The Hollies.....

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 22 Dec 2010 8:56 am

I think you win that one, Jim - yours is the coolest because the playing on your CD is light-years ahead of the cacaphonous noise I was making that day.

If anyone doubts me, find it on YouTube. On second thoughts, don't! Or, at least, watch with the sound turned down!

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 22 Dec 2010 9:22 am

I've just ordered their new CD.
http://www.amazon.de/Then-Now-Always-Ho ... B003ZJUIN2

Ron Davis · Post by **Ron Davis** » 25 Dec 2010 6:23 am

I've had the pleasure of meeting Graham Nash, & visiting with him on a few occasions. He's such a kind & gracious fellow. I do feel grateful to have met him.
I've been a huge fan since the early Hollies days.
They set the bar for pop vocal harmonies, IMHO.
That is, of course, until CSN formed. Those boys had the coolest vocal/harmony texture I've ever heard.
There's some tonal chemistry for ya. Their 3 voices were just plain magic together.

rd

ps-(I'm also a huge Beatle fan.)

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 25 Dec 2010 5:54 pm

I love this thread. Thanks for the history lesson and first-person recollections gentlemen.

Robert Shafer · Post by **Robert Shafer** » 25 Dec 2010 8:18 pm

Chuck Thompson wrote:ohhhh man Bill! You are so right. I have been on a real Hollies kick the last 6 months. They were a little sugary, but their harmonies were so good. they did alot of cover tunes and turned them into their own songs. And i had forgotten how many songs and how many years they were in the charts. Jennifer Eccles is the earliest "rock song" that i know of that had a pedal steel break.

The Pedal Steel was played by the UK's very own Rod King who also provided the 'wolf whistle' after the line "We love Jennifer Eccles". A vital historical detail.

Rod, a marvellous player in many styles, still plays today, though more lap than pedals.

Here's a clip of him accompanying the European SGHoF's Digby Hardy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPp3JMRaimU

Incidentally, Rod was inducted into the ESGHoF in 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnmP7O7C ... re=related

Scroll to 5.20 for the great man himself.

Lefty · Post by **Lefty** » 2 Jan 2011 6:12 am

The Steel drum solo in "Carrie Anne" is totally over the edge.
I have to crank that every time I hear it.
Lefty

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 2 Jan 2011 12:03 pm

Bob Bowden wrote:If I had to choose between listening to Bobby Vee singing Devil or Angel or the Beatles doing Twist and Shout, Bobby Vee would still lose today.

Saw BV twice in the early '60s.Put on an excellent,hard-driving show,full of his hits,and an object lesson that 1)if it's done right live,"pop fluff" will rock you into the middle of next week and 2)playing "pop fluff" right live is beyond the capabilities of a great many shredders,blues-ers,and rockers of all types who believe otherwise.

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 2 Jan 2011 2:53 pm

Right on Dave. I totally agree. They do not have the self dicipline to stick to a winning arrangement. You can bet that when The Hollies did a show they played the song as arranged. I've seen some oldies acts that blew me away. Smokey Robinson for one. The original Tempatations, Tom Jones with a full orchestra. All what might be considered pop fluff. If you notice The Beatles stuck to the arrangement that got them the hit. The Hollies were king hit makers. Their musical and harmony arrangements were beautiful. Excellent insight. The shredders don't get it in that regard.