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Post by johnt on Apr 9, 2018 13:06:17 GMT
Whilst some of you won't be interested in the current Spring 2018 tour, I think this article by Ron Furmanek in the tour brochure will be of interest.
According to the article, Ron had been asked by Bobby to write something for the tour book; he said he was taken aback and extremely honoured to do so.
The main gist of his piece is that the band is looking closely at their recording history with Ron back on board and he says "eagerly working toward bringing you, the fans, a wonderful set of CD/LP releases".
Apparently he has found rare unheard and unknown tracks from the 60s and 70s, all professionally recorded at Abbey Road studios, which he found in the EMI vaults back in 1990. He says that some of the tracks are so rare that The Hollies don't even remember recording them!
He mentions a slightly different arrangement and alternate lyrics to 'Keep Off That Friend Of Mine' (B side of Just One Look) and has given a suggested title of "Searchin' For Survival (The Hollies Archive Series Volume One)" which he says will contain 28 gems from the years 1963 to 1968. He then goes on to say that Volume Two would cover the rest of the 60s and 70s. He finishes with the hope that we will finally be able to hear 'Don't Close Your Eyes' which Ron watched the band record in 1983.
So it's definitely worth keeping an eye over the next few months to see what does materialise!
ps. Bobby has completed his manuscript (after three painful years of typing, scribbling and soul searching, he writes) and is now looking for a publisher. In fact, some snippets are included in this tour brochure.
So there soon could be a book as well as more releases to look forward to!
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Post by cameron on Apr 9, 2018 14:18:18 GMT
This is absolutely fantastic news! We'll await and see what happens. Here's a list from an earlier post (http://elevatedobservations.proboards.com/thread/163/hollies-rarities) showing what officially remains unreleased:
1962 - Crying In The Rain (Fourtones Acetate), Learn How To Twist (Fourtones Acetate) 1963 - Fortune Teller (early take), Searchin' (three early takes), I Understand (early take) 1964 - Party Line, It's Raining Teardrops, Cry Now 1965 - You Must Believe me (early take), Honey And Wine (early take), Now That You're Gone, Stay Away 1966 - Have You Ever Loved Somebody (two early takes), Stop! Stop! Stop! (early take) 1967 - Green Eyes, You Know Me Babe, Step Inside (early take), Ashes To Ashes 1968 - You Were A Pretty little Girl, Marrakesh Express, Survival Of The Fittest (early version), This Wheel's On Fire (early version) 1969 - Angel Of The Morning, Dang Me (two takes, one with Terry Sylvester, one without), The Race Is On, Kentucky Woman, Sign Of The Times (early take) 1970 - Wings (Terry Sylvester remake), Bobby's Prologue (two takes), [No More] Snow On Heather Moor 1971 - Salvation Band, Father Machine 1972 - Heaven In Her Heart, On The Summer Side Of Life, Nearer To You (early take) 1974 - Untitled Track 1975 - Born To Run 1977 - Is It True, I'd Like To Be That Man 1978 - It's In Every One Of Us (early take), Get Up, Stormy Waters (early take) 1979 - Is It True 1981 - I Don't Understand You (three takes) 1984 - Don't Close Your Eyes 1986 - Hard To Forget
That said, the alternative lyrics to "Keep Off Of That Friend Of Mine" have never been mentioned, and it's possible that other alternative working versions remain unreleased. The 1965 Bell Studios demo "Bring Back Your Love To Me" was never linked up to the 1967 Abbey Road re-recording "Kill Me Quick" in any of the sessionographies before the former track was finally issued in 2003. Apparently there were other Bell Studio demos too, and the Hollies often recorded acetates at Abbey Road which remained undocumented for some reason, notably the Nash/Hicks/Elliott demo of "Go Away" which was given to the Mirage in 1967.
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Post by allanangel on Apr 9, 2018 14:55:43 GMT
This would be amazing to have!!! Hopefully, it all gets released internationally.
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Post by gee on Apr 9, 2018 16:54:16 GMT
Great news re Ron Furmanek being back onboard re the band's back catalogue !
Apparently they also cut a version of 'Cry Me A River' - possibly the same song Julie London recorded - at Abbey Road on 11 December 1963 tho' I have heard that the tape was not in the box !
