The Hollies :: View topic - Personnel changes in Hollies and other bands

Peter: Maybe what you should do is take all your Hollies records, tapes, and/or CDs, snip out any offending lead vocals that do not belong to Messrs. Clarke and Nash, and then you could be content with what you obviously feel are the "real" Hollies. Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you, other than perhaps you are entirely too cynical. Likewise with The Beatles. Heaven forbid you should have to suffer through a George Harrison lead vocal, painful as it may be! And dare I mention Ringo? Happy Hollie-days P.S. I think "Pegasus", as sung by Tony Hicks, is a charming little tune; one of my faves from "Butterfly". (Now I know I've gotten your dander up over that comment.)

I think it's always good when a band has more lead vocalists. Of course the best one should take most of them but I also think that it makes a record stronger when there is another singer who occasionally takes over the vocals - the best Hollies example in my opinion is "Gasoline Alley Bred" where the vocals sharing in one song really works. Also the Sylvester sung songs on "Distant Light" or "Romany" are excellent additions to those albums. And for the songs where Tony Hicks sings, well "Pegasus" is in my opinion just not a great song but on the other songs where he takes one verse, like on "Carrie Ann", "Open Up Your Eyes" or "Look Through Any Window" he really sounds good and gives the songs a certain "extra".

An regarding the Beatles I don't agree with you either. On some of the earlier albums that might ocasinally be true but especially the later albums would be worse without the songs and vocals of Harrison (Don't Bother Me, Roll over Beethoven, You Like Me Too Much, Taxman, Love You Too, While My Guitar..., Something, Here Comes The Sun) and Ringo (I Wanna Be Your Man, Yellow Submarine (couldn't have been sung by any other singer), With A Little Help From My Friends, Octopus's Garden).

And by the way the production of "This Is It" and "Reunion Of The Heart" could be worse since this is 80s music, a time when most productions in my opinion where horrible. So I think as far as 80s music goes they are OK, but the songs are pretty good in my opinion.
And you're right about that they can be recognized as Hollies songs. But the same goes for the Rickfors tracks, although the sound has changed they can also be recognized as Hollies songs - just from the way they are played. They sound more like the Hollies than the Clarke solo tracks in my opinion.

My new year's resolution (well one of them!) is to investigate the post-Nash era further, including both the Rikfors line-up & the Clarke solo albums.

Yes, do yourself a favor and do so. Your ears will be grateful, I guarantee it. The long-standing prejudice against the band is that the Nash era is the one that really counts, while the rest is not so essential. Wrong. I would say the period up to 1974 is on a par with anything from the Nash era. Unfortunately, I think they got too somber on "Another Night" and couldn't really snap out of it from then on. But the classic era of Top 40 radio was over by then, and things got mixed up for music in general from '75 onwards, with different types of music clashing head-on, as opposed to the '60s, when there was harmony among the different styles. Again about "Pegasus"; it WAS 1967, remember. EVERYBODY was doing whimsical tunes, EVEN The Stones ("She's A Rainbow" being a prime example, and another fave of mine). As for who sings lead on what, I think the band (and Ron Richards) would always choose carefully who should sing what, and in the case of "Pegasus", they probably tried it with Allan and Graham but Tony's voice was deemed more suitable for the very fanciful tune that it is. No question that the best version/take got the nod for release on disc.

"Out on the Road", the second LP with Rickfors, is the most rocking I would say, mainly because it was produced by the band without Ron Richards' involvement, like "Romany". But, like The Beatles, they balance it with gorgeous ballads. There was always variety on Beatles albums; same with The Hollies. Of the post-Nash LPs, the 4 best are "Distant Light", "Romany", "Out on the Road", and "Hollies" ('74 w/"The Air that I Breathe").

Joined: 27 Dec 2005 Posts: 16

After several years 'lurking' I have decided to add my comment. I have seen the Hollies most years since about 1990 (I was then eighteen) and have enjoyed every line up, and each new lead singer has brought a new and fresh feel to the band. Perhaps we are all naturally cautious of someone new taking over, but I really don't think you can criticise until you have heard the results. In concert, the band are excellent with Peter's vocals.

As yet I am not sure about the three tracks I have heard from the album, (a bit clinical and modern sounding for me) but let's wait and see what it sounds like when we have the entire finished product.

Good on the group for recording again, just need the concert DVD and we'll be laughing!

Whatever the merits of the new album are, I find it very strange that the group didn't capitalise more on the 1988 reissue of 'He Ain't Heavy...' getting to number 1 in the UK (& the resulting TV appearances & press interviews). They should've rushed into the studio to cut a new album then.

The hardest rocking post-Nash albums with Allan Clarke are "Distant Light", "1974" and "Russian Roulette". "Distant Light" has the most rock orientated sound, it has ballads on it, too but it has the feeling of a rock album, "Russian Roulette" also rocks pretty hard for the Hollies but has a cleaner/ more polished sound than "Distant Light". "Write On" has also a couple of rockers like "Crocodile Woman" (one of their best Rock'n'Roll songs) or "Stranger".

Both Rickfors albums have lots of rocking tracks on it. As I have written in my reviews "Romany" has a tougher sound than "Out On The Road". Especially the second side of "Romany" has lots of rock songs on it.
I would suggest buying "Distant Light" and "Romany" which are my two favorite Hollies albums.

Out of Allan Clarke's solo records "Headroom" rocks the hardest; in a similar a way to the early Rod Stewart albums. There are lots of acoustic guitars and just ocasionally electric guitar but the acoustics rock. So maybe for a fan of '50s Rock'n'Roll that's the right album. By the way after I have discovered the Beatles (the first band I have listened, too) I have listened a lot to '50s Rock'n'Roll like Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, too.
"Legendary Heroes" has also a lot of rock songs on it and it's maybe my most favorite Clarke solo album.

And some of the Rickfors solo albums have lots of energy. For example "Tender Turns Tuff" which is one of my favorite solo albums by him has many rocking tracks on it.

This is a very interesting thread - some very strong emotions (pardon the pun) have been put forward in these messages.

I have not heard any of the new tracks, although a work colleague who likes the band's back catalogue described the track played on Radio 2 as 'alright'. Hardly enthusiastic. I fail to see what Rob is getting so upset over - the band must be used to a plethora of professional and amateur critics after 40-odd years in the business. Fans will have their preferences, and that is just part of human nature. I don't think anyone is out to dismiss the musicians involved - if I was Tony or Bobby or indeed management, losing a meal ticket such as the revenue from gigs would perhaps be a little hard after all this time.

I'm just suspicious of the timing and the nature of this release of all-covers., as so it seems a few people are who correspond on this board and others who have contacted me elsewhere. I bought my girlfriend the Charlotte Church CD 'Tissues and Issues' for Christmas and I note that Rob Davis is on the songwriting credits there. Charlotte Church and The Hollies - there's a bit of a contrast there! I think that perhaps even one or two self-penned or co-written tracks would help soften the blow for many long-term fans.

The history of personnel changes in bands is interesting - take, for example rock acts such as Deep Purple (Gillan and Golver replaced by Coverdale and Hughes) and Manfred Mann's Earth Band (Mick Rogers replaced by Chris Thompson and Dave Flett). The new material produced by both bands both self-written (and covers in the case of MMEB) was accepted by many fans and is of high quality. Even more radical, the lineup of Dr Feelgood as exists today features no original members (ever since the untimely death of Lee Brilleaux in 1994).

It's all horses for courses.