This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2018) |
Confessions of the Mind | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 1970 | |||
Recorded | November 1969 – 4 May 1970 | |||
Studio | Abbey Road Studios, maybe London [1] | |||
Genre | Rock, pop | |||
Length | 39:13 | |||
Label | UK: Parlophone PCS 7116 US: Epic E 30255 (Moving Finger) | |||
Producer | Ron Richards | |||
The Hollies chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic - | [2] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C+ [3] |
Sounds | [4] |
Confessions of the Mind is the tenth studio album by the Hollies. It was released in the United States as Moving Finger, with a different track sequence and the tracks "Separated" and "I Wanna Shout" replaced with the Clarke/Sylvester penned "Marigold: Gloria Swansong" saved from the previous album ( Hollies Sing Hollies ) and "Gasoline Alley Bred". In Germany, it was released by Hansa as Move On with an alternate track sequence with "Gasoline Alley Bred" added. The UK version peaked at number 30 in the charts and the US version at number 183.
Nearly all of the songs were written either by guitarist Tony Hicks or by the songwriting team of Allan Clarke and Terry Sylvester. Tony Hicks revealed in an interview that the band at this time was influenced by the style of rivals such as Jethro Tull and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. "Our songwriting has also undergone change," Tony said to Disc and Music Echo. "I used to write about love mainly, but now I choose more general subjects. I’m writing about worldly affairs and more important issues. They mean so much more." Originally, the album was to open with a poetry reading by drummer Bobby Elliott in the style of The Moody Blues' albums. The track "Bobby's Prologue" was even recorded, but the idea was eventually abandoned. [5] The Hollies began a work on the album in early November 1969, with recording sessions lasting until May 1970. The basis of the opening track "Survival of the Fittest", co-written by Graham Nash, was recorded in August 1969, still with Nash in the studio, but his vocals were later replaced with Terry Sylvester's. The Hollies worked on Hicks's "Too Young To Be Married" during the sessions of the previous album Hollies Sing Hollies, but did not complete it then. "Isn't It Nice?" and bluesy "Perfect Lady Housewife", both written by Clarke and Terry Sylvester, were older tunes from the abandoned stage musical Oh Flux!. [6] During the recording process, several other songs were made and released as singles ("I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top", B-sides "Mad Professor Blyth" and "Dandelion Wine"), some songs remained in the archives and were released years later on various compilations ("Sign of the Times", "Eleanor's Castle") and some remain unreleased to this day ("Bobby's Prologue", "Snow on Heather Moon", re-recording of Clarke-Nash's "Wings"). [7] Keyboardist Reg Dwight (soon to be known as Elton John) participated in the recording of the album, playing on the songs "Perfect Lady Housewife" and the single "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top". [6]
The LP was packaged in a plain black and white cover with the album title and The Hollies name (and lyrics on the back). Confessions of the Mind had mostly positive reviews, Reveille (newspaper) called the LP "an outstanding album on which all of the songs are good", and reaching the UK Top 30. However, the original release of the album had an insert with a color photograph of the band. With the Top 10 hit "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" as the lead single from these sessions, none of the songs on the album were selected for another 45 release in the UK or the US, although "Too Young To Be Married" was issued as a single in many countries and became a No. 1 single in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia (the single would have been certified gold). A live version of the song appeared on the concert album "Hollies Live Hits" released in March 1977. Another album track "Man Without A Heart" was released as a single in the Netherlands and went to No. 25.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Survival of the Fittest" | Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks | 3:07 |
2. | "Man Without a Heart" | Clarke, Terry Sylvester | 2:27 |
3. | "Little Girl" | Tony Hicks | 3:01 |
4. | "Isn't It Nice?" | Clarke, Sylvester | 3:48 |
5. | "Perfect Lady Housewife" | Clarke, Sylvester | 4:39 |
6. | "Confessions of a Mind" | Hicks | 5:47 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Lady Please" | Hicks | 2:41 |
