The Hollies

[Elgarian Redux]

I've been doing a bit of 1960s revisiting, and I wondered if there's any love for the Hollies at GMG?

They were always around in the mid-60s, and I enjoyed all their early recordings as they were released, but I was too swept off my feet by the Beatles to pay much attention to the Hollies back then.

Coming back to them now, so very many years later, and digging into some compilations, I find myself dismayed by the truly horrible so-called stereo of their early recordings, made even worse by the monstrous 'remasterings' that much of the music has been subjected to, subsequently. But leaving that aside, they've left a body of music which I'm finding delightful to revisit. The gorgeous 3-part vocal harmonies, the interesting lead guitar playing provided by Tony Hicks, the memorable tunes.

High points: the innocence of the tale that's told in the 'Bus Stop' lyrics; the powerhouse American pastiche of 'Long Cool Woman in a black dress' which ought to seem fake but blasts my suspicions out of the window; the anthemic 'He ain't heavy', which I can't help being moved by. And most of all the 'feel good' factor inherent in nearly all their music.

[Kalevala]

I've been doing a bit of 1960s revisiting, and I wondered if there's any love for the Hollies at GMG?

They were always around in the mid-60s, and I enjoyed all their early recordings as they were released, but I was too swept off my feet by the Beatles to pay much attention to the Hollies back then.

Coming back to them now, so very many years later, and digging into some compilations, I find myself dismayed by the truly horrible so-called stereo of their early recordings, made even worse by the monstrous 'remasterings' that much of the music has been subjected to, subsequently. But leaving that aside, they've left a body of music which I'm finding delightful to revisit. The gorgeous 3-part vocal harmonies, the interesting lead guitar playing provided by Tony Hicks, the memorable tunes.

High points: the innocence of the tale that's told in the 'Bus Stop' lyrics; the powerhouse American pastiche of 'Long Cool Woman in a black dress' which ought to seem fake but blasts my suspicions out of the window; the anthemic 'He ain't heavy', which I can't help being moved by. And most of all the 'feel good' factor inherent in nearly all their music.

I do enjoy some of their music (though I don't know much of it).  I listened to some of their hits on 45's and via the radio.  Long Cool Woman was played, from what I recall, quite often on the radio.

K

[drogulus]

     I learned to play this on my Ric 12 string.

[Elgarian Redux]

I learned to play this on my Ric 12 string.

Sadly, all I see is a 'video not available' notice.

[drogulus]

[AnotherSpin]

Voice of America used to include The Air That I Breathe in its half-hour pop-music broadcasts to the Soviet Union in the early '70s. I remember being deeply moved by it.

[Elgarian Redux]

Smashing song. I couldn't get even remotely close to playing that lead guitar myself, so I'm in awe.

While I'm here, I'll recommend this DVD - a collection of (uneven but fascinating) performances and interesting more recent interviews with members of the band, which I've been enjoying enormously:

[Elgarian Redux]

I do enjoy some of their music (though I don't know much of it).  I listened to some of their hits on 45's and via the radio.  Long Cool Woman was played, from what I recall, quite often on the radio.

K

I remember all the early records very well, but I never heard Long Cool Woman until quite recently (I now realise I was busy getting married when it was released). Blew my head off! (The song - not the getting married.)

[Kalevala]

I remember all the early records very well, but I never heard Long Cool Woman until quite recently (I now realise I was busy getting married when it was released). Blew my head off! (The song - not the getting married.)

I do know other of their songs--had forgotten how many!  Like Bus Stop, Carrie-Anne, He Ain't Heavy (probably others).  I should keep an eye out for their LPs.

K

[Szykneij]

I'm a big Hollies fan. "Hard, Hard Year" is one of my favorites, co-written by Graham Nash before he moved on to join Crosby and Stills.

[The new erato]

I've been doing a bit of 1960s revisiting, and I wondered if there's any love for the Hollies at GMG?

They were always around in the mid-60s, and I enjoyed all their early recordings as they were released, but I was too swept off my feet by the Beatles to pay much attention to the Hollies back then.

Coming back to them now, so very many years later, and digging into some compilations, I find myself dismayed by the truly horrible so-called stereo of their early recordings, made even worse by the monstrous 'remasterings' that much of the music has been subjected to, subsequently. But leaving that aside, they've left a body of music which I'm finding delightful to revisit. The gorgeous 3-part vocal harmonies, the interesting lead guitar playing provided by Tony Hicks, the memorable tunes.

High points: the innocence of the tale that's told in the 'Bus Stop' lyrics; the powerhouse American pastiche of 'Long Cool Woman in a black dress' which ought to seem fake but blasts my suspicions out of the window; the anthemic 'He ain't heavy', which I can't help being moved by. And most of all the 'feel good' factor inherent in nearly all their music.

Great fan here and you've got it right. Fabulous 3 part harmony and a very original and underappreciated guitarist. Bus Stop, I can't let go and Look through any Window are very high on my list of 60s favorites. Two of them penned by Graham Gouldman BTW.