'Going Home' possibly written by Graham Gouldman from 1 March 1965 could be 'Going Away' or 'Stay Away' - the title seems to change
they also cut a first version of 'Like Everytime Before on 1 March 1966 presumably with Eric Haydock on bass guitar
'Ashes To Ashes' is apparently the same song The Mindbenders recorded written by Carol Bayer and Toni Wine - tho' we can't be 100% certain but it seems likely given both bands also cut 'Schoolgirl' in 1967
'You Were A Pretty Little Girl' - cut over 26-27 March 1968 was apparently a Tony Hicks song that Tony once said was largely just a chorus ! - again we will have to see what if anything Ron unearths re this intriguing number
'Survival of The Fittest' - 'Nash version' - was worked on over 12-16 August 1968, Tim Chacksfield has told me it was not in any state to be released when I pushed for it ...but that could mean it requires mixing ! - the vocals appear to be on it
- I would expect the 1970 'Sylvester version' of SOTF on 'Confessions' was a totally fresh version as that second version dates from 9-13 March 1970, during which they also did a completely fresh 'Sylvester version' of 'Wings' with amended apparently more romantic lyrics at Ron Richards suggestion with view to a possible single release.
also on 31 October 1968 they did 'BBC Radio' versions of both 'A Taste of Honey' and 'Listen To Me' at Abbey Road
1 January 1969 version of 'Angel of The Morning' and 'Dang Me' are both minus Terry Sylvester - probably Allan Clarke on high harmony vocal
'Carrie Anne' was re-cut with Terry Sylvester over 8-12 December 1969 at Abbey Road for BBC Radio broadcast purposes
on 18 November 1970 they also recorded at Abbey Road BBC Radio versions of 'Lady Please', 'Isn't it Nice', 'Survival of The Fittest' and 'Frightened Lady' which hopefully survive in their archive too
they cut two unissued versions of 'Father Machine'- one on 17 March 1971 and a second over 6-30 April 1971 both at AIR studios
There is the original version of 'Harlequin' featuring Gary Brooker on lead vocal too, probably cut on 16 August 1978
the unissued version of 'Stormy Waters' cut 14 December 1978 is apparently minus vocal harmonies
'I Don't Understand You' version one and two feature Terry Sylvester from 21 April 1981 and 19 May 1981 - the second of which featured Shadows sidemen Alan Jones on bass and keyboardist Cliff Hall briefly saw release as a closing bonus track 15 on that German 'Rock in Beat' CD version of 'What Goes Around..' before legal action soon withdrew it
a third version 'post Sylvester / Calvert' featuring guest Labi Siffre on high harmony vocal was recorded on 18 June 1981 but that and the first version remain unissued to date
'Don't Close Your Eyes' - was recorded on 14 January 1984 at Rudy Records LA and apparently is complete as a version with vocals featuring Clarke-Hicks-Nash but seems to require some additional work on it as Tony Hicks once said;' we really must go back and finish it off someday..'
hope this helps
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Post by cameron on Apr 9, 2018 18:16:15 GMT
'Survival of The Fittest' - 'Nash version' - was worked on over 12-16 August 1968, Tim Chacksfield has told me it was not in any state to be released when I pushed for it ...but that could mean it requires mixing ! - the vocals appear to be on it - I would expect the 1970 'Sylvester version' of SOTF on 'Confessions' was a totally fresh version as that second version dates from 9-13 March 1970, during which they also did a completely fresh 'Sylvester version' of 'Wings' with amended apparently more romantic lyrics at Ron Richards suggestion with view to a possible single release. on 18 November 1970 they also recorded at Abbey Road BBC Radio versions of 'Lady Please', 'Isn't it Nice', 'Survival of The Fittest' and 'Frightened Lady' which hopefully survive in their archive too The Nash version of 'Survival Of The Fittest' is what we hear on COTM. You'll note Graham's idiosyncratic "heavy strumming" on his acoustic guitar. I understand that the "issue" is that Tony's lead guitar is missing off the original 1968 version and some of Bobby's drum overdubs - though surely in this day and age they can sync the two takes up and take the 1970 overdubs and apply them to the 1968 version to complete it, not that I think the extra drums and guitar are necessary. I have the BBC versions of 'Lady Please', 'Isn't It Nice', 'Survival Of The Fittest' and 'Frightened Lady' which are all absolutely nothing to write home about. I think Allan, Terry and Tony sing over the final versions. 'Survival Of The Fittest' is a new vocal completely and Allan mixes the words up ("she said what she had to say, she did what she had to do" instead of the other way around as it appears on the album) and then they did a second version that sounds exactly like the album, except you only hear one of Bobby's drum overdubs during the solo, making it sound quite bare. I suspect they grabbed the left channel of the stereo mix by accident instead of mixing it to mono. The only one worth seeking is the BBC version of 'Frightened Lady' which they performed on the 'Rolf Harris Show', which features a new vocal from Allan, new guitar from Tony and Bernie's organ seems to be more prominent in the mix. Though again, not a live performance like the early BBC tracks. I also wonder if they'll finally release 'Marrakesh Express'. I managed to sync it to Graham's CSN demo to get the vocals on. Surely with access to the proper session tapes and a proper studio, they can do a much nicer job than I did. The vocals do fit, though are in a different key, so I slowed the instrumental down to change the pitch to get them in sync, then used the faster playback tool to make it the right tempo but retain the new key. I hope they remember that now all this music is purely of historical interest. There's no need to go into the studio and complete these recordings, they are what they are and I am absolutely ecstatic that they're undertaking such a project and seemingly giving us pretty much all that's left. If Ron reckons there's 28 tracks on the first 1963-1968 set, there's only 22 unreleased tracks officially on our list here. So they must have unearthed some more gems or found some more alternative takes that remain undocumented. But 1990 to 2018 is a heck of a long time for him to wait to finally let these tracks be heard!
