Yes I believe (The Moody Blues) (LP 4461 - 4469)

The Hollies  Russian Roulette (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1976) ***  

The Moody Blues December  (CD, Universal Records, 2003) *** 

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass  Whipped Cream & Other Delights (Vinyl, Festival Records, 1965) *** 

John Sebastian  Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live John Sebastian (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1971) *** 

Argent  Argent (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1970) **** 

Argent  In Deep (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1973) *** 

Argent  Nexus (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1974) **** 

Brian Auger  The Best of Brian Auger (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1977) ***** 

Jackie DeShannon  Lonely Girl (Vinyl, Sunset Records, 1974) *** 

Genres: Pop, Prog rock, Easy listening, Folk-rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Daddy Don't Mind (The Hollies)

Gear costume: Dance in the Smoke (Argent), A Taste of Honey (Herb Alpert), Inner City Blues (Brian Auger)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: Recently, I had a trip to Auckland for a couple of days which included my usual pilgrimage to Real Groovy Records in the CBD. All of the vinyl in the list above comes from their sale bins, which always reveals some treasures.

Doing this blog a while ago, I was surprised I didn't have a copy of The Hollies 1976 album, Russian Roulette, so I found a copy for $10. It's a pretty spirited affair with some electric guitar-based rock - the title track and Louise are good songs but they are no competition for the final song on side 2 - Daddy Don't Mind. It's superb and if the rest of the album was as good as that one it would have been a five-star effort.

The Moodies Christmas album, December, only has three members appearing on it - Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward and John Lodge. It's also their final studio album. I've been after it for a few years so I was delighted to find a CD copy of it.

It's very typically The Moody Blues - some lovely orchestral backing, Lodge and Hayward's distinctive vocals, and a theme - Christmas! Most of the songs are by Hayward and/or Lodge but there are some telling covers - John and Yoko's Happy Xmas (War is Over) delivers a nice message, while White Christmas and A Winter's Tale are also fab. 

As the AllMusic critic wrote: There is no new age drivel here; its topics and themes are indeed Christian, but weigh on the side of those that are universally held: brotherhood, compassion, hope, goodwill, and generosity. In addition, it's beautifully orchestrated and produced. Its sound is pristine, and Hayward and Lodge with their trademark elegance sound as if they mean every word they write and sing.  

As I've indicated previously here, my parents were big fans of Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, but for some strange reason they didn't buy his most popular one, his fourth album - Whipped Cream & Other Delights, so I've bought a copy for them.

I doubt it was because the cover image was a bit racey. Although pretty conservative, my parents weren't prudes. So, they bought three Herb Alpert albums but decided against Whipped Cream.

The live John Sebastian album came quickly after an unauthorised live album was issued and quickly withdrawn in 1970. That one is pretty impossible to find as it's never been re-released and so it's ultra-rare. The Cheapo-Cheapo alternative lives up to its name - just John and a guitarist friend to flesh out the sound, plus a quick succession of songs.

He plays with spirit and a certain level of commitment and while he hasn't got the warmth and humour of Arlo Guthrie or the political focus of Country Joe, it's still an interesting live document. A curio, if you will.

Argent was Rod Argent's creation after exiting The Zombies (they are coming in the countdown). I've already written about their live album and their third album - All Together Now. The new band spent six months workshopping ideas and jelling as an entity - the result was Argent.

The band lineup for their 1970 debut album, Argent, was Russ Ballard – guitar, lead vocals, Rod Argent – organ, piano, vocals, Jim Rodford – bass (later on he played bass in The Kinks), Robert Henrit – drums (also a Kink later on).

It's a strong album with a rockier approach to things than The Zombies more orchestrated pop ways. Rod contributes some excellent organ to the album and Russ Ballard shows his commercial abilities to good effect. For example, Lies is a standout pop song.

In Deep is the band's fourth studio album. It includes their big hit God Gave Rock and Roll to You, another Russ Ballad effort. The rest of the album is a succession of heavier prog songs like It's Only Money. 

The vocals are also more layered on this album. The album liner notes by Rod indicate that it was a focus to improve the vocal sounds and this was job done, I believe. 

