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Post by knut on Jun 25, 2019 19:57:14 GMT
I have just had another listen to Distant light on my surround equipment in my cabin on high volume. It is definitely the best Hollies album ever
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Post by Stranger on Jun 25, 2019 20:10:21 GMT
Agreed.
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Post by distantlight on Jun 25, 2019 21:11:23 GMT
Yes - for me this is also clearly their best album! "A Little Thing Like Love" being the secret winner of the songs.
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Post by cameron on Jun 25, 2019 21:27:53 GMT
I saw a bootleg once of a quad-stereo mix of this album - is it legit? It was released right at the point where quad stereo was becoming a thing. And it was the first album to be released that was recorded at the new AIR Studios London, so perhaps was used as a demo. I've never seen a reference to this album being officially sold in Quadrophonic format anywhere.
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Post by JamesT on Jun 25, 2019 21:29:31 GMT
Distant Light for me, too.
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Post by paul71 on Jun 25, 2019 22:05:20 GMT
At times, this is my favourite too. Other times i sway towards 'For Certain Because and cotm or evolution.
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Post by anthony on Jun 25, 2019 22:31:05 GMT
My favourite is the Hollies 1974 album but for their best Album I think confessions of the mind would be very hard to beat.
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Post by Tony Wilkinson on Jun 25, 2019 22:58:19 GMT
Now, when I think about it....................all of the above....!!
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Post by distantlight on Jun 26, 2019 9:33:25 GMT
My favourite is the Hollies 1974 album but for their best Album I think confessions of the mind would be very hard to beat. I never totally got into Hollies 1974. It had the potential to be great but somehow there are some things that put me off and don't let me love it as much as I would want to. Tried a few times. Need to give it another spin one of these days, though! Re Confessions - while I like it and there are some really good songs on it I feel that on this record the Hollies were really far behind the times. The album sounds so much more 1964 than 1970 to me (which admittedly in retrospective doesn't matter that much) - actually the Hollies in their relevant years to me sounded the most dated albumwise in 1969 and 1970 (which doesn't mean that they didn't record some good music in those years). Compared to other stuff that came out in those years they didn't stand a chance. So Distant Light was a huge step forward in terms of keeping up with the times, production and songwriting. Also the performances felt less stiff and a lot more energetic - was Ron Richards still very involved at this point or did someone new come into sight on that record? Or was it due to the move to Air Studios? They almost sounds like a completey different band on that record. For me this is where they picked it up from the high points of 1967. So Nash's comment re "if we would have made this kind of music I didn't have to leave" seem far more fitting to Distant Light than to Sing Hollies (or wasn't that in regard to that album?). My top 6 albums would be in roughly that order: Distant Light For Certain Because Evolution (I really miss Bobby's powerful drumming on here, though) Romany Out On The Road Butterfly
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Post by ransford on Jun 26, 2019 11:10:57 GMT
Two years ago I bought 15 Distant Light cd´s just to give away to friends. Why? Because its so damned good!
