The Hollies :: View topic

Agreed. "What Goes Around" has not aged well at all. Overblown production does not compensate for lousy material. I happen to like their version of "Stop in the Name of Love" plus the other 2 singles, but the rest are utterly disposable, not worth listening to again.

You need to hear "Out on the Road". One of their very best! Russian Roulette is spotty, but if you can get past the cringe-inducing opener "Wiggle That Wotsit" (perhaps tying with "Casualty" as the worst opening track on any Hollies album), there are some decent tunes on it, the best of which by far is "Draggin' My Heels". The band used to play an extended version in concert in the '80s after the Nash reunion debacle. The calculator album is low-key, but it has its appeal. Contains "It's In Everyone of Us", a staple in their live act in recent times. Terry Sylvester sings lead on a pair of songs, the better of which is "Boys in the Band".

I think one thing that's true to say about What Goes Around is that it's likely the most controversial Hollies album, mostly inspiring either a "love it" or "hate it" response. I would tend to agree that, second to Buddy Holly, it's their weakest album but by no means dismissable as I feel it contains some very strong and likeable songs. It does sound very "80's" and thus, perhaps dated to some, but again - it was the 80's Hollies doing 80's music in an 80's style, with 80's production. Alot of albums from (veteran) bands who released stuff around that period often receive similar complaints (e.g. E.L.O.'s Secret Messages) and I think it's just a side-effect of that period, however an important time in music history nevertheless.

Anyway, to get back on topic....

Having heard the new sampler I am VERY pleased. I think both songs are great, with some great production and delivery. I can't wait to hear the rest of Staying Power as I think that it 's going to be a fantastic album and a fine addition to the Hollies catalogue. The sampler currently lives in my CD player.... Laughing

"If The Lights Go Out" WAS issued by US Atlantic as a single, the third and final 45 (following the lousy "Casualty") from WGA. It is worth tracking down as it is a remix. This exclusive mix is a bit wacky, with vocals flying all over the place (recalling "Dear Eloise"!) but is an interesting variation. It actually sounds LESS commercial to me, but who knows what they were thinking at the time? I guess it does illustrate how the tracks from that album were tampered with too much. Look at the credits on the back of the LP; too many cooks spoil the broth!

Thanks for that information, Dennis. The Magic reissue of WGA does not have any credits on it - who produced the album and who played bass?

Hi James. The credits for 'What Goes Around' are as follows,
Keyboards. Paul Bliss, Mike Batt, Alan Tarney,Brian Chatton.
Lead Guitar. Tony Hicks.
Rhythm Guitar. Frank Christopher (Having a good time) Alan Tarney (something ain't right)
Bass. Steve Stroud,Andy Brown,Alan Tarney.
Drums. Bobby Elliott,The Oberheim.
Percussion Joe Lala.
Vocals. Clark Hicks Nash.
Hope this helps.
GordonJ
PS It doesn't say who played rhythm guitar on the remaining eight tracks. I'd assume it was Graham, but then again it could have been Tony or a session player.
PPS With regard to Brian Chatton being credited with Keyboards, I must admit that for many years I've has a suspision that the version of 'Take My Love And Run' on what goes around, is actually the 1981 version with Brian (or could it have been Graham?) on high harmony and not a new recording. Perhaps this was the track Graham joined in with at Abbey Rd after appearing with the Hollies on TOTP when 'Holliedays' was in the charts.

Thanks for that, Gordon. To my ears it definitely sounds like Nash on the long version of Take My Love And Run.

I hate '80s music full stop. I don't think The Hollies could ever have appealed to me in that decade. They were never going to record the likes of Falling Calling or Sweet Country Calling.

I do they think if they'd kept to a more '60s pop game plan they could have weathered the decade better. I think the band now admit WGA was a lost opportunity. They should have tried to write a few songs and do something a bit more pure.

I really don't rate the likes of I Got What I Want and Say That You'll Be Mine they sound very contrived and boring to my ears though I do think that Having A Good Time had something going for it.

I think they should have pursued a sound similar to Take My Love And Run and Can't Lie well- crafted 60s style pop songs with a contemporary sound.

