Hollies

The most obscure album in the Hollies' entire catalog, Out on the Road marked the second half of the "Mikael Rickfors Era," that two-year period in which the Swedish-born singer provided the group's lead vocals. The album was originally released only in Germany. This is a slicker, smoother, and harder-rocking version of the Hollies than most casual fans, familiar with their hits of the early '70s ("Long Dark Road," "The Air That I Breathe") might expect. Rickfors is firing on all cylinders as a singer, his vocals every bit as expressive if not as compellingly memorable as those of the man he was (temporarily, as it turned out) replacing, Allan Clarke. But the equally dominant personality on a lot of the material here is guitarist Tony Hicks, whose instrumental prowess is all over this record (and not just on guitar, but banjo, among other stringed devices) along with a lot of solid songwriting on his part (in tandem with Kenny Lynch) and backing vocals.

One of the less essential '60s albums by the Hollies, whose capabilities were arguably stretched by the two-album-a-year-pace-in-addition-to-three-hit-singles model established by the Beatles during this time. Their version of Paul Simon's "I Am a Rock" is nice, but the soul and early rock covers of Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, and Chuck Berry are pretty dispensable; the Hollies were not the Stones or the Animals, lacking their soul and interpretative imagination. Some of the originals are pretty ho-hum too (including the pathetic "Fifi the Flea," which was covered by the Everly Brothers). But every Hollies album of the '60s has some strong overlooked tracks. On this one, they're the surprisingly tough folk-rockers "Hard, Hard Year" and "I've Got a Way of My Own." The ultra-catchy "Don't You Even Care," written by Clint Ballard, Jr. (also responsible for their number one British hit "I'm Alive," as well as "The Game of Love" and "You're No Good"), is the real obscure gem here and could have well been a hit under its own steam…

The Hollies' third album saw a band in the throes of transition between the Merseybeat and rock & roll with which they established themselves, and the folk-rock and soul music that was blowing the strongest winds of change in 1965. They clean up their backlog of cover staples with versions of tunes by Lloyd Price, Buddy Holly, and Roy Orbison, and delve into soul by taking on the Miracles' "Mickey's Monkey" and Curtis Mayfield's "You Must Believe Me." Their attempt at "Fortune Teller" won't make you forget the Rolling Stones' version; nor, for that matter, are any of the other covers impressive. That leaves five reasonably good originals, the best of which are the gorgeous "So Lonely" and the excellent Merseybeat knockoff "When I Come Home to You." They also sound Beatlesque on "I've Been Wrong," but "Too Many People" and their cover of Peter, Paul & Mary's "Very Last Day" hearken to a folk-rock direction.

The Hollies' first album of original material following Graham Nash's departure was an attempt to regain the edge they'd had on Butterfly and Evolution albums, after the digression of the album of Dylan songs, the regrouping with Terry Sylvester in the lineup, and the unexpected hit achieved with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." It's a surprisingly strong album, not only in the songwriting (which includes the last Clark/Hicks/Nash song ever recorded, "Survival of the Fittest"), but also in the production, which isn't too far removed from what was heard on Butterfly and Evolution. There's no sitar here, but Tony Hicks – who is the real star of the group on this album – employs at least a half-dozen different guitars in uniquely fine voicings, and there is also some very striking use of orchestra, producer John Burgess making particularly fine employment of a string section as a lead instrument on the Allan Clarke/Terry Sylvester-authored "Man Without a Heart."

What Goes Around… heralded the return of Graham Nash into the Hollies fold after a 15-year (1968-1983) sabbatical. Although the absence of bassist Bernie Calvert technically disqualifies this effort as a true reunion of the "classic" mid-'60s incarnation, the quartet assembled for this album and subsequent North American tour features the talents of Nash (vocals), Alan Clarke (vocals), Tony Hicks (vocals/guitars), and Bobby Elliott (drums). The combination of decent songwriting – although there are no contributions from the band – and their densely constructed trademark vocal blend makes this oft-overlooked assemblage worthy of revisitation…

The Hollies are an English pop band from Manchester formed in the early 1960s. For Certain Because is the fifth UK album by The Hollies. This was also the first Hollies album in which all the songs were written by members Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks. Retitled Stop! Stop! Stop! for the US and Canadian markets, this was the first Hollies album in which the track listing on both US and UK versions remained the same. In addition, other markets used the title Stop! Stop! Stop! when reissuing this album. In 1983, Liberty Records reissued this album as Pay You Back With Interest without the tracks "Stop! Stop! Stop!" and "High Classed".

Wikipedia

The Hollies were formed in 1962 in Manchester, England. The original group consisted of Allan Clarke (on lead vocals), Graham Nash and'Tony Hicks (on guitars), Eric Haydock (on bass), and Don Rathbone (on drums). They signed a recording contract, and first hit the best selling charts in the USA. with “Just One Look” in May 1964, which came back to hit the charts again in 1967! Bobby Elliot replaced Don Rathbone later in 1963; Bernie Colvert replaced Eric Haydock in 1966; and Terry Sylvester replaced Graham Nash in 1968.