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Post by gee on Feb 2, 2023 1:01:01 GMT
If not posted before, a recent interview with Tony and Peter
some good memories from Tony - tho' he seems to recall that 'Long Cool Woman' was cut at Abbey Road ...not AIR studios
interesting that re 'Long Dark Road' Tony just says 'there are a LOT of songs we DON'T do...' while Peter seems unaware of it at all...!
proof perhaps that they just stick to the SAME trusted old predictable material and largely ignore a vast back catalogue of gems most groups would give their 'right arm' to have available for them...
there IS room to add in at least a handful of album tracks (which could alternate) whilst retaining most of the famous expected songs
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Post by Tony Wilkinson on Feb 2, 2023 8:26:30 GMT
"there IS room to add in at least a handful of album tracks (which could alternate) whilst retaining most of the famous expected songs"
But like the rest would sound nothing like the original, I know you'll have a go at me GEE but it's true ....and it would bore the 'Bus stop' audience to bits...
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Feb 2, 2023 9:14:36 GMT
"there IS room to add in at least a handful of album tracks (which could alternate) whilst retaining most of the famous expected songs" But like the rest would sound nothing like the original, I know you'll have a go at me GEE but it's true ....and it would bore the 'Bus stop' audience to bits... They don't even realize there ARE albums. |
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Post by Tony Wilkinson on Feb 2, 2023 9:21:56 GMT
"there IS room to add in at least a handful of album tracks (which could alternate) whilst retaining most of the famous expected songs" But like the rest would sound nothing like the original, I know you'll have a go at me GEE but it's true ....and it would bore the 'Bus stop' audience to bits... They don't even realize there ARE albums. Other than 'Greatest hits' vol 1 to 50 ... !! |
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Post by anthony on Feb 2, 2023 22:20:17 GMT
"there IS room to add in at least a handful of album tracks (which could alternate) whilst retaining most of the famous expected songs" But like the rest would sound nothing like the original, I know you'll have a go at me GEE but it's true ....and it would bore the 'Bus stop' audience to bits... I have to agree with you, Tony could do a few of his solos from the older albums, that would be a treat, trouble is I don't think he is keen on singing apart from his harmonies. |
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Post by gee on Feb 2, 2023 23:52:14 GMT
I am not going to have a go at anyone's opinion - we are all entitled to our own of course
However, I do think The Hollies concert audiences are more receptive than some may give them credit for however - plenty of them are people who are still attending shows from the older audiences of the Allan Clarke eras (I recognise a good few names of those posting on the various Hollies Facebook groups etc)
when Carl Wayne sang 'The Baby' - of course sounding nothing like the original version either - the audience response was great and hence they retained it in the show...some years later on adding 'Magic Woman Touch' so the 'sounding nothing like the original' argument does not hold water really does it re the public enjoying a concert show ...?
Earlier Terry Sylvester singing LCW on that early seventies USA tour by The Rickfors Hollies, plus Mike singing 'He Ain't Heavy' likewise sounded nothing like the original version either...did they ?
Hollies concert goers have a bit more to them than just being termed the 'Bus Stop audience'
I heard a guy call out for 'Crusader' at one concert I attended
like it or not the fact is an audience exists that clearly DOES still enjoy the current touring Hollies band - and a number of Americans appear to want to see them visit the USA
this might get right up the noses of some people but the fact they are still performing live successfully some nineteen years on after Peter Howarth & Steve Lauri joined the group proves that the general public are still enjoying seeing the group in concerts however they sound now, and younger fans have got into The Hollies long after Allan departed...or even after Carl's sad passing too
I see likewise some older Chicago fans are just as annoyed that group is still performing minus Peter Cetera (while some still haven't got over Terry Kath's death) also some Jethro Tull fans are livid they are still having the nerve to go on without longtime guitarist Martin Barre, so such 'miffed older fans' seems to be a general thing in music re veteran long running outfits where obviously over time group members are bound to change
- The Searchers with Spencer James in place of Mike Pender never sounded the same but retained a loyal concert audience (tho' some Searchers fans were having 'hissy fits' that their last drummer Scott Ottaway had been dropped from the group for a reunion tour !)
but of course the respective groups carry on regardless...