I don't think all of their '80s work is uniformly poor but WGA is uniformly poor to my ears. When they needed to get their finger out big time they just grabbed a few songs from those around them and blew it!

Michael

I've just read the concert review page and the article of Uli Twelker.

At the end he wrote this:

"Several brand new and original compositions almost finished for a new album after The Hollies agreed a CD deal with EMI, half a dozen more tracks in the works."

Was that just a mistake of him? Does he consider songs of outside writers original or does that mean that there are new songs written by some of the bandmembers on the new album? What's up with that Rob?

Like Michael, I'm not remotely keen on 80s music either and I actually felt that way at the time... I didn't like the overall sound of records coming out then and it was at this point I turned to my parents' record collection full of gems from the 60s and 70s. Not much music from the 80s to my ears has aged at all well and The Hollies were just one of many victims.

Thankfully they did improve after WGA... I've always loved "Too Many Hearts Get Broken" and even "Find Me A Family" was a much more Hollies sounding song that I didn't dislike.

Dennis hit the nail on the head precisely and succinctly regarding WGA... Too many cooks do indeed spoil the broth. From what I recall of the 1988 Record Collector piece, the basic backing tracks for more or less the whole album were recorded in the UK and the overdubs and production took place in LA in various studios. Bobby admitted it was "frustrating" because Stanley Johnstone was "forever" taking the tapes to different studios to get "better" mixes...

I do rather like the "Buddy Holly" album though... it was the end of the Terry Sylvester and Bernie Calvert era and being a Buddy Holly fan myself (the legend himself) I thought The Hollies reworkings worked pretty well. I love "Think It Over" and I do find "Everyday" quite moving. It certainly worked much better than that other album they did 11 years earlier and the musical arrangements though sometimes perhaps touching upon blandness were much better and more sympathetic to Buddys' songs than they were to Dylans!

It would appear I'm one of the few who really likes 'What Goes Around'. Although I've not thought about it much, it could be in my top 5 hollies albums. I even like the WGA version of 'Just One Look' (especially live). However for me, the loveliest version of 'Just One Look' was the acoustic version the band opened their 30th anniversary shows with. I think Paul Bliss is a good songwriter with 'How Do I Survive' being no exception. As I've said before the Hollies throughout the late seventies and early eighties tried to do music that would appeal to music fans of these times. IE 'Something To Live For' in 79. Unfortunately not a success, but how many hollies fans would have expected it to be. The most recent example of up to date hollies music has got to be 'Naomi' and 'Two Shadows'. Late eighties/early nineties music if ever there was such a thing Exclamation

As for the lack of self penned songs on WGA, I wonder....................if Graham might have been prepared to contribute two or three but perhaps felt he would have recieved the same reaction as he did in 68 Question

GordonJ

Bass Guitar Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Posts: 58 Location: Essex

Hi Gordon. Naomi and Two Shadows - what are these, I 've never heard of them?

Regarding '80s music, some I like and some I loathe. It depends on the talents involved. I am a big fan of Tears For Fears, Pet Shop Boys, and Swing Out Sister, all three are still active and creative today. I also like several acts from the '90s. But the 2000s have been barren as far as I'm concerned. No new act has grabbed my attention. So my attention turns to the tried and true, such as The Hollies, and I'm hoping their new music makes a solid impact beyond their established fan base. Time will tell.

Regarding their other 80s recordings besides the WGA album, my two faves are "Laughter Turns to Tears" (much better than the wishy-washy "Too Many Hearts Get Broken". At least it rocked.) and "Shine Silently". But, yes, it was the '80s, and not the best decade for new Hollies music.

As for the Buddy Holly vs. Dylan album debate, I'd say it's a draw. I really like about 4 tracks from each. But an entire album of songs by the same writer is a bit much.

Hi John. 'Naomi' and 'Two Shadows' featured on side two of the 1990 'Purple Rain' 12 inch single which was only available at concert venues. I was sure they had also appeared on a compilation CD, but it would appear that the only CD release of these two tracks was a German EP released in 1993 which also featured a live 1991 version of 'Another Night'. The latter featuring some stunning keyboard work from Ian parker.
GordonJ