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Post by greengoddess on Apr 9, 2018 20:11:48 GMT
Several months ago someone reported that Bobby had announced at a concert that his book was finished and he was looking for a publisher. I wonder if he'll ever find one. The Hollies are not much in the media these days so they might think there isn't a market for the book. I do hope it does get published.
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Post by Stranger on Apr 9, 2018 20:33:03 GMT
Unbelievable! Sounds like an April Fools joke.
Great news.
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Post by JamesT on Apr 9, 2018 22:06:20 GMT
Wonderful news... here's hoping these plans come to fruition.
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Post by dirtyfaz on Apr 9, 2018 23:00:17 GMT
Anyone able to scan the article and post it here please?
Chris
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Post by JamesT on Apr 10, 2018 14:56:34 GMT
'Father Machine' and 'Salvation Band' are two I'd love to hear - the titles are intriguing! If 'On The Summer Side Of Life' is Gordon Lightfoot's 'Summer Side Of Life' then that would also be a great track to hear.
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Post by johnt on Apr 10, 2018 19:56:12 GMT
Anyone able to scan the article and post it here please? Chris Hope it's legible! It's split into 3 files.
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Post by cameron on Apr 10, 2018 22:07:32 GMT
Thanks John, really appreciated.
I guess Ron has dreamt of Hollies reissues before that didn't happen, BUT why would the Hollies themselves put it in their tour programme if it wasn't in the pipeline? It's not like it's being reported in a magazine, it's effectively coming straight from the horses mouth, so to speak.
I'm intrigued by what hasn't been catalogued. From my notes, the first Hollies sessionography was compiled in Record Collector in 1986. The "30th Anniversary Collection" sort of expanded on this by supplying the tape reel catalogue numbers for the original session/master tapes. Albeit somewhat slightly useless information as no one buying the set would ever be in the position to get their hands on the tapes! This was greatly expanded in 2003 with the "Long Road Home" set booklet. For the first time, detailed dates, details of early takes and paid musicians playing on the session were listed. I understand this to form the basis of what's on the Hollies' official website, as the information is the same.
One thing's for sure, Ron has obviously sat and gone through the tapes and actually HEARD what's there. My guess is that these sessionographies were compiled quickly, using the official EMI Tape Logs, which we all know aren't always accurate, especially where demos and working versions are concerned.
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Post by dirtyfaz on Apr 10, 2018 22:22:05 GMT
Thanks for the scans Johnt
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Post by Gralto on Apr 15, 2018 14:05:27 GMT
Hi All, Ron will be excited to know that amongst this board, there is great anticipation for these archival sets of unheard Hollies delights. When it comes to independent producers with an eye and ear for detail, Ron is at the top of the tree. His track record of endeavouring to go through every tape that is known to exist plus others you never knew were there is well known and I can assure all Hollies fans that if and when his sets become a reality - and being invited by Bobby to write about these in the latest tour book indicates the official green light from Hollies Ltd - what he ultimately compiles will not disappoint. Unlike the excellent 1988 Rarities release which combined outtakes with several hard to find officially released tracks, the prospect of 60-70 minutes of totally unreleased Hollies outtake material in perfect sound quality, just from the initial Nash-era alone, is sure to set our pulses racing. Ron is a massive Hollies fan so he's already well familiar with the released body of work.
The Hollies are most fortunate in that, unlike many other EMI-signed acts, the vast majority of their session tapes do survive, which is not the case for other successful acts like Manfred Mann in the Paul Jones era, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Peter & Gordon and countless others.
