Hollies Sing Dylan | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 1969 | |||
Recorded | 4–6 November 1968 [1] [2] | |||
Studio | Abbey Road Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock, pop | |||
Length | 36:07 | |||
Label | UK: Parlophone | |||
Producer | Ron Richards | |||
The Hollies chronology | ||||
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The Hollies US chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Rolling Stone | (favourable) [4] |
Sounds | [5] |
The Village Voice | B− [6] |
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. [7] 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". [8]
The album was recorded and released following Graham Nash's departure from the band to join David Crosby and Stephen Stills in December 1968 after early sessions for a follow-up to the psychedelic concept album, Butterfly , broke down. Nash became frustrated when the other band members showed opposition to lyrics in his latest compositions. By that time, Nash was the only member of the band using LSD and marijuana and a rift was forming between him and his beer drinking bandmates:
I'd written what I thought were some interesting songs at that time — 'Marrakesh Express', 'Right Between the Eyes', 'Lady of the Island' — and the Hollies weren't interested in them. And when I said in the first 'Sleep Song' for instance, 'I'll take off my clothes and I'll lay by your side', they said, 'Hey, you can't bloody sing that. We're not going to sing that filthy stuff.' Saying those things to a stoned musician is ridiculous. [9]
Nash quickly became disillusioned with the direction that the band was moving artistically and especially derided their decision to record an entire album of covers:
This happened at the same time they wanted to make an album with Dylan tunes. I thought even that was a sacrilege, because we were doing them like [Graham starts singing "Blowing in the Wind" in swing fashion, snapping his fingers]: 'How many roads, yeah, would a . . .' — a Las Vegas type thing, and it was driving me nuts. I couldn't handle it. [9]
Nash has claimed in interviews that he sang on the version of "Blowing in the Wind", and indeed, a TV appearance of the band playing the song with Nash from late 1968 exists (one of the last TV shows he did with the band). However, his name does not appear on the album credits.
There have been claims that the album was hated by fans and critics alike. However it peaked at No. 3 in the UK, their third highest showing for any LP and second-highest charting for one with newly recorded material. Nevertheless, the group's next album was titled Hollies Sing Hollies in an apparent move to placate critics. In an interview for Billboard magazine in 1974, Clarke reflected on the album:
At the time I was pleased with the album but on reflection, I don't think it was a good move for the Hollies. People knocked it, saying, 'How could they ever relate to Dylan?' We thought we'd do it for Hollies fans, but I was really just reading Dylan's words, not singing them. I could have been a lot better. [10]
This is the first album with new member Terry Sylvester, who replaced Nash. [3]
All songs written and composed by Bob Dylan, except "This Wheel's on Fire" composed by Dylan and Rick Danko.
As listed in liner notes. [7]
String arrangements and composing on "Blowin' in the Wind" by Mike Vickers. All other strings arranged and conducted by Lew Warburton.
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) was a folk-rock supergroup comprising American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young, they were known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY). They are noted for their intricate vocal harmonies and lasting influence on American music and culture, their political activism and their tumultuous relationships.
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers. The group's repertoire included songs written by Yarrow and Stookey, early songs by Bob Dylan, and covers of other folk musicians. They were enormously successful in the early- and mid-1960s, with their debut album topping the charts for weeks, and helped popularize the folk music revival. After the death of Travers in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo under their individual names.
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. Singer Allan Clarke and rhythm guitarist/singer 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 co-form Crosby, Stills & Nash, though he has reunited with the Hollies on occasion. As well as Clarke and Nash other members have included lead guitarist Tony Hicks, rhythm guitarist Terry Sylvester, bassists Eric Haydock and Bernie Calvert, and drummers Don Rathbone and Bobby Elliott.
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about peace, war, and freedom. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind".
The Essential Byrds is a comprehensive two-CD compilation album by the American rock band the Byrds. It was released in 2003 as part of Sony BMG's The Essential series. The Essential Byrds did not chart in the U.S. or the UK. A 3.0 edition of the compilation released in 2011 contains a third disc with six additional tracks: "Spanish Harlem Incident", "I Knew I'd Want You", "The World Turns All Around Her", "I See You", "Change Is Now", and "One Hundred Years from Now".
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and released the following year on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and as the B-side of the single "Blowin' in the Wind". The song has been covered by several other artists, including Waylon Jennings in 1964, Susan Tedeschi, Emilie-Claire Barlow in her 2010 album The Beat Goes On and Peter, Paul and Mary, who released it as a single, which reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
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.
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.
Odetta Sings Dylan is an album by American folk singer Odetta, issued by RCA Victor in 1965. It consists of covers of Bob Dylan songs.
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.
Romany is the twelfth UK studio album by The Hollies, the first not to feature their lead singer Allan Clarke, who had left to embark on a solo career. He was replaced by Swedish singer Mikael Rickfors. In the opinion of contemporary and retrospective critics, this album moved the band further away from the original vocal harmony style of Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks and Graham Nash.
The Hollies' Greatest Hits is a compilation of singles by the Hollies, released on Epic Records in April 1973. It includes hit singles by the group on both the Epic and Imperial labels over a time span of 1965 to 1971. It spent seven weeks on the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 156.
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 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.
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.
Masters of War is the eighth and final studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in 2007. The album consists entirely of Bob Dylan covers.
Preflyte is a compilation album by the American folk rock band the Byrds and was released in July 1969 on Together Records. The album is a collection of demos recorded by the Byrds at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles during late 1964, before the band had signed to Columbia Records and become famous. It includes early demo versions of the songs "Here Without You", "You Won't Have to Cry", "I Knew I'd Want You", and "Mr. Tambourine Man", all of which appeared in re-recorded form on the band's 1965 debut album.
Clarke, Hicks & Nash Years: The Complete Hollies April 1963 – October 1968 is a 6-CD box set released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records in 2011. As the title suggests, it encompasses, in chronological order by recording date, almost every song The Hollies have released to date that was recorded between April 1963 and October 1968, when Graham Nash left the band. Included were 14 previously unreleased tracks such as French-language versions of hit songs, alternate stereo mixes and a live set from the Lewisham Odeon recorded 24 May 1968. Besides various mono and stereo mixes of tracks, previously released material excluded from the set were the alternate version of "Stay" from the 1988 UK The Hollies: Compacts for Pleasure CD and the longer Take 9 of "Poison Ivy" from their first Australian LP.
Nashville Airplane is the 27th album by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs released in 1968 on the Columbia Limited Edition label. It was recorded shortly before their breakup in 1969. Lester Flatt resisted the change in direction to a point that led to the breakup.
Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan is the eleventh studio album by American singer and songwriter Willie Nile. It was released on 23 June 2017 by River House Records. The album is a tribute to Bob Dylan and his music. Nile says of the music, "These songs meant the world to me when I was younger and they mean the world to me now. The mystic leap of faith it took to write them, and the courage it took to believe and make a stand in hopes for something better, makes my heart sing and wander now as it did when I first heard them".
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