Nexus is my third Argent album coming from this visit to Real Groovy. All three were fairly dusty with fingerprint marks but a good clean with some warm water has improved all of them dramatically.

Nexus sounds HUGE. Try Infinite Wanderer and marvel at Rod's keyboards! They are brilliantly to the fore, and the band is wailing behind his lead. It helps if you turn this album up really loud too. Just sayin'.

The Brian Auger compilation is absolutely superb. Every track is a wonderful example of his genius, whether than be on piano (Listen Here) or organ (Inner City Blues). The man is a true master!

Jackie DeShannon (a.k.a. De Shannon) is someone I admire a lot and I continue to buy her albums whenever they cross my path. Lonely Girl is a compilation from 1968. Weirdly it avoids two of her big hits - When You Walk in the Room and What the World Needs Now Is Love.

However, it does include her version of Needles and Pins, and her own terrific songs like Lonely Girl and I Remember the Boy. It also has some of the bombastic pop of the sixties which hasn't aged that well.

Where do they all belong? I'm keen to eventually find the three albums that I'm missing from the Argent catalogue - their second album - Ring of Hands and their two post Russ Ballard albums from 1975 - Circus and Counterpoints.

Star (The Hollies) (LP 4373 - 4375)

The Hollies  Hollies Live Hits (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1977) ****  

The Hollies  The Hollies Live at the BBC (CD, BBC Records, 2018) ****  

The Hollies  Live in London (Vinyl, Immortal Records, 2013) ***  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Bus Stop (Live Hits)

Gear costume: 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (Live Hits)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: Hollies Live Hits was made up of songs performed at some New Zealand shows in January 1976. My fellow Kiwis (and I) have always had a soft spot for The Hollies!

It's a terrific set, with The Hollies choosing some brilliant songs from throughout their career - they have a truly amazing catalogue of hits to draw from. The Nu Zild crowd could be a tad more enthusiastic but that's us to a tee in the seventies.

Live at the BBC is a terrific set of early, sixties, appearances on the Beeb Beeb Ceeb. The young Hollies tear into some great rock numbers like She Said Yeah with gusto!

The Hollies Live in London is from the late sixties, after Nash had left. The Dylan covers come across well but the song selection is patchy. It's 1969 so A Taste of Honey and Stewball are odd choices.

The guys are dressed in matching suits and ties. Again - guys - it's 1969!

Where do they all belong? A great way to finish. The Hollies could deliver live!

Don't give up easily (The Hollies) (LP 4362 - 4372)

The Hollies  Hollies Sing Dylan (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1969) ** 

The Hollies  Hollies Sing Hollies (CD, Parlophone Records, 1969) ***  

The Hollies  Confessions of the Mind (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1970) **** 

The Hollies  Distant Light (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1971) ***

The Hollies  Romany (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1972) ***

The Hollies  Another Night (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1975) *****

The Hollies  Write On (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1975) ****

The Hollies  A Crazy Steal (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1978) ***

The Hollies  Five Three One - Double Seven O Four (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1979) **

The Hollies  What Goes Around... (Vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1983) **

The Hollies  Then, Now, Always (CD, EMI Records, 2010) **

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Vinyl Countdown, HMV, Real Groovy Records, Amoeba Music.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Too Young To Be Married (Confessions of the Mind)

Gear costume: Lonely Hobo Lullabye (Another Night) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: If you thought the album name variations would cease post 1968, think again. The American/ Canadian versions again had different names and/or different track listings throughout the seventies.

Hollies Sing Dylan was renamed Words and Music by Bob Dylan in America. Bizarre. What? - did they think Americans didn't know who Dylan was?

The record itself is something of a regression back to cover songs. The style of the covers is at times weird too - a jaunty When the Ship Comes In anyone? A cabaret style Blowin' In the Wind? That said, it's not a bad album at all - just a bit of a strange one. Nash had left, so this was Terry Sylvester's first album as one of The Hollies.

Hollies Sing Hollies was a clever, re-centering title for this second album of 1969. The cover image bizarrely returns the band to a pre-psychedelic look with the matchy matchy outfits and Allan's hand is in a really awkward place. What were they thinking? Compare the cover to Crosby Stills Nash - also of 1969! 

