATHED it ! - and even more so when in 1967 it was put out as an overseas single without their knowledge or consent....and then topped the singles chart in South Africa...duly holding their own current single 'Carrie Anne' back at number 2 spot...
Even much later in 2003 I understand they vetoed it going on EMI's 'Greatest Hits' CD...!

Everyone then did 'Fortune Teller' - Merseybeats, Stones, etc...

'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' likewise....another R'n'R standard...

Of their other own tracks....

'So Lonely' ('B' side of 'Look Through Any Window') is a classic... Cool - note Nash emerging as the reflective 'bridge section' vocalist...

'Put Yourself In My Place' again includes a brief solo vocal section by Nash and also features on piano Alan Hawkshaw (Ex- Checkmates & briefly keyboardist in The Shadows circa 1969-70 - he's on both 'Live In Japan' 1969 and 'Shades of Rock' 1970 albums ) 'Big Al' provides a notable piano solo - I believe future Shadows member John Farrar's Aussie band The Strangers also covered this as an Australian single.

'When I Come Home To You' is a very brisk key changing excercise putting their ultra commercial sound to a very uncommercial structure (like 'Oriental Sadness' & 'Peculiar Situation' later would also do)....much like The Everlys did on their album tracks....this number moves at fast pace never letting up.

'I've Been Wrong' features great Bobby Elliott drumming & tight harmonies - this one appealed to The Everlys.

The album made Number 8 in the UK album charts, issued only in mono in 1965....tho' the primitive stereo version was later issued in 1969 on EMI's Budget label Regal Starline re-titled as: 'Reflection' in a new sleeve on both LP & cassette (in a differing sleeve again) - that was widely available for many years...until later BGO Records re-issued it in stereo (Depicted as Mono) on LP & later CD restored to original sleeve and title.
EMI have re-issued it again since then.

As the mono version originally made number 8 in the UK...then the album was long time freely available as a cheap budget issue in stereo ...then was later re-issued by BGO Records in original sleeve but in stereo....then it was later re-issued again by EMI themselves...this could very well be the biggest selling non compilation Hollies album ever in the UK as it originally charted highly in 1965.... and was then readily available in various formats - the budget version 'Reflection' was on sale in many local Department stores - it was therefore very easily obtainable for far longer than any other of their non compilation albums.
PostPosted:Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:45 am
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