Customer Reviews

Holly Days

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At various points in the '70s, Paul McCartney's band Wings was nothing more than a trio. Because of the frequently shifting line-up of musicians, some of Wings music was basically McCartney solo (overdubbing drums, bass, guitars, keys) with a little help here and there from faithful guitarist Denny Laine. Of course, Linda pitched in with harmonies and simple keyboard bits. "Band on the Run" was made entirely this way in 1973.

This is another of those albums. It's a short collection of Buddy Holly covers; 10 tracks making up just over a half hour of music. Two of the tracks are instrumentals. The other 8 feature Denny Laine on lead vocals, with Paul and Linda pitching in on backing vocals. It's worth having for dyed-in-the-wool Macca fans. While the arrangements are consistently sparse, as a McCartney fan I always welcome the chance to hear him stretching out and playing a wide variety of intruments. Be forewarned, however, a couple tracks feature some very dated drum machine tracks (luckily most of the drumming is acoustic).

The sound quality is a bit questionable. This release sounds like a very good bootleg.

Denny Laine, with help and strong direction by Paul McCartney, has captured the best covers of Buddy Holly's music to date. Each song tries to stay close to the original with out simply making a carbon copy. Simple arrangements, augmented with basic instruments, make for a rocking interpretation of the classic sound of Buddy Holly. This is a must for anyone who loves & appreciates Mr. Holly and his music.

I have this on its original vinyl release from 1976. The back cover describes it better than I can. It says, in part: "In the highlands of Scotland there's a wood-lined, tin-roofed shack known as Rude Studio. Here Denny Laine and Paul McCartney got together to record some Buddy Holly songs. On the four track recorder Paul laid down the basic tracvks, overdubbing each instrument himself. Denny and Linda added a few licks and all three joined in on the vocals."
That's a quote, my Wingnut compatriots, and I find it accurate.
All I can add is that this is a really likeable album, especially if you know your Buddy Holly. Laine's vocals are styled on Holly's here and it works.
Buddy Holly's songwriting (and that of those who wrote songs Buddy chose to sing) was solid and this album captures their spirit.
I am not surprised the album is not well known, but I am surprised it is as little known as it is.
If you miss Wings, find this, order it and play it. (I found the vinyl entirely by accident in a used record store last week. It has to be the best purchase I've made in about five years.) Paul McCartney's instrumentation bears his signature. A few times the harmonies are unmistakably the three members of Wings. For the most part, the harmonies are fairly subdued, so that most casual listeners hearing this won't say "Isn't that Paul McCartney."
But it IS Buddy Holly's music and Buddy Holly is front-and-center here.
I do think the drum machine effect is unfortunate. There is plenty of actual drumming, but it is almost always accompanied by the unnecessarily mechanical drum machine sound. This was recorded in 1976 and drum machines were very popular, but the charm eludes me.
There are at least two entirely instrumental tracks. I like that. If you liked the guitar of "Crossroads Theme" from VENUS AND MARS, you'll like the sort of playing on HOLLY DAYS.
For a brief moment, a couple of voices are heard sped-up to about speed 78. Ah, well. But it's just for a brief moment. The rest of the album is good, casual, lo-fi roots rock.
It is definitely worth finding.

A lighthearted effort by Denny Laine and Paul McCartney, recorded almost entirely by the two, at Paul's home studio at Mull Of Kintyre, Holly Days is a warm and laid back tribute to the late great rocker from Lubbock Texas, Buddy Holly. Don't expect too much and you shouldn't be disapointed and even if you are, give it time it's sure to grow on you.

THIS IS ECENTIALLY A PAUL MCCARTNEY ALBUM
HE PRODUCES , SINGS AND PLAYS THE INSTRUMENTS ON EVERY TRACK
SO IF YOU LOVE PAUL MCCARTNEY YOU WILL LOVE THIS ALBUM

I too own the original vinyl LP and have enjoyed the collaboration of Paul, Linda and Denny AKA Wings. Warning - if this release is from MAGIC RECORDS and made in France it may suffer from CD rot. I just opened my sealed copy and found an unplayable disc. I did not purchase this from Amazon but from a local Mom & Pop CD store several years ago. I have kept it stored safely along with my 1000+ other discs and haven't touched it in years. It has never been opened because I had the LP. Also,I'm not sure it's a bootleg because it has a high quality cover and is copyrighted 2000 MAM Productions. I give it one star for a great package. I highly recommend the release for Buddy Holly and McCartney fans.

Paul McCartney purchased the Buddy Holly publishing catalogue in 1974. For some reason, he didn't decide to do a tribute album himself, but instead had given Denny Laine the task of taking on the rock 'n' roll trailblazer from Lubbock, TX. He makes the songs his own. You don't even have to be a fan of the originals. Originally released 1977 by MPL/EMI. The easiest Laine album to find.