The American version was again in a different format. This one was titled He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, to cash in the successful single, and with a different cover photo.

It's not an altogether convincing reboot for The Hollies post Nash. It still feels like they are looking for a direction to go in.

My favourite track is Marigold/ Gloria Swansong which is a folk-rock opus that works for me. They don't try too hard and the more relaxed pace suits them and Allan Clarke's distinctive voice. The lighter pop rock songs like You Love 'Cos You Like It are pleasant but this wasn't a sustainable sound as the sixties ended.

Confessions of the Mind (released bizarrely in America as Moving Finger with a different track sequence) was their tenth album. It's a return to the simpler style used at times on Butterfly/ Evolution with Tony Hicks' guitars to the fore on many tracks. The trademark harmony vocals are terrific throughout as well. Isn't it Nice is a great example of this more relaxed sound.

Distant Light saw the band in something of a holding pattern. Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress was a palpable hit but the rest of the album is good without being great. It is going for a rockier approach but doesn't fully commit. For once - a great cover though.

Allan Clarke left the band briefly to launch a solo career. The album he recorded (My Real Name is 'Arold) was okay but not great so he returned to The Hollies in time for their album after Romany.

Romany instead has a new vocalist - Swedish singer Mikael Rickfors. He does an okay job, but The Hollies without Allan Clarke? Not the same distinctive Hollies sound. That said, the beefed up guitar sound is welcome, Magic Woman Touch is a good pop single, and the songs are good attempts at modern rock. It's a solid album - certainly not an embarrassment without Clarke on board.

Another Night was the second album of the new Allan Clarke era. It features all original songs apart from a superb Springsteen cover. Those original songs finally present another coherent picture of the band in the seventies. There are some top songs like the title track, I'm Down, Give Me Time and Lonely Hobo Lullabye.

Actually, it's a pretty awesome collection. AllMusic summed up the songs well as 'the group's best body of rock songs ever, almost all solidly memorable, beautifully hook-laden numbers, harmony-driven but mostly not as soft as past releases often were. And while the harmonies were impeccable, the songs they were part of usually kept a great beat or solid rocking guitar (mostly courtesy of Tony Hicks')'.

The follow up was the nearly as strong Write On. All of The Hollies distinctive tropes are on display - Tony Hicks' guitar prowess (always serves the song), tuneful songs/ melodies, Allan Clarke's distinctive lead vocal, and those Hollies harmonies. Highlights: Star; Write On; Sweet Country Calling. 

A Crazy Steal was another solid seventies album by the band - membership intact at this stage. Again, it was an album that was well received in New Zealand - we never lost our love affair with The Hollies. 

Boulder to Birmingham, a cover of the Emmylou Harris song, was a standout but the whole album had strong material by the Clarke/ Hicks/ Sylvester writing team.

The weirdly titled Five Three One - Double Seven O Four was their 19th studio album (UK's versions that is). The awkward title is the band's name upside down in digital number view (it would appear like this: hOLLIES or 5317704). Mostly terrible covers were a feature of the band throughout their career.

It's a downbeat kind of a record, aside from the poppy opening track - Say It Ain't So Jo. It sounds a little perfunctory - as if the band is going through the motions a bit. Uninspired in a word. Allan Clarke had briefly left again after A Crazy Steal, but was back again - so that may explain the mood on the album.

Another covers album came out next, in 1980. This time focusing on Buddy Holly. I've never seen it for sale anywhere and I'm not that enthusiastically inclined to find it. The band drifted apart in 1981, with Sylvester and Calvert leaving the band.

By 1983 the three remaining Hollies invited Graham Nash back for some sessions and What Goes Around... was the result. It turned into a meh album as there are no original songs by band members and the heavy synth sound lodges the album firmly into 1983. The one bright spot is their terrific cover of Stop In The Name Of Love.

The final studio album on my list is one from 2009 - 2010. By this time Allan Clarke was replaced by Peter Howarth. Bobby and Tony Hicks were still on board. Then, Now, Always is an okay pop/rock album, but, like Romany, it doesn't really sound like The Hollies.

