Lead Guitar
Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Gahanna, Ohio USA
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http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thehollies/albums/album/184471/rid/5943667/
The lingering prejudice against the Hollies is probably due to two things: the huge success of their treacly single, "He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother)," and a kind of snobbish conviction that the group Graham Nash left years ago for high-minded artistic reasons could never do anything noteworthy again.
The current Hollies are, in their charming way, as appealing as any group and it would be childish to begrudge them the commercial hits that enable them to continue to produce such sweetly anachronistic albums as this one.
The excitement generated by these 11 predominantly group-written tunes harks back to some earlier period in British rock, the time of "Hello Goodbye" or "Carrie Ann" or, especially, "Itchycoo Park." Just as fans waited with eager curiosity for the next marvelous confection from the Small Faces, Hollies' listeners will be intrigued with this band's cut-to-cut inventiveness and desire to please.
In orchestrated ballads and sinuous struts Allan Clarke's capable and versatile voice sets the pleasing pattern: He becomes, in turn, a prisoner in the dock, a bereft lover, a rock star touring the U.S., a stylish teenager hungry to learn the hip jive. The words are inessential: Attitude is all.
The crisp and very professional production by Ron Richards and the Hollies makes fun respectable. The amazing repertoire of effects at the group's command results in a kind of aural history of what can be achieved in a three-minute tune: here a taste of the Buffalo Springfield, there some psychedelic wah-wah juxtaposed with mouth harp, Moog and jet-plane phasing side-by-side with Everlys' voicings, then a bit of "Zabadak" echo, followed by a stretch of the old Hollies' harmonies. There are Chuck Berry riffs, echoes of Elvis and Buddy, a slow lovelorn lament reminiscent of Bo Diddley. The rewards of pop — that's what this album is about.
Rock & roll still means what it did ten years ago to the Hollies and they convey it with exuberance and style and wit. No one else is doing what they are now doing. No apologies are necessary, and no patronizing permitted. The Hollies are wonderful.
TOM NOLAN
(Posted: Jun, 20 1974) |
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