King Midas in Reverse

Last updated
"King Midas in Reverse"
Hollies - King Midas US.jpg
US picture sleeve
Single by the Hollies
B-side
  • "Everything Is Sunshine" (UK)
  • "Water on the Brain" (US)
Released22 September 1967
Recorded3–4 August 1967 [1]
Studio EMI, London [1]
Genre
Length3:07
Label
Songwriter(s) Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks
Producer(s) Ron Richards
The Hollies singles chronology
"Carrie Anne"
(1967)
"King Midas in Reverse"
(1967)
"Jennifer Eccles"
(1968)

"King Midas in Reverse" is a song by English pop group the Hollies, written by Graham Nash but credited to Allan Clarke, Nash and Tony Hicks. It was released as a single in September 1967 in anticipation of the band's album Butterfly .

Contents

Musical style

The track was a departure in style and influenced by Graham Nash's visits to America. Nash wanted to take the band in a new direction which was resisted by other members of the band, and this led to his departure and move to the United States. It was released in the UK on the Parlophone label (R5637) and in the US on the Epic label (10234). While a critical success, the song was a commercial failure by the Hollies' standards, prompting them to write and record the more commercial song "Jennifer Eccles" for their next single.

Reception

Cash Box said that it's "a crashing folk-drenched rock side with heavy push in the rhythm section and some fine group vocal work" that also has "stunning production." [4] Record World called it a "compelling rock ballad about a destructive young chap.." [5]

Charts

Chart (1967)Peak
position
Australia ( Go-Set ) [6] 17
Netherlands (Dutch Singles Chart) [7] 16
UK Singles (OCC) [8] 18
US Billboard Hot 100 [9] 51
West Germany (Official German Charts) [10] 31

Cover versions

In film

The song features in The Limey , when Peter Fonda's character, an ageing record producer, is introduced.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Nash</span> English musician and songwriter (born 1942)

Graham William Nash is an English-American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hollies</span> English pop group formed in the early 1960s

The Hollies are a British 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.


"Look Through Any Window" is a song by the British beat group the Hollies. It was their follow-up single to their first UK chart-topper, "I'm Alive", and reached No.4 in the UK Singles Chart at the beginning of October 1965.

<i>Butterfly</i> (Hollies album)

Butterfly is the seventh UK studio album by British band the Hollies, released in November 1967. It was the final Hollies album to feature Graham Nash before his departure from the group in 1968. The album consisted solely of songs written by the trio of Nash, Allan Clarke, and Tony Hicks, with Nash leading the sessions. It showcased the band's pop-oriented approach to psychedelia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Clarke (singer)</span> Musical artist

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.

<i>In the Hollies Style</i> 1964 studio album by the Hollies

In The Hollies Style is the second album by the British rock band the Hollies and was released in November 1964 on Parlophone Records. It missed the official Record Retailer album chart in the United Kingdom, which at the time only had a total of 20 available spots. In Canada, it was released on Capitol in October 1965, with an altered track listing.

<i>Evolution</i> (Hollies album) 1967 studio album by The Hollies

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Hicks</span> English guitarist and singer

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.

<i>The Hollies Greatest Hits</i> (1967 album) 1967 greatest hits album by the Hollies

The Hollies' Greatest Hits was the first greatest hits collection by English pop group the Hollies. The album was released by Imperial Records in the US in May 1967 and by Capitol Records in Canada, under the title The Hits of the Hollies and with two different tracks, in July 1967. It was the Hollies' highest charting album in the US, peaking at number eleven during a chart stay of forty weeks. When Imperial was dissolved into United Artists Records in 1971, this album went out of print, prompting Epic to issue its own "Greatest Hits" album two years later.

<i>4 Way Street</i> 1971 live album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

4 Way Street is the third album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and their first live album. It was originally released as Atlantic Records SD-2-902, shipping as a gold record and peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. A document of their tour from the previous year, the live recordings presented were taken from shows at the Fillmore East on June 2 through June 7, 1970; The Forum on June 26 through June 28, 1970; and the Auditorium Theatre on July 5, 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can't Let Go</span>

"I Can't Let Go" is a song co-written by Al Gorgoni and Chip Taylor, who also wrote "Wild Thing". "I Can't Let Go" was originally recorded by blue-eyed soul singer Evie Sands' on George Goldner's Blue Cat label, which was popular in New York City in 1965. The song became popular in 1966 for the group the Hollies, who charted at number two in the UK Singles Chart with their version. Linda Ronstadt covered the song in 1980 and had a number 31 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Anne</span> 1967 song by the Hollies

"Carrie Anne" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks and released by British pop rock group the Hollies. It was recorded on 1 May 1967 and was released as a single in the same month by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and Epic Records in the United States. It became a hit in 1967, reaching No.3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a hit in the US and Canada, peaking at No.9 on both pop charts. It also reached No.4 in the Irish charts.

<i>The Hollies Greatest Hits</i> (1973 album) 1973 greatest hits album by The Hollies

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 1972. It spent seven weeks on the Billboard 200 charts, peaking at number 156.

"Jennifer Eccles" is a single by the Hollies. It was released in 1968 with the B-side "Open Up Your Eyes" on the Parlophone label, Catalogue number R5680. The track reached #7 on the UK singles chart in March 1968. It was released in the US with a different B-side, "Try It", and reached #40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by members of the band with input from their wives and the title is a combination of their names. After the disappointing chart performance of the psychedelic-leaning "King Midas in Reverse", this song was a return to the popular style that had been commercially successful for the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Stop Stop</span> 1966 song by the Hollies

"Stop Stop Stop" is a song by British pop group the Hollies that was written by group members Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, and Graham Nash. The song was the band's first to credit Clarke, Nash and Hicks as songwriters, as all their previous original songs had been published under the collective pseudonym "L. Ransford". It later appeared on the album For Certain Because in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">On a Carousel</span> 1967 song by the Hollies

"On a Carousel" is a song written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks. It was released by the Hollies as a single in February 1967, having been recorded the previous month, on the Parlophone label in the UK and Imperial in the US. Nash would opine: "'On a Carousel' was one of the Hollies' best songs. It's a pop song with an infectious chorus, but flirts with gorgeous shifts in rhythmic texture [that keep] the melody from becoming predictable. And the lyric captures the essence of young love without the usual moon-and-June cliches. We knew it was a hit from the get-go."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listen to Me (Hollies song)</span> 1968 single by the Hollies

"Listen to Me" is a 1968 single by the Hollies, written by Tony Hazzard. It was the last Hollies single of Graham Nash's original tenure in the group. The song reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1968 and received praise from critics.

<i>Hollies Greatest</i> 1968 greatest hits album by the Hollies

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.

<i>What Goes Around...</i> (Hollies album) 1983 studio album by The Hollies

What Goes Around... is the 21st UK 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.

References

  1. 1 2 The 30th Anniversary Collection (CD). The Hollies. EMI Records. 1993. D 202205.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. Koda, Cub. "Dear Eloise/King Midas in Reverse – The Hollies". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  3. Beviglia, Jim (18 September 2016). "The Hollies, "King Midas In Reverse"". American Songwriter . Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  4. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 23, 1967. p. 26. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  5. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Record World. September 23, 1967. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  6. "Go-Set Australian Charts – 22 November 1967". Pop Archives. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  7. Hung, Steffen. "The Hollies - King Midas In Reverse". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  9. "The Hollies Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Hollies, The – King Midas in Reverse". GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Hollies, The"
  11. "DCL Locomotive – King Midas In Reverse". discogs.com. Retrieved 16 May 2013.