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The Hollies
THE LONG ROAD HOME 1963-2003
(EMI)
Stars graphics

You could make a case for the Hollies as one of the great bands of the British Invasion, if not the single most underrated one. You just have to bring up the vocal blend, which remained intact even after key members jumped ship, starting with Graham Nash in 1969. Then you can bring up their many amazing singles of the mid and late ’60s. Although they were famous for being soaringly romantic ("Bus Stop," "On a Carousel"), they also worked mixed emotions into "Carrie-Anne" and grown-up humor into "Stop! Stop! Stop!" You could even mention a greatest non-hit like 1971’s folky "Gasoline Alley Bred."

Unfortunately, none of those songs appears in its original studio version, if at all, on this six-CD, 136-song boxed set, which covers the Hollies’ 40-year career (they’re still together with two original members) but in a downright slapdash way. Equal weight is given to all their eras, with three discs continuing past the last real hit, 1974’s "The Air That I Breathe." The ’80s reunion with Nash is passed over, and particularly disappointing is the all-live disc, which just tacks a few bonus tracks (including a dodgy ’90s cover of "Purple Rain") onto their inessential mid-’70s live album.

That still leaves plenty of gems, if not quite enough to justify the set’s $120 tag. There are large chunks of the deservedly cult-classic albums Evolution and Butterfly (both 1967), which represent Nash’s attempt to psychedelicize the group. But the set also disproves the myth that the Hollies went easy-listening as soon as Nash joined CS&N: the first post-Nash single, "Sorry Suzanne," was as great as the earlier ones. And there was some fine, progressive pop (think 10cc or early ELO) on the group’s early-’70s albums. Stray singles from the later years are hit-and-miss, but who knew they ever covered a Steeleye Span song, or Nils Lofgren’s "Shine Silently"? There’s even a very decent new number that finds them taking on a new lead singer (Carl Wayne, ex-Move) and still sounding like the Holllies. Maybe they’ll stay together long enough for someone to put together a definitive Hollies box set.

BY BRETT MILANO


Issue Date: January 2 - 8, 2004
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