Ron keeps his cards close to his chest so I don't expect he'll be revealing too many details of specific tracks until closer to the time. But I'm occasionally in touch with him, so if he sends me any updates, I'll be sure to let everyone know with exclusives for this site. He did mention that, though credited in the three photos accompanying his tour program article, he's only in the colour photo. The two B&W shots were shots he captured on his camera rather than appeared in - just a little typo. See, I told you he likes detail - this bodes well for the sets! cheers Simon
PS - and an official welcome to the all the new 2018 members whom I have yet to say hi, in particular to those who have posted in 2018 here on EO - RokinRobinofLocksley, Nick Dunning, AllanAngel - thanks for joining. It's great to see more and more people wanting to read and discuss all things The Hollies, which I have no doubt, is directly related to the band continuing to tour and remaining visible in various parts around the world. I continually see a direct correlation between an artists' Facebook site's number of followers and whether that act is still on the road or not. (One exception I'd have to say is the official Dusty Springfield FB site which is very vibrant and well run by an enthusiastic moderator).
PPS - yes, repeating others here, many thanks for the scans John T
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Post by ransford on Apr 25, 2018 8:23:03 GMT
Yes, this is awesome! Just wanted to add that the latest tour programme is the best ever. Best design/layout, best photos and best content!!!! Buy it!!
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Post by madprofessorblyth on May 19, 2018 21:38:44 GMT
More than extremely looking forward to this. I'm very excited. I can only imagine by his suggested title, he's referencing "Searchin'" (only the eighth Hollies track recorded) and "Survival" being "Survival of the Fittest" (of course the last Hollies composition with Nash) and therefore is a complete overview of the Nash years as the rarities. (I'm sure you all knew, but no one had said it, haha!) Definitely a more intriguing title than the first two Complete Hollies sets. Clarke Hicks and Nash Years was fine but expected I would say, and Changin' Times is okay though it's pretty generic, based on the song, etc; Head Out Of Dreams was a great choice, and was glad to see it was Allan himself who chose it, per the booklet.
Also, sorry for being off-topic, though does anyone know what happened regarding the booklet in Changin' Times? Originally announced as Tony but it was Bobby who appeared (I'm not sorry though, I really enjoyed that commentary the most of any of the sets so far), though I'd be inclined to know if Tony even wrote anything before it changed. I'd love to see a fourth in the series but I'm not sure how much would really be left to do, unless they went up through the Howarth era (which I don't think really needs its own box set, it's pretty recent). I'm hoping either for a Complete Hollies sequel or one of the Furmanek rarities comps we finally get some of the other stuff - Hollies Live/Hollies Live Hits, Holliedaze/Holliepops, Coconut Collection, etc;
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Post by cameron on May 20, 2018 7:34:17 GMT
I think the rumour that Tony wrote the liner notes on 'Changin Times' started on a German or Dutch music distributor which seemed to have the release details for the set before anyone else. My guess is that their information was just incorrect, but at the time, it was more information than the Hollies themselves were telling us about the set officially.
Did anyone notice how for 'Clarke Hicks & Nash Years' we got many previously unreleased rarities (the fabulous Lewisham Odeon Live set, the French lyric tracks etc...) and quite a few rare mixes (the stereo mix of 'All The World Is Love' previously unreleased on CD, a strange stereo mix of 'Running Through The Night' and a new stereo mix of 'Don't Run And Hide'). But as of 'Changin' Times', other than the 'Out On The Road' era tracks, nothing new? Then 'Head Out Of Dreams' provided no previously unreleased tracks, despite the Hollies' own press-release stating that it would? I think on that set there were just two previously unreleased officially on CD tracks and that was it. Perhaps they knew of Ron Furmanek's project and deliberately held things back?
I agree that a live CD set would be amazing. I think we didn't get the full Lewisham Odeon '68 set as eight tracks would never make up a stand alone LP release, as was proposed at the time. My bet is that Tony and Bobby vetoed some of the weaker performances for inclusion on CHNY set, as they'd spoken of their disliking of the recording just a couple of years before in 'Shindig' magazine, claiming that the "performance was flat". So it was a huge shock to finally get the concert in 2011. All I can say is, if that's the Hollies at their worst, how mind-blowing were they at their best?! One of the Australian concerts in 1971 was professionally recorded (though perhaps only survives in mono). There is also a full 40 minute show from Stockholm '66, only three tracks released officially via the 'Long Road Home' boxset. The show was re-broadcast in the 1980s on FM radio in perfect quality, strangely omitting three tracks. This re-broadcast from the 1980s is widely bootlegged and may even be the source of the tracks on the 'Long Road Home' set. I do, however, wonder is Swedish Sverges Radio still hold the original tapes, as it wasn't known for them to dispose of them. Four evenings were recorded in Christchurch, New Zealand for the 1975 World Tour that would become 'Live Hits'. 'Amazing Grace' (acapella) was never released from the show as they were plagued by a "phantom whistler" and heckler who attended all FOUR shows!! Hence why there's a serious drop in volume during the spoken audience interactions on the finished album. Apparently they couldn't edit him out of the acapella performance, though I bet in this day and age with modern technology they could!