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Post by johnt on Feb 3, 2023 15:06:48 GMT
- The Searchers with Spencer James in place of Mike Pender never sounded the same but retained a loyal concert audience (tho' some Searchers fans were having 'hissy fits' that their last drummer Scott Ottaway had been dropped from the group for a reunion tour !) but of course the respective groups carry on regardless... Thanks for the info about the Searchers, Gee. I didn't realise they were doing a reunion tour. I was at their final (but obviously not now!) show before they retired. Do you know who the drummer is? I thought Scott did a good job. |
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Post by JamesT on Feb 4, 2023 18:48:05 GMT
- The Searchers with Spencer James in place of Mike Pender never sounded the same but retained a loyal concert audience (tho' some Searchers fans were having 'hissy fits' that their last drummer Scott Ottaway had been dropped from the group for a reunion tour !) but of course the respective groups carry on regardless... Thanks for the info about the Searchers, Gee. I didn't realise they were doing a reunion tour. I was at their final (but obviously not now!) show before they retired. Do you know who the drummer is? I thought Scott did a good job. Richie Burns is the new drummer. Caught them twice on the Farewell Tour, not entirely convinced I'll see them on this one. The treatment of Scott seemed a bit off to be honest. |
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Post by cameron on Feb 6, 2023 11:22:48 GMT
I disagree that audiences are receptive to deeper cuts at shows, I watched them superbly re-hash 'Magic Woman Touch' and it literally cleared the entire dancefloor because no one knew it! Tony kept looking over and appeared to laugh in disbelief at three of the youngest people there still dancing away and singing every word back at them!
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Post by JamesT on Feb 6, 2023 18:03:18 GMT
I disagree that audiences are receptive to deeper cuts at shows, I watched them superbly re-hash 'Magic Woman Touch' and it literally cleared the entire dancefloor because no one knew it! Tony kept looking over and appeared to laugh in disbelief at three of the youngest people there still dancing away and singing every word back at them! Half the audience will not have a clue about Hey Willy or Curly Billy - and they were hits! |
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Post by anthony on Feb 8, 2023 22:14:11 GMT
the Red hot chilly peppers are on tour here at the moment, all we hear on the reviews is that fans are upset because they are not playing their hits, the group are playing deep cuts(think thats the term) plus songs from their last two albums. I'm making the point that it's hard to please people with the set lists, with the Hollies I'd be happy if I never heard Yes I will, Sorry Suzanne again in concert, I loved it when they played Hey Willy and Very last day some years ago, then I hated Stewball from a few years ago. Now if they played Mad professor Blyth I'd be over the moon, I'm sure a lot would say what the hell was that.
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Post by JamesT on Feb 11, 2023 8:40:44 GMT
the Red hot chilly peppers are on tour here at the moment, all we hear on the reviews is that fans are upset because they are not playing their hits, the group are playing deep cuts(think thats the term) plus songs from their last two albums. I'm making the point that it's hard to please people with the set lists, with the Hollies I'd be happy if I never heard Yes I will, Sorry Suzanne again in concert, I loved it when they played Hey Willy and Very last day some years ago, then I hated Stewball from a few years ago. Now if they played Mad professor Blyth I'd be over the moon, I'm sure a lot would say what the hell was that. When I first saw them in the late 90s, 'Not That Way At All' was played - much more interesting setlists back then. Sorry Suzanne, Yes I Will, Jennifer Eccles - could easily do without them, thanks very much. 😁 |
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Post by knut on Feb 12, 2023 8:13:17 GMT
Alan Coates used to sing a stripped down version of Butterfly, and it certainly got a very good audience reception. They still do Priceless, but I would have preferred Skylarks.