8. | "Frightened Lady" | Hicks | 3:16 |
9. | "Too Young to Be Married" | Hicks | 4:02 |
10. | "Separated" | Clarke | 3:31 |
11. | "I Wanna Shout" | Clarke, Sylvester | 2:54 |
Total length: | 39:13 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" | Guy Fletcher, Doug Flett | 4:17 |
13. | "Mad Professor Blyth" | Clarke | 2:15 |
14. | "Gasoline Alley Bred" | Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway, Tony Macaulay | 3:54 |
15. | "Dandelion Wine" | Hicks | 2:45 |
16. | "Hey Willy" | Cook, Clarke, Greenaway | 3:32 |
17. | "Row the Boat Together" | Clarke | 2:19 |
Total length: | 19:02 |
Moving Finger | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 21, 1970 | |||
Recorded | 11 September 1969 – 29 July 1970 | |||
Studio | Abbey Road Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock, pop | |||
Length | 41:46 | |||
Label | Epic Records E 30255 | |||
Producer | Ron Richards, The Hollies | |||
The Hollies U.S. chronology | ||||
|
Moving Finger is the tenth US album by the Hollies, released on Epic Records in stereo (E 30255) on December 21, 1970. It omitted two songs from the UK Confessions of the Mind track listing, "Separated" and "I Wanna Shout", and were both replaced by "Marigold: Gloria Swansong" (reserved from Hollies Sing Hollies) and "Gasoline Alley Bred".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Survival of the Fittest" | Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, Graham Nash | 3:03 |
2. | "Confessions of a Mind" | Hicks | 5:42 |
3. | "Lady Please" | Hicks | 2:37 |
4. | "Little Girl" | Hicks | 2:56 |
5. | "Too Young to Be Married" | Hicks | 3:58 |
6. | "Man Without a Heart" | Clarke, Sylvester | 2:23 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Isn't it Nice" | Clarke, Sylvester | 3:45 |
8. | "Frightened Lady" | Hicks | 3:11 |
9. | "Marigold: Gloria Swansong" | Clarke, Sylvester | 5:25 |
10. | "Perfect Lady Housewife" | Clarke, Sylvester | 4:35 |
11. | "Gasoline Alley Bred" | Cook, Greenaway, Macaulay | 3:54 |
Tracks 2, 6, 8, and 9 include accompaniment arranged and conducted by Johnny Scott.[ citation needed ]
The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band as a Merseybeat-type group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns further north, in east Lancashire. Nash left the group in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion.
Harold Allan Clarke is an English rock singer, who was one of the founding members and the original lead singer of the Hollies. He achieved international hit singles with the group and is credited as co-writer on several of their best-known songs, including "On a Carousel", "Carrie Anne", "Jennifer Eccles" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". He retired from performing in 1999, but returned to the music industry in 2019. Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
Evolution is the first of two albums released in 1967 by British pop rock band the Hollies. It is their sixth UK album and peaked at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart.
For Certain Because is the fifth UK album by the Hollies and their second released in 1966. It was the first Hollies album in which all the songs were written by members Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks, and the first on which they did not use the songwriting pseudonym "L. Ransford". It was also the first Hollies album recorded with new bassist Bernie Calvert replacing Eric Haydock. In Bobby Elliott's book It Ain't Heavy, It's My Story, he explains how he came up with the title For Certain Because by taking the three words from the children's song "Teddy Bears' Picnic".
Anthony Christopher Hicks is an English guitarist and singer who has been a member of the British rock/pop band the Hollies since 1963, and as such was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. His main roles within the band are lead guitarist and backing singer.
Hollies is the 14th UK studio album by the English pop rock group the Hollies, released in 1974, marking the return of Allan Clarke after he had left for a solo career. It features the band's cover of Albert Hammond's ballad "The Air That I Breathe," a major worldwide hit that year. The album has the same title as the band's third album from 1965.
Terence Sylvester is an English musician and songwriter. He is a former member of the Escorts, the Swinging Blue Jeans (1966–1969), and the Hollies. In the latter role, he took on the high parts formerly sung by Graham Nash, who had left the band in December 1968.