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Post by cameron on Jun 26, 2019 23:08:07 GMT
My favourite is the Hollies 1974 album but for their best Album I think confessions of the mind would be very hard to beat. I never totally got into Hollies 1974. It had the potential to be great but somehow there are some things that put me off and don't let me love it as much as I would want to. Tried a few times. Need to give it another spin one of these days, though! Re Confessions - while I like it and there are some really good songs on it I feel that on this record the Hollies were really far behind the times. The album sounds so much more 1964 than 1970 to me (which admittedly in retrospective doesn't matter that much) - actually the Hollies in their relevant years to me sounded the most dated albumwise in 1969 and 1970 (which doesn't mean that they didn't record some good music in those years). Compared to other stuff that came out in those years they didn't stand a chance. So Distant Light was a huge step forward in terms of keeping up with the times, production and songwriting. Also the performances felt less stiff and a lot more energetic - was Ron Richards still very involved at this point or did someone new come into sight on that record? Or was it due to the move to Air Studios? They almost sounds like a completey different band on that record. I agree about "Hollies (1974)", it seemed a bit of a cop out compared to the heavier rockers that languished in the vaults and were put on B-sides at the time. And both the re-recordings of tracks from "Out On The Road" pale compared to the Mikael Rickfors versions, IMO. I think the near perfect production and crystal clear mix stand it in good stead though, probably the cleanest that the Hollies ever sounded on an LP. As for "Confessions", for me this is where the Hollies got back on the right road after "Butterfly". It was another step in the right direction, and as pointed out on another thread here, it's actually a 'concept' album, with the progress, failure and re-starting of a relationship flowing throughout the album. I think some of the lavish orchestral arrangements were a little out of sync with the times, but tracks like "Too Young To Be Married" really surprised audiences. Ron Richards was absent for about half of the "Distant Light" sessions due to illness. Curiously, so was Bernie Calvert. Though Bernie later made up for it with various sessions for keyboard overdubs, though Tony Hicks plays bass on half of the LP. Perhaps the prog/keyboard feel was achieved by accident to placate Bernie when he returned? Either way, "Long Cool Woman" lead to clashes between Ron Richards and Allan Clarke, who dismissed it as a filler track and wanted Allan to re-record it with less echo on his voice - well, we all know how that one ended! I think as well as a new musical direction, Allan Clarke was starting to team up with Roger Cook and many of the guys in Blue Mink. Their influence is felt on this album more so than any other Hollies LP. Tony Hicks too began a new songwriting partnership with Kenny Lynch, which came to the fore on this LP. I think it was a culmination of less influence from Ron Richards, more influences from outside the group and perhaps a shake up with the move to AIR Studios that gave "Distant Light" a fantastically fresh feeling. And I think this album still stands up today more so than any other Hollies album.
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Post by distantlight on Jun 27, 2019 9:11:56 GMT
Interesting points, Cameron! I also think the rerecordings don't really work and are a bit pointless. Actually I have two copies of the record with a really different tracklist and sequencing - seems that they couldn't really decide what they wanted to have on it themselves. One has ten songs (with No More Riders but without The Day That Curly Billy and Pick Up The Pieces), the other with eleven songs (without No More Riders but with Curly Billy and Pieces). Actually all three of those songs belong to my favourites and together with Tip Of The Iceberg and Mexico Gold would have definitely made the record stronger. No More Riders might be my favourite song together with "Don't let Me Down".
Confessions - it definitely was a step in the right direction, I agree. But it doesn't quite reach the goal I feel.
Good points about Distant Light. I love it when Tony plays bass - he really has a distinctive style that suit those songs really well. The new songwriting partnerships plus the absence of Ron Richards for parts of the sessions are probably a big part of why the record was such a huge step forward.
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Post by JamesT on Jun 27, 2019 20:11:27 GMT
I thought it was Herbie Flowers on bass on a few numbers on Distant Light? It sounds like his nimble playing on 'Hold On', for example.
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albatros
Full Member
albatros
Posts: 108
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Post by albatros on Jul 1, 2019 11:35:34 GMT
Yes - for me this is also clearly their best album! "A Little Thing Like Love" being the secret winner of the songs. Hi Distantlight! Distant Light is a great album. If Clarke did not leave it have any other great songs. My favorits on this album: A Little Thing Like Love and Do To With Love - both have had hit chances. A tip from me: Did you ever have your ears on the great version from a group called RIVER. They did "A Little Thing Like Love". For myself a better version than the Hollies one.
I have 4 or 5 Hollies albums on the same level:
For Certain Because, Distant Light, Out On The Road, Another Night, Hollies Live 1976
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Post by distantlight on Jul 2, 2019 9:15:33 GMT
Hey Albatros, yes - I know and like the River version. Can't beat the Hollies version for me, though.
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timbo
New Member
Posts: 5
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Post by timbo on Jul 11, 2019 6:36:04 GMT
For me it's Evolution followed by Confessions Of The Mind. Also like the 'Sing Hollies ' LP but agree that Distant Light is great, especially the cover art.
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