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Post by sandy on Feb 12, 2023 14:00:53 GMT
Alan Coates used to sing a stripped down version of Butterfly, and it certainly got a very good audience reception. They still do Priceless, but I would have preferred Skylarks. Alan Coates's version of Butterfly was beautiful. The nearest you could get to that innocent, sweet, slightly ' off the note' way of singing that Graham had on this. |
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Post by johnt on Feb 12, 2023 15:05:19 GMT
Alan Coates used to sing a stripped down version of Butterfly, and it certainly got a very good audience reception. They still do Priceless, but I would have preferred Skylarks. Alan Coates's version of Butterfly was beautiful. The nearest you could get to that innocent, sweet, slightly ' off the note' way of singing that Graham had on this. Completely agree. |
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Post by The Dude on Feb 12, 2023 15:31:37 GMT
Alan Coates used to sing a stripped down version of Butterfly, and it certainly got a very good audience reception. They still do Priceless, but I would have preferred Skylarks. I saw them in Sunderland in November 2003 (still with Carl), and indeed, Alan did a brilliant version of 'Butterfly'... |
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Post by gee on Feb 13, 2023 22:37:23 GMT
Obviously they would always do the bulk of their famous hits in the concert show - the only thing I would say is maybe about three of the very 'pop' sixties hits could be rested for a time - say for example 'Yes I Will', 'We're Through' and 'Sorry Suzanne'...with three album tracks (duly rotated) put in place of those, so that the album catalogue was featured a bit more and it wasn't just the repetition of hits tour after tour
no vast changes, but just to freshen things up a bit
I saw Alan Coates sing 'Butterfly' which always went down well and they would throw in a surprise song like; 'If I Needed Someone' and 'Daddy Don't Mind'...even 'Running Through The Night' each of which went down well
maybe besides retaining 'Just One Look' and 'Here I Go Again' they could otherwise stick to 1965 onwards songs in general so a few mid sixties onwards songs could be featured
the truth is as with other groups / artists once you have a '20 Golden Greats' set behind you inevitably it appears to become the concert show which is understandable of course but a bit limiting at the same time
- I recall seeing The Kinks in concert in the 80's after their '20 Golden Greats' and NO WAY was that allowed to be just an 'old hits' nostalgia package...yes they did plenty of hits but also varied album tracks from across the decades while Dave even sang 'There's Too Much On My Mind' a track from the 'Face To Face' album of 1966...that got a massive cheer !
even back on 'Hollies Live Hits' in the mid seventies they were still featuring a number of album tracks and they performed 'Amazing Grace' even if not included on the set besides doing their hits
I do think they could rest three old hits and not lose any quality as their audiences are pretty faithful to them
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Post by The Dude on Feb 13, 2023 23:08:03 GMT
Obviously they would always do the bulk of their famous hits in the concert show - the only thing I would say is maybe about three of the very 'pop' sixties hits could be rested for a time - say for example 'Yes I Will', 'We're Through' and 'Sorry Suzanne'...with three album tracks (duly rotated) put in place of those, so that the album catalogue was featured a bit more and it wasn't just the repetition of hits tour after tour no vast changes, but just to freshen things up a bit I saw Alan Coates sing 'Butterfly' which always went down well and they would throw in a surprise song like; 'If I Needed Someone' and 'Daddy Don't Mind'...even 'Running Through The Night' each of which went down well maybe besides retaining 'Just One Look' and 'Here I Go Again' they could otherwise stick to 1965 onwards songs in general so a few mid sixties onwards songs could be featured the truth is as with other groups / artists once you have a '20 Golden Greats' set behind you inevitably it appears to become the concert show which is understandable of course but a bit limiting at the same time - I recall seeing The Kinks in concert in the 80's after their '20 Golden Greats' and NO WAY was that allowed to be just an 'old hits' nostalgia package...yes they did plenty of hits but also varied album tracks from across the decades while Dave even sang 'There's Too Much On My Mind' a track from the 'Face To Face' album of 1966...that got a massive cheer ! even back on 'Hollies Live Hits' in the mid seventies they were still featuring a number of album tracks and they performed 'Amazing Grace' even if not included on the set besides doing their hits I do think they could rest three old hits and not lose any quality as their audiences are pretty faithful to them During the 'Live Hits' era they did have a new album to promote i.e. "Write On", so its understandable that tracks of that album appeared on the setlist... |
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Post by Mevrouw Bee on Feb 14, 2023 9:14:28 GMT