Where do they all belong? Missing albums from the post Nash era: Out on the Road (1973) - a second album with Rickfors; Hollies (1974) - first album of Clarke's return; Russian Roulette (1976).

Next up - Live albums.

It's only make believe (The Hollies) (LP 4354 - 4361)

The Hollies Stay With The Hollies (CD, Parlophone Records, 1964) ***  

The Hollies In The Hollies Style (CD, Parlophone Records, 1964) ****  

The Hollies Reflections (Vinyl, EMI/ Regal Starline Records, 1969 originally released as Hollies 1965) ****  

The Hollies For Certain Because (Vinyl, EMI/ World Record Club Records, 1965) **** 

The Hollies Stop! Stop! Stop! (Vinyl, EMI/ Starline Records, 1967) **** 

The Hollies Pay You Back With Interest (Vinyl, Liberty Records, 1967) **** 

The Hollies Evolution (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1967) ***** 

The Hollies Butterfly (CD, Epic Records, 1967) ****

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: HMV, For the Record, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pay You Back With Interest (For Certain Because) 

Gear costume: Dear Eloise (Butterfly)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors:For this edition, I'll concentrate on the Graham Nash years, so 1963 to1968.

 Stay With The Hollies is their debut album. As with The Beatles, the American and Canadian releases went by different names and track listings which adds to the confusion. In America this was called Here I Go Again. There are also multiple versions including either stereo or mono. As I said, in the first post on The Hollies - it's a nightmare.

Again, as per the fashion of the day, the album features covers of well-known R&B songs. Talkin' Bout You was also done by The Rolling Stones (with Jagger's menace a feature - whereas The Hollies version is squeaky clean), and Mr. Moonlight was also covered by The Beatles.

Ron Richards, an assistant to George Martin. was the producer on early Hollies' albums. In the wake of The Beatles' success, he'd visited Liverpool and seen The Hollies (actually from a short drive away in Manchester) at The Cavern. He signed them up to Parlophone - so EMI had two cracking hit makers - the fabs and The Hollies.

The essential point of differences to the fabs (and others) are the vocal sound that Clarke, Hicks, and Nash eventually made together and the original songs were slower to emerge from The Hollies. On the debut they include only one original song and that vocal blend was yet to fully emerge, but the signs were good and it was a commercial success.

In The Hollies Style, also from 1964, included some covers as well, but also had seven of the twelve songs written by the band. The vocal style had now locked in as well, so the growth in the band in ten months was tremendous. Weirdly this second album wasn't released in America at the time.

Reflections was the first album I bought with my own money in 1970. It appeared on the EMI budget label - Starline, and for decades (until just now in fact) I'd always presumed it was a compilation. But no! It was a released version of their album from 1965, then called Hollies (a.k.a. Hollies '65). The reissue was in stereo, whereas the original was in mono. To add to the confusion, it was released in America as Here! Here!

That will explain why it felt dated to me in 1970 (The Beatles Hey Jude album was also a new record - a Christmas present). When I put it on now, I am immediately transported back to my bedroom at 18 Korma Ave., in Auckland.

There were still quite a few covers on Reflections - Lawdy Miss Claudy and Fortune Teller notably, but also a number of Hollies compositions (under their Ransford pretend name). These also dated it but made it cool to me in 1970.

For Certain Because was their second album of 1966 (I don't have the first - Would You Believe?). In America it was called Stop! Stop! Stop! It also appears under the reissued title Pay You Back With Interest on the Liberty label.

 

My copy is from The World Record Club and comes in a different cover as pictured above. I do hope you're keeping up!

All these changes certainly caught me out - I bought all three albums at various times, thinking I was buying different albums!

Whatever it's called and whatever terrible sleeve design is used, the songs show a new level of depth and an interest in diversifying their sound. The folk-rock sound on some songs is welcomed, but I'm less inclined towards the big production numbers with brass and a whiff of cabaret about them. Of note is the fact that, for the first time, there are no covers on the album.

My copy of their sixth album - Evolution, also of 1967, is an American one. By a small miracle, it was also called Evolution, but the tracks were different to the UK version (of course they were).