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Post by irelandcalling4 on Jun 30, 2018 18:31:53 GMT
Would there be a whisper, any word or rumour at all when this exceptionally anticipated project may come to fruition?
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Post by cameron on Nov 6, 2018 20:05:39 GMT
Has there been any updates on this announcement?
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Post by johnt on Nov 8, 2018 9:06:17 GMT
I haven't heard anything.
Someone asked a similar question three times on the official website's forum and didn't get a response.
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Post by Gralto on Nov 15, 2018 13:20:40 GMT
Hi Everyone, There’s been a bit of speculation about the Searchin’ For Survival project so I thought I’d post a quick update.
I can first up assure fans that this project is very much real. Hollies Ltd are aware of this as has been evidenced by the tour programme article and confirmation from Ron himself that things are in the pipeline.
I have known Ron for some time now and some of the treasures he has uncovered in his trawls will definitely excite even the most jaded of Hollies fans. Ron has even played a few things over the phone to me – and no I didn’t record them in case you were wondering – I have an analogue home phone – just call me old school! Anyhow, at the risk of tantalizing you too much, as no final tracklist has yet been signed off - of the tracks that I heard, was, in my opinion, one of the greatest of all Hollies unreleased tracks. A finished track with great drumming, an unusual guitar sound, very commercial melody, great chorus and…well, I can’t give away anything further. I loved it so much I asked him to play it again. Ron was more enthused about other songs than this one, which just goes to show the sort of quality we are talking here.
There is an alternate version of a For Certain Because album track I heard that featured a different Hollies singer doing the lead vocal. And Ron even found a fascinating little ditty from the band’s psych era that is not listed in any version of the sessionography.
Ron’s goodies are so prevalent that at this stage, unfinished, incomplete songs missing key components (like vocals) such as with Marrakesh Express will not be included. So there won’t be a heap of filler instrumentals of songs we know. It’s newly selected, unreleased ‘Hollies Sound’ stuff.
There truly are gems to be heard here and the songs he played me ended in 1969. So I have yet to hear songs like Father Machine and Salvation Band though no doubt, a Volume 2 would, you suspect, have to feature them.
I believe that Bobby’s long held belief that there was nothing left in the vaults worth releasing has been turned around with what has been sent to him. You will be amazed as I have been with what I’ve heard so far. It will give you hope that – just because something was done in 4 takes doesn’t mean the first three were identical versions, false starts and breakdowns – there is in fact, from what Ron tells me, more than can fit on one CD. You will be surprised. In a very good way.
I truly don’t know when the set will be out but it definitely won’t be by Christmas. But it will definitely be worth the wait. If you like the Nash era, you’ll love the first proposed set.
Cheers Simon
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Post by allanangel on Nov 15, 2018 17:49:34 GMT
Thanks for the update.
I envy you the opportunity for a sneak listen!
Can't wait until it comes out!!!!
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Post by JamesT on Nov 15, 2018 18:26:36 GMT
Thanks for that update, Simon, the release sounds wonderful. It's almost like those days of the 'At Abbey Road' releases (of over 20 years ago!) where we first heard great tracks like Tip Of The Iceberg and so on. Can't wait!
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Post by Stranger on Nov 16, 2018 17:35:06 GMT
Very exciting Simon! Great news.
Out of curiosity are things like demos even on the radar for future releases or does Ron just focus on mainstream studio recordings?
I read an article from around 1970 the other day with Tony Hicks saying he would demo his songs with guitar and bass before presenting to the band. If such things still exist it would be a shame for them to be lost to time!
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Post by rokinrobinoflocksley on Nov 18, 2018 1:17:07 GMT
Thanks for the update Gralto/Simon! Was hoping the Marrakesh backing would at least be among these tracks. If not now, when?
Over Christmas, Graham & Allan & Tony should get together and put vocals on this thing. It would sell a lot more copies if they did! Just think of the buzz that would go round...
They should issue it now while they're still alive to enjoy and reap the benefits from it, otherwise their heirs will eventually put it out after most of us are all gone, ugh...
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