Obviously they would always do the bulk of their famous hits in the concert show - the only thing I would say is maybe about three of the very 'pop' sixties hits could be rested for a time - say for example 'Yes I Will', 'We're Through' and 'Sorry Suzanne'...with three album tracks (duly rotated) put in place of those, so that the album catalogue was featured a bit more and it wasn't just the repetition of hits tour after tour no vast changes, but just to freshen things up a bit I saw Alan Coates sing 'Butterfly' which always went down well and they would throw in a surprise song like; 'If I Needed Someone' and 'Daddy Don't Mind'...even 'Running Through The Night' each of which went down well maybe besides retaining 'Just One Look' and 'Here I Go Again' they could otherwise stick to 1965 onwards songs in general so a few mid sixties onwards songs could be featured the truth is as with other groups / artists once you have a '20 Golden Greats' set behind you inevitably it appears to become the concert show which is understandable of course but a bit limiting at the same time - I recall seeing The Kinks in concert in the 80's after their '20 Golden Greats' and NO WAY was that allowed to be just an 'old hits' nostalgia package...yes they did plenty of hits but also varied album tracks from across the decades while Dave even sang 'There's Too Much On My Mind' a track from the 'Face To Face' album of 1966...that got a massive cheer ! even back on 'Hollies Live Hits' in the mid seventies they were still featuring a number of album tracks and they performed 'Amazing Grace' even if not included on the set besides doing their hits I do think they could rest three old hits and not lose any quality as their audiences are pretty faithful to them During the 'Live Hits' era they did have a new album to promote i.e. "Write On", so its understandable that tracks of that album appeared on the setlist... And that's the difference, right? 45 to 50 years later, neither band have something new to promote and the hit albums are waaaaaaay in the past. They can't make a living off the hardcores like us (well the Kinks maybe more so because they were more an "albums" band rather than a "Hits" band). Thing is, I wouldn't mind hearing the 60s songs like "We're Through" and "Yes I Will" but they didn't make a dent in Canada. Especially the first one being self-composed. |
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Post by gee on Feb 15, 2023 0:22:01 GMT
Well they could have included a few more of the songs they had recorded with the current line up to keep the concert show more modern than just sixties / early seventies hits
the Clarke/Sylvester Hollies were NOT doing older sixties hits back in the mid seventies besides 'Just One Look', and from 1966 onwards hits like 'I Can't Let Go' and 'Bus Stop'- they certainly were not doing 'Jennifer Eccles' let alone 'Yes I Will' or 'We're Through'
it was having Alan Coates that saw 'On A Carousel' and 'Butterfly' return to the later concert set list in the eighties
the point I am making is that they could have put a few more recent tracks into the live show by now (it took Carl Wayne to dig out 'The Baby' not due to The Hollies themselves - but it duly proved very popular and has been retained ever since) and they could have utilised songs from the album back catalogue a bit more so that by now they were not endlessly repeating so many earlier hits that have them very much a 'tribute band' that a number accuse them of being !
back in the sixties The Kinks were just as much a 'singles band' in the UK - their albums were not as big as a few of them later were regarded as compared to their big selling classic hit singles
'Face To Face', 'Something Else', 'Village Green' and 'Arthur' were classic albums...but regarded as such largely in retrospect compared to their profile compared to their hit singles of 1966-69
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Post by cameron on Feb 15, 2023 10:40:15 GMT
The irony here is that back in the 1960s, bands were also trapped into playing crowd pleasers. The Hollies were pushing the envelope with the orchestrated (and played along to a tape) version of 'Butterfly' in 1968; the year before their setlist featured nothing from 'Evolution' (other than occasionally 'The Games We Play' thrown in) and nothing from 'For Certain Because...' other than 'Stop! Stop! Stop!' which was there more so because it was a single. The setlist was padded out with strange things like 'Too Much Monkey Business' (as late as 1971!), 'Dang Me', 'Stewball', 'A Taste of Honey' (also survived quite late on until around 1970), 'Puff The Magic Dragon' and even apparently they covered Dylan's 'Like A Rolling Stone' on their 1967 Scandinavian tour. At the very most, they'd delve into some recent singles, one album track and the rest of the set would be covers. Even as late as 1971, not much from their albums was being performed. Of everything on 'Hollies Sing Hollies' that could have easily been played live, bizarrely they only ever attempted 'Gloria Swansong' without an orchestra and without the 'Marigold' section at the beginning! 'Confessions of the Mind' saw three tracks 'Too Young To Be Married', 'Frightened Lady' (a really great rocking version of this that was way more exciting than the album version) and only a few times did they include 'Lady Please' I think on their European tour in 1970. At least when Mikael Rickfors came on board they dropped everything bar three hits, and the whole setlist was made up of album tracks from 'Distant Light' and 'Romany', with just two covers thrown in ('Amazing Grace' and 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'). Again, they got the largest resistance of their entire career to this phase of their live shows, partly due to Allan not being there, partly due to the band not being as confident and partly due to the setlist was a whole bunch of slow songs from 'Romany' played in a row.