Although there were no hits on this album (Carrie Anne was only released as a single in America), only original Hollies songs on this one too.  

It's a terrific album from start to finish with a unity or purpose that had alluded them to this point.

Staying in 1967, the follow up, Butterfly, was the last to have Graham Nash on it, and he left on a high (pardon the pun). In the US and Canada, Epic Records released an alternate version of the album as Dear Eloise / King Midas in Reverse , featuring a different track selection/order and alternate artwork. So - no change there, then.

Where do they all belong? I'm not really a completist for The Hollies - I don't want to collect all the variations out there, but I am missing one key record from this period: Would You Believe? (1966) a.k.a. Bus Stop as it was called overseas. Next up - the Terry Sylvester years.

Here I go again (The Hollies) (LP 4348 - 4353)

The Hollies  The Hollies at Abbey Road 1963 to 1966 (CD, EMI Records, 1997) *****  

The Hollies  The Hollies at Abbey Road 1966 to 1970 (CD, EMI Records, 1998) *****  

The Hollies  The Hollies at Abbey Road 1973 to 1989 (CD, EMI Records, 1998) *****  

The Hollies  He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (CD, EMI Records, 1992) ****

The Hollies  The Air That I Breathe: The Very Best of The Hollies (CD, EMI Records, 1993) ****

The Hollies  The Hollies (Vinyl, EMI/ Regal Records, 1992) ****

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Remainder store in Onehunga Mall, Real Groovy Records.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Look Through Any Window

Gear costume: Hey Willy 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The Hollies discography is a nightmare. 

There are so many compilations, so many various versions of the albums for various markets. So many repackaged budget albums. It's a nightmare.

It's such a mess, I'll need to split my Hollies collection into various sections and in a break with tradition I'm actually going to start with compilations so that we have some sort of chronological overview to kick us off.

The three albums released in the late nineties do a great job doing that by journeying from 1963 to 1989. 

The big songs are all there, but so are the lesser-known songs from B sides and deep album cuts. There are even songs that have been previously unissued. 

All of that, plus terrific liner notes about each song makes these three albums must haves to get a clear picture of the band's studio work.

The judicious inclusion of studio banter and false starts only add to the archeological thrill of following their progress from Everly Brothers/Beatles wannabes to that signature Hollies sound.

The first volume shows the Graham Nash/ Allan Clarke harmonies developing in leaps and bounds - what a combination of great voices! Apart from Nash and Clarke, the band in these early sixties up to 1966 was Tony Hicks (lead guitar), Bobby Elliott (drums) and Eric Haydock (bass).   

Highlights from 1963 to 1966: Just One Look; I'm Alive; Look Through Any Window; Bus Stop; Stop, Stop, Stop.

Volume 2 sees the departure of Haydock and the introduction of Bernie Calvert. He'd remain one of the Hollies until the eighties. Graham Nash remained until 1968 and then left to join Crosby and Stills in America. Terry Sylvester would replace him.

The hits kept on coming during this period of 1966 to 1970. Highlights: Pay You Back With Interest; On A Carousel; Carrie Anne; He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother; Gasoline Alley Bred.

Volume 3 is from 1973 to 1989. Allan had left the band and rejoined in 1973 (The Hollies kept going with a replacement -Mikael Rikfors, during the interlude). So, this album continues with the stable line-up of Clarke, Hicks, Elliott, Calvert, and Sylvester. That is until the eighties when the band becomes a trio of Clarke, Hicks, and Elliott.

Highlights: The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGee; The Air That I Breathe; 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).

I've mentioned before how I love budget compilations. I have two of those for The Hollies. He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother is a 20 track compilation which ranges all over their catalogue in a non-chronological way. It's wonderfully chaotic.

The Air That I Breathe: The Very Best of The Hollies (love the random tree on the cover) is a 26 track compilation. This one has Hey Willy on it - my first single purchase ever. The album has pretty much all you need of the hits and near misses.

The Hollies compiles songs from 1964 to 1966.

Where do they all belong? The Air That I Breathe: The Very Best of The Hollies has 26 great songs - value for money and a great place to start if you wanting an overview.