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Post by thejanitor on Nov 28, 2019 23:18:05 GMT
Really just wanted to make this thread to say how much I love this song! I've been listening to it on repeat most of today and I now think it is my new favourite example of Allan and Terry harmonizing. I find the blend of their voices together in the chorus so mesmerising, but of course all the guys play fantastically here! 😊
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Post by gee on Nov 29, 2019 12:31:44 GMT
NO question it's a terrific song and The Hollies gave a great band performance on it
Allan sings really well with strong emotional input while Terry comes into his own with a good solo featured lead vocal spot, some effective Clarke/Sylvester co-lead passages complete with fine ultra tight Clarke-Hicks-Sylvester three part harmonies on this very 'seventies' more mature style Hollies hit
I love how Hicks/Sylvester's voices blend as one for the higher calls of 'Gasoline Alley...' over the repeating main Clarke-Hicks-Sylvester harmonies towards the ending
a fine 'wordier' number that tells a poignant story and suits the 'mark 2' Hollies to perfection
- and whenever I clean my shoes I think of it ! LOL
just such a shame the mix on the instrumentation is so strange
- Bobby is busily powering away and while we hear what he is doing...it has NO percussive power at all nor any depth to the drums sounding as if the Hollies 'Chief Engineer' is expertly hammering away on a couple of biscuit tins !
....and the whole instrumental sound overall is very 'tinny' and 'toppy' while the guitars actually cause a 'buzz' early on around the point just before Allan sings; 'this time...' and again just before they harmonise; 'this time we'll stay...' plus a few times later in the song performance as if the guitars are being strummed too close to the recording studio microphone but possibly it is an error in the sound mix
Tony plays a superb intricate lead guitar which is at the same time both meandering yet structured throughout and really shines but if the mix was better balanced the song would come over even better on an instrumental level at least
this number also gives lie to the strange view that has arisen that Bernie was a poor bass player
Bobby has moaned about the mix re his drums so never mind 'fiddling' about with 'King Midas...' and 'Can't Tell The Bottom' they really should have done something to correct the overall instrumentation mix of this gem
I believe Alan Parsons did the mix having taken over from longtime Hollies recording engineer Peter Bown and it probably was one of his earlier efforts
surprisingly it only made no.14 in the UK in 1970 but IS still remembered as a later Hollies classic and kicks off 'Hollies Greatest vol 2' LP in 1972 quite perfectly just as 'I Can't Let Go' had done the first 'Greatest' LP back in 1968
The Hollies first stereo UK single it charted in at least 8 countries reaching no.2 in Singapore and no.6 in Poland
Later on in the mid 80's they surprised us by dusting off 'Gasoline Alley Bred' for concert use with Alan Coates handling Terry's old high harmonies - tho' here Allan Clarke was putting a shine upon his shoes' ! - initially they featured the number in an 'unplugged' acoustic style tho' later it reverted to a full group instrumentation style and was included as such in their Magnum Centre concert that Radio Clyde broadcast in Scotland in June 1985 - where this time...Bobby's drums had FULL power !! Blue Mink, Johnny Johnson and The Bandwagon, and The Fortunes each recorded a version of this song as also did the band Black Lace in 1976
Here are The more stylish looking early seventies Hollies (minus white suits and bow ties) with a 'smart casual' look maybe they should have retained over the later seventies on 'Top of The Pops'
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Post by gee on Nov 29, 2019 13:41:15 GMT
I believe The Fortunes actually recorded their version before The Hollies did and theirs is a typically polished sophisticated take on the song which I do enjoy but it's a bit more lightweight with little of the same vocal power or Hicks guitar and probably works better as an album track rather than a single I feel
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Post by gee on Nov 29, 2019 13:51:58 GMT
and Blue Mink's version sung by the songwriter Roger Cook and Madelene Bell
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Post by thejanitor on Nov 29, 2019 14:53:36 GMT
Here are The more stylish looking early seventies Hollies (minus white suits and bow ties) with a 'smart casual' look maybe they should have retained over the later seventies on 'Top of The Pops' Great video! 😀 Although I don't really mind the whole white suit period that came before, I agree that this 'smart casual ' look here fits them quite well and they should've stuck with it - their next TOTP appearance for Hey Willy is riddled with the most bizarre outfit line-up!
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Post by baz on Nov 29, 2019 15:58:51 GMT
Although I don't really mind the whole white suit period that came before, I agree that this 'smart casual ' look here fits them quite well and they should've stuck with it - their next TOTP appearance for Hey Willy is riddled with the most bizarre outfit line-up! Allan's trousers! Tony's moustache! lol As for Gasoline Alley Bred, yes a fine song, terrific vocals but the mix is definitely a mess!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2019 17:43:22 GMT
I've always thought this would've made an even better duet if it had been between Allan and Graham, as the latter's voice has far more personality than Terry's.