[The new erato]

Smashing song. I couldn't get even remotely close to playing that lead guitar myself, so I'm in awe.

While I'm here, I'll recommend this DVD - a collection of (uneven but fascinating) performances and interesting more recent interviews with members of the band, which I've been enjoying enormously:

Available for streaming on Prime. Superb.

[Elgarian Redux]

The thing that has really troubled me about the Hollies' early stereo recordings is that I find them almost impossible to tolerate. Stereo in the early 60s wasn't understood by many, it seems - hence we got ludicrous 'stereo' recordings like Bob Dylan's first album, with his guitar coming from one speaker and his voice from the other.

Early Hollies stereo records seem often to be like this - that is, with guitars and drums coming from one speaker, and vocals from the other, with nothing in the middle. They sound terribly unnatural and distracting. I needed to put some of these tracks from a CD onto a flash drive so I could play them in my car, and in doing so discovered that with 'Audacity' software, I could separate the stereo into two mono tracks, and then remix them with much less stereo separation. The result is more comfortable than the central sharp audio image you get with mono, and presents the band in the middle of the 'sound stage' with some sense of occupying space. For me, it makes the difference between being able to enjoy listening to the Hollies in the car, and not.

[AnotherSpin]

The thing that has really troubled me about the Hollies' early stereo recordings is that I find them almost impossible to tolerate. Stereo in the early 60s wasn't understood by many, it seems - hence we got ludicrous 'stereo' recordings like Bob Dylan's first album, with his guitar coming from one speaker and his voice from the other.

Early Hollies stereo records seem often to be like this - that is, with guitars and drums coming from one speaker, and vocals from the other, with nothing in the middle. They sound terribly unnatural and distracting. I needed to put some of these tracks from a CD onto a flash drive so I could play them in my car, and in doing so discovered that with 'Audacity' software, I could separate the stereo into two mono tracks, and then remix them with much less stereo separation. The result is more comfortable than the central sharp audio image you get with mono, and presents the band in the middle of the 'sound stage' with some sense of occupying space. For me, it makes the difference between being able to enjoy listening to the Hollies in the car, and not.

I've got one of those small Apple speakers — the HomePod — and it does graet job with that '60s early stereo stuff. Honestly, it's another Apple miracle. Despite the tiny size, it plays music from my MacBook or iPhone beautifully — deep sweet bass and this surprisingly big, spacious, three-dimensional sound that fills the room. And it's really not expensive at all.

[Holden]

I enjoyed their music 'in the day' but hearing them on my local radio station that would be my only exposure nowadays.

[Elgarian Redux]

I've got one of those small Apple speakers — the HomePod — and it does graet job with that '60s early stereo stuff. Honestly, it's another Apple miracle. Despite the tiny size, it plays music from my MacBook or iPhone beautifully — deep sweet bass and this surprisingly big, spacious, three-dimensional sound that fills the room. And it's really not expensive at all.

Sounds like magic! Is it a single speaker? And if so, how does it produce a stereo image? (My hifi system is very old fashioned: CD player, NAD amplifier, and a pair of LS3/5A speakers. It produces a great stereo image in general, but it can't make the Hollies' early records sound right.)

[AnotherSpin]

Sounds like magic! Is it a single speaker? And if so, how does it produce a stereo image? (My hifi system is very old fashioned: CD player, NAD amplifier, and a pair of LS3/5A speakers. It produces a great stereo image in general, but it can't make the Hollies' early records sound right.)

Good question. So yeah, the HomePod mini uses custom chip to handle audio in real time — it tweaks the EQ, timing, and balance on the fly depending on how loud it is and what the room's like. Even though it's got just one full-range driver and some passive radiators (no fancy tweeter ring like the big HomePod), it still manages to give off a spatial vibe. And since it throws sound out in all directions, you get this nice, balanced feel no matter where you are in the room. It's not true stereo, but the way it fills the space is super comfy and surprisingly satisfying for its size and price.

[Szykneij]

The thing that has really troubled me about the Hollies' early stereo recordings is that I find them almost impossible to tolerate. Stereo in the early 60s wasn't understood by many, it seems - hence we got ludicrous 'stereo' recordings like Bob Dylan's first album, with his guitar coming from one speaker and his voice from the other.

I know that for the Beatles recordings of that era, the band was present for the mono mixes but not for the stereo mixes, which were left to the engineers. And that was simply done by sending some tracks left and the others right. I assume this was true for the Hollies and other artists of the period.

Personally, I'm uncomfortable listening when the vocals and bass aren't in the middle.

[drogulus]

I couldn't get even remotely close to playing that lead guitar myself, so I'm in awe.

    It's actually easy to play. I judge it to be "fake hard" on account of the 12 string mystification. On a 6 it wouldn't seem hard at all.

    Behold!!

[Elgarian Redux]

It's actually easy to play. I judge it to be "fake hard" on account of the 12 string mystification. On a 6 it wouldn't seem hard at all.

    Behold!!

Very interesting to see this - thanks! However, while I'm practising my three chords, I remain pretty awestruck nonetheless.