The Hollies did at least progress on stage in the 1960s, even if it was down the more serious cabaret route by 1969. With Graham they ambitiously toured with a live orchestra which was quite unheard of then (the Bee Gees are the only other band that I've found to have done this back in 1968), they had some stage lights and also bulked their set out over 40 minutes apparently, though the setlists that survive don't really support this. They played along to pre-recorded tapes of parts that were difficult to re-create live such as the steel drum section on 'Carrie Anne' before the musicians union ruled against it! So at one point, the Hollies were pretty cutting edge as a live band.
The Kinks have been mentioned above, but even by early 1968 they were still touring as a singles band, with their set mostly full of 1964/5 era stuff, never attempting 'Waterloo Sunset' live back then, though they did do 'Sunny Afternoon'. Even by early 1968, nothing from 'Something Else By The Kinks' was attempted on stage, nor were their recent singles 'Deadend Street', 'Autumn Almanac' and 'Wonderboy'. It would only be when they returned to America in 1969 having lost their original bassist Pete Quaife that their setlist got a massive shakeup to focus heavily on 'Village Green'/'Arthur' era material with less than a handful of hits thrown in to please the crowd.
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Post by sandy on Feb 15, 2023 12:50:43 GMT
There is irony here too- that even on this site, an awful lot of the 'deep cuts' that people say they want to hear, end pretty much at 1972? They did so many albums after this which I would,in an ideal world, love to hear tracks from,not just album tracks from the sixties?
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Post by eric on Feb 15, 2023 23:55:44 GMT
Cameron noted above: "Of everything on 'Hollies Sing Hollies' that could have easily been played live, they only ever attempted 'Gloria Swansong'". Bernie Calvert will be pleased to know that I have an update on this.
On 1st February 1970, The Hollies played an outdoor concert in Adelaide, Australia, which I attended. Their setlist was: Carrie Anne - Bus Stop / I’m Alive / Just One Look (Medley) - Just Like A Woman - You Ain’t Going Nowhere - I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – Stewball - Sorry Suzanne - Reflections Of A Long Time Past (Tony Hicks on bass) - He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (Tony Hicks on bass) - A Taste Of Honey - Blowing In The Wind.
The Hollies were accompanied by a local twelve piece orchestra on Just Like A Woman, Reflections Of A Long Time Past, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, A Taste Of Honey and Blowing In The Wind.
They only played three of their biggest hits in full. Notwithstanding this they received a standing ovation from their audience. They returned to Adelaide a year later for another sold-out open-air concert.
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Post by baz on Feb 16, 2023 0:38:29 GMT
I'm somewhat stunned to learn that Reflections Of A Long Time Past actually got performed onstage! That was one of the very last tracks I would ever have expected them to perform live!
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Post by eric on Feb 17, 2023 8:13:14 GMT
The day after this concert I wrote a letter to a friend of mine who was living in another part of Australia describing the brilliant concert I had witnessed the night before. I kept a copy of my letter (anyone remember carbon paper) for future reference. I quote from my younger self:
“Bernie’s pose now. He goes to the piano to play ‘Reflections of a Long Time Past’ that beautiful thing from ‘H.S.H’. He’s in the dark so Bobby comes across the stage pointing at him (Bernie) until a light focusses on him (Bernie). With the strings this is marvellous. Tony plays bass. Terry to electric & Allan on acoustic. Bernie bows to great applause.”
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