Customer Reviews

Moving Finger

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I found this album once in a library and it seemed to have limited release since no one seems to have heard of it. It has some great songs on it, especially if you have always liked the Hollies vocal harmonies. My personal favorites were Confessions of a Mind, Too Young to be Married, Isn't It Nice and Gasoline Alley Bred. I think this particular album may have been too ballady for its time since earlier Hollies hits seem to be shorter and poppier. The songs on this album seem almost like an experiment for them but if you are a diehard Hollies fan you will really like this album.

I only own the original LP, so I am not familiar with the last four tracks. As is typical when the Hollies write their own material, it is inconsistent. The Hollies appear to be attempting to expand within their basic pop format, and are successful at times. The strings and horns on Man Without a Heart work extremely well, and that track, I believe, ranks among their best ever. Survival of the Fittest has a tight instrumental section that is very impressive, yet is within the 3-minute pop song that is typical of the Hollies. The vocals on the album, as usual, are impeccable. The playing is also quite impressive. Tony Hicks tackles some difficult lead lines, and Bobby Elliot's solid drumming is often overlooked. The horn and string arrangement on Too Young To Be Married doesn't fit in, as it makes the song come across as overly dramatic. If you are a Hollies fan and have liked most of their hits, this album won't disappoint much. But those who are more discerning will find both high and low points, though there are no obviously bad moments on it.

While there are no top twenty US hits on this album (the American version of the UK release Confessions of a Mind), there is a lot to recommend this set. First of, there are two UK hits "Too Youbng to Be Married" a somewhat sappy but still touching mini Soap Opera, and the incredibly catchy "Gasoline Alley Bred" whichis a real great sing along number. Then there are a lot of choice album cuts. "Man Without a Heart" is just about perfect. "Frightened Lady" is an impassione ant-war number. "Little Girl" has some heartfelt countrified harmony. The only real clunker is "Marigold; Gloria Swansong", a leftover from the Butterfly album that tries hard to be Eleanor Rigny but misses by a mile. Listen closelyto Tony Hicks's guitar work throughout. He gets a lot of different ellects out of his various axes, from the raw to the sublime.

This is one of the better post-Graham Nash workouts, and we;; worth a listen.

Opening with "Survival of the Fittest", a Clarke/Hicks/Nash leftover that the band finally recorded properly and placed on an album, this original 11 track collection, culled from the UK "Confessions of the Mind" LP, actually improves on the import version by including the band's fabulous single "Gasoline Alley Bred" as a spectacular closer. Of course this CD adds 4 tracks, including the 2 that were omitted from "Confessions", plus 2 single B-sides. "Too Young To Be Married" was a No. 1 in New Zealand, and it remains a mystery why it wasn't released as an A-side elsewhere (the closest it came was as a B-side in Germany, to "Frightened Lady"). The title track is quite involved, with 3 different sections, all adding up to an intriguing mix. As usual, the band's harmonies carry the tunes even when the songwriting is a bit undernourished. Nothing really subpar here, but the followup album, "Distant Light", is where the band really showed what they were capable of, in terms of writing depth and variety of sounds.

"Confessions of a Mind" is the all-out winner of a song on this release. It's sort of like their "Surf's Up." Lots of chord changes and different parts weaving in and out of each other. Would make Brian Wilson happy.

Another good song is "Man Without a Heart." I don't like horns, but I like melody, and this song has a good melody. Good.

I like the sound of the acoustic guitar throughout. It really reminds me of the sound of John Lennon's acoustic guitar on songs like "That Boy" [note: as recorded by the Beatles].

Smelling fresh grass on an English Spring morning! Memories of Easter egg hunts!

Dig yourself in. The guru is passing sliced bread your way. Take a bite of the warm bread and smile!!!

Moving Fingers is a CD that explores human relationships. It is a pity that the majority of people tend to view the Hollies as a singles band as there are some really good tracks on the CD. It showcases the band's great vocals and musical arrangements on all the tracks. Terry Sylester and Allan Clarke on Gasoline Alley Bred compliment each other so well they lift the track and move it from very good to excellent. Tony Hicks is also a vastly underrated guitar player, in Australia his song Too Young to be Married was a massive single hit for the band and should have been released as a single in other countries. Perhaps with a little more promotion at the time the LP could have been much bigger. The LP/CD was a pointer to the fact that the Hollies were now an album band. This release paved the way for the fantastic LP Distant Light.