Distant Light is a 1971 album released by the Hollies, their 11th UK album and their last before brief departure of lead vocalist and founding member Allan Clarke, and reputedly the first album to come out of AIR Studios. The album spawned two hit singles: the Allan Clarke penned "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress", which peaked at number two in the US and number 32 in the UK; and Tony Hicks penned "Long Dark Road", which reached number 26 in the US. The US version of the album peaked at number 21 in the album charts. The summer scene on the cover is rendered as a winter scene on the next Hollies album Romany.
Hollies Sing Hollies is the ninth studio album released in the UK by the Hollies. It was released in November 1969 by Parlophone. It was their second album that year, coming 6 months after an entire album of Bob Dylan covers. It was their first album of original compositions since the departure of Graham Nash. It was also the second album by the Hollies to feature Terry Sylvester and the first to feature his compositions, as well as an instrumental by bassist Bernie Calvert. The US version, titled "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", included the hit single of the same name, while omitting the tracks "Soldier's Dilemma" and "Marigold: Gloria Swansong". The UK album did not chart, but its US version peaked at number 32.
Hollies Sing Dylan is a 1969 cover album featuring songs written by Bob Dylan and performed by the Hollies. It is their eighth UK album. It was also released in the US as Words and Music by Bob Dylan with a different cover but using the same band image and track order. First released on compact disc in West Germany in the late 1980s, it was not released in that format in the rest of Europe until 1993. For this issue, two bonus tracks, the single version of "Blowin' in the Wind" and a live version of "The Times They Are a-Changin'". A later remastered issue in 1999 added a third bonus track, a live version of "Blowin' in the Wind".
Another Night is the 15th UK studio album by English rock/pop band, the Hollies. It is the band's second album with returning vocalist Allan Clarke who rejoined in 1974 for the album Hollies, after leaving for a solo career in 1972. The album is made up of original material, with the exception of "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" by the relatively unknown Bruce Springsteen.
Write On is the first of two 1976 studio albums by the English rock/pop band, the Hollies, and their 16th UK studio album. Like the previous one, this album has mostly songs written by the group's songwriting team. The final track of the album is the only one not composed by them. This album was not issued in the US.
Russian Roulette is a 1976 self-produced album by English rock/pop group, the Hollies, and their 17th UK studio album. The album is the band's second release in 1976. It was composed entirely by the group's songwriting team. The album was not issued in the US.
A Crazy Steal is the 18th UK studio album by English rock/pop group, the Hollies. It includes their version of Emmylou Harris' "Boulder to Birmingham", which had been released two years prior, reaching number 10 in the charts in New Zealand. Three other songs from this album were released in 1977, and 1978 as singles, yet failed to chart anywhere.
Five Three One - Double Seven O Four is the 19th UK studio album by the English rock/pop group the Hollies. When rendered as digits, the album title is the band's name upside down in digital number view. The idea is credited to guitarist Terry Sylvester.
Hollies' Greatest is the only number one album in the UK by British band the Hollies. It was released shortly before Graham Nash's departure from the Hollies and was intended to include all of their British hit singles with Nash, as well as filling in for the lack of an original LP by the group in 1968. Only 3 of the 14 songs on the album – "Stay", "I Can't Let Go" and "Stop! Stop! Stop!" had previously been released on UK albums.
Dear Eloise / King Midas in Reverse is the seventh U.S. studio album by the British pop band the Hollies, released in November 1967. "King Midas in Reverse" and "Leave Me" were slotted onto the album while deleting "Pegasus", "Try It" and "Elevated Observations" from the UK Butterfly track listing. It was the Hollies' last album to feature Graham Nash until 1983's What Goes Around, as well as the last to feature songs written solely by members Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks.
What Goes Around... is the 21st studio album by English rock/pop group, the Hollies. It includes their version of The Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love", which became their last US hit single. The Hollies reunited with Graham Nash for this album and for the following US tour. The LP was the band's first and last album with Nash since Butterfly (1967) and also their last one with lead singer Allan Clarke. Among the guest musicians, you can find Brian Chatton who was formerly keyboardist for The Warriors with Jon Anderson, and Flaming Youth with Phil Collins.
Hollies Live Hits is the first live album by the Hollies, released in 1977. It reached number four on the UK Album Chart.