Terry was a fantastic harmony singer, but an indifferent lead vocalist (even in The Swinging Blue Jeans I much preferred to hear Ray Ennis's distinctive voice).
Regarding The Fortunes, I can highly recommend their recently-released BBC sessions set. Every bit as impressive as The Hollies and The Tremeloes.
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Post by JamesT on Nov 29, 2019 19:18:44 GMT
Terrific bassline from Bernie on this gem, too!
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Post by cameron on Nov 29, 2019 19:24:09 GMT
Notes re the mix - it was indeed Alan Parson's first mix on a major artist's single. He said himself that the mix is really poor. The Hollies were quoted in the press at the time complaining about it, same with 'I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top', but it was perceived as slight "sour grapes" as the singles slipped down the charts. Curiously, a previously lost remix of 'I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top' was unearthed for the 2003 'Long Road Home' boxset, which is sonically superb compared to the stereo and mono mixes with the out of sync guitar. But other than that, the orchestration is up front and centre on that rare remix, which was originally issued on an Australian compilation LP in the mid-1970s. I don't know, but long time engineer Pete Bown maybe did the re-mix and it wasn't used at the time?
Back to 'Gasoline Alley', the original stereo mix is actually slowed down for some reason, by a whole tone making the song slower and in a lower key. That TOTP clip is rare because the Hollies never sang the song at that pitch. When they played it live (only on their 1970/71 tours), it was in the original key and Bobby's drums are a major part of the song. This was confirmed to me when I got hold of the 'At Abbey Road 1966-1970' CD and the previously unissued studio chat reveals Tony playing his guitar line at the original pitch, before the original muddy stereo mix drops in after the count in. Slowing down audio does take the top end off it, and at the correct speed, 'Gasoline Alley Bred' is transformed. To my knowledge, it's NEVER been released officially at the correct pitch/speed that it was originally recorded in.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2019 11:04:05 GMT
When they played it live ( only on their 1970/71 tours), it was in the original key and Bobby's drums are a major part of the song. Actually, they did occasionally perform the song later. I'm listening right now to a 1985 performance (from a radio broadcast of a show in Irvine, Scotland), and very good it is too, though, curiously, Allan sings all the verses himself.
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Post by Stranger on Nov 30, 2019 13:08:15 GMT
One of my absolute favourite Hollies tracks. One of their best singles. A great band performance but also a truly great vocal from Allan.
Very interesting re: the speed Cameron. That explains why the live performance from Australia from that era is weirdly fast.
I too have heard 80s bootlegs where the song is performed.
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Post by Stranger on Nov 30, 2019 20:07:06 GMT
Happy Christmas.
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Post by herriot on Dec 10, 2019 11:19:47 GMT
Interesting lesser known tit bit about this song I thought I'd share here: It 2014 I was at a Kaleidoscope archive Tv screening, where they showed a compilation of Kenny Everetts early TV show 'Ev' from 1970. Included in the pop and comedy show (a forerunner of his much better remembered late 70s video show) was a 'literal' video he'd made for 'Gasoline Alley Bred' featuring among some hand drawn visuals close up shots of a hand lighting 'gasoline' and a loaf of 'bread' (I can't remember how the 'Alley' was visually presented). Anyway I thought it was an amusing and inventive early attempt a pop promo without the band and it'd be great if one day it surfaces for more people to enjoy.
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Post by thejanitor on Feb 1, 2020 16:30:22 GMT
Something unusual I've been meaning to ask about here for a while now - has anybody else noticed or know why GAB in stereo is thrown in amongst the mono Evolution tracks across streaming (Spotify, YouTube), considering it was recorded three years after? An error for a Hollies nut like myself which is highly irritating... 😐 m.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mx_6SnhW18csAoW-fQO0A9WamyVCYUR6M
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Post by cameron on Feb 2, 2020 14:12:29 GMT
The Hollies on Spotify is a complete and utter mess. They seem to have used the most recent Japanese CDs as the base for the rather unorthodox grouping of bonus tracks (Nash era tracks grouped with 'Hollies Sing Hollies', for example) and the error with 'Gasoline Alley Bred'. There's also 'Russian Roulette' and '5317704' missing, despite all the tracks from those albums being on Spotify. I understand that they only have one pool of tracks and these are duplicated across various releases. I also believe that the artist can have control over what's on Spotify if they wish to get involved.
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