Customer Reviews

Reunion

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

 

 

This brief reunion of 4/5 of the Graham Nash-led 1960s Hollies lineup resulted in a U.S. #29 hit, "Stop in the Name of Love", that recaptured some of the old Hollies magic, and an album, "What Goes Around", that mostly didn't, due to a preponderance of weak material and a then-trendy synthesizer-heavy sound. The tour that followed echoes the comeback effort of the fictitious band in the film "This Is Spinal Tap"; gigs were cancelled or replaced with ones at lesser venues, such as this concert at Kings Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Musically, once dynamic guitar-driven tunes such as "Look Through Any Window" and "I Can't Let Go" sound rather limp and cheesy with the over-reliance on keyboards. The best moments here, therefore, include an acoustic version of "King Midas in Reverse" and a pair of CSN tunes, proof of The Hollies' superior vocal harmonies. While it is good to hear Nash sing his solo vocal bit in the ever-charming "Carrie-Anne", one misses his opening lead vocal on "On A Carousel"; here it is sung by Allan Clarke. Of the new material, the two best songs, "If The Lights Go Out" and "Take My Love and Run" are sorely missing; the former was played at this show, but is absent from this CD for reasons unknown, and the latter wasn't in the set list at all. Instead, we get two others; the mediocre "Someone Else's Eyes", which actually made the Billboard AOR chart, even though it was the B-side to the downright bad "Casualty", with its synth riff sounding too similar to Laura Branigan's "Gloria" for comfort. The nostalgia-fueled show ends with an extended version of The Hollies' biggest & best U.S. hit, "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)", featuring Tony Hicks delightfully working in some "Shakin' All Over" licks.
For a band that always has claimed to be at its best on stage, it is tragic and ultimately damaging to The Hollies' reputation that the only live concerts commercially available are this one and the 1976 New Zealand show, neither of which were recorded during the band's peak years. Hollies fans can only hope that the live concert vault door will open wider one of these days.

This re-release is, essentially, the same album as "Archive Alive" released several years ago, but with additional tracks from the "What Goes Around" album that appeared on the bootleg version called "Hello Graham Nash" - "Casualty" and "Someone Else's Eyes." Archive Alive received criticism for not including these tracks. In addition to the inclusion of these two tracks, which are wonderful, there is more banter and conversation between tracks on this CD. The liner notes are the same as the "Archive Alive" release, but with different photos, some from the same shooting that resulted in the cover shot for the "What Goes Around" studio album. It's wonderful to hear Graham's harmonies on tracks that recorded after he left, such as "He Ain't Heavy" and "The Air that I Breathe" and to wonder how the studio versions might have differed had he stayed with the group, and to hear the Hollies do some of his CSN material. I bought my first Hollies record in 1965 ("I'm Alive") and who would have thought that I would still be buying their music 34 years later!! All in all, a great performance with Graham Nash during their short Fall 1983 US tour.

The Hollies were and are one of my favourite groups. Allan Clarke's voice, the trademark of the group, really is still there. I don't usually care for live albums, but this is a delight and made wish I had been there for the recording. Yeah, some of the songs are not duplicates of the 1960s songs, but you get the idea they were just having fun. I am sure the fans felt the same way. Hey, times has passed. While they do not duplicate their early works to the letter, they are good to hear them doing them, loving them for giving us one more go around on the carousel!

Especially great is to hear Alan chiming in on the CS&N "Teach Your Children" I just wish the album had more and more of their hits.

Thanks for one more trip down memory lane.

This CD .The Hollies were in their top form. Live and sounding better than ever. The tunes had sort of a slight disco touch to some of them.I've heard alot of groups through the years. They are a solid good clean group that stands up to time. From the 60's to present. They've produced alot of great songs.Every so often i here a new and different song that i havent ever heard before. Hoping to hear more comming from the hollies in the future. These guys bring back great memories from the 60's and 70's . Great stuff. A great addition to anyones libuary.

This is basically the archives alive cd with several other songs on it.
I personally like the live hollies sound from earlier recordings like the one they did in the 1970's because this is more toned down guitar wise. However this is still a very good live show from a 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of fame inductee, that laid it all down in harmonic goodness. I have all their studio recordings and they were all great to very good at least. The hollies sing dylan was my least fave , but most of their output is just very well done , from early british invasion to power pop and rock they were a great band to listen to on many levels. This one is the band in the 1980's still sounding and playing great. It has many hits on it and is alot of fun to listen to. This one is very clear and pleasant to listen to. The best music is made by real musicians who play live on thier concerts and you get that with this release.

I wish there were half stars for the review because I would give it 2 1/2 stars. Read the other reviews here for details about the origins of this concert CD. Although this concert was technicaly very well recorded the actual performance was just "OK". There are moments when the vocals are perfect and some when they are very shakey. The use of the keyboards in place of guitars is a bit disappointing especially on the intro to "Bus Stop". This CD is historical since you get to hear Graham Nash sing on songs that were recorded after he left the band like "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and "The Air That I Breathe". It also gives you a chance to hear songs Graham might have brought into the band as they run through "Wasted On The Way" and "Teach Your Children". In the liner notes Graham mentions that though he enjoyed being out with his old friends, the tour also reminded him why he left the band in the first place. The Hollies were a great band but on this paticular day they sound a little tired. The bottom line is there is no energy to these performances.