Customer Reviews

What Goes Around

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

 

 

This is an album that you Hollies completists will have to buy twice on CD.The American CD of this album(on the "Wounded Bird" label) has only one bonus track,but on that disc,the 10 album tracks have crystal clear sound.Here on this import,you get 9 bonus tracks(4 of them new to the CD format),and fortunately,the bonus tracks sound decent,but the import has muffled sound on the 10 album tracks(with a marked loss of highs) versus the American disc.Why? Who knows,but the French "Magic" label has an inconsistent reputation where sound quality is concerned.As for the "What Goes Around" album,it is a reflection of its' era:Synth-Pop:well sung,but with little opportunty for guitarist Tony Hicks or Drummer Bobby Elliott(who is forced to compete with a drum machine) to strut their stuff.

I loved this album when I bought it in 1983, and in the years since. I have five versions of this album; two vinyl copies, 2 cassette copies, and now, the CD. It would have been even more wonderful if Graham Nash had sung lead on one of the tracks, or if they had written some of the material, but that was not to be. This was their last studio album and, in my opinion, they went out with a bang. The CD includes "Musical Pictures" as a bonus, the lovely flip side to "Stop in the Name of Love" single they released in 1983. I would have liked to see "Let her go down" the flip of the New Zealand version of "Stop in the Name of Love" but that has finally emerged on the 40th Anniversary compilation. If you love the Hollies you won't be disappointed.

While far from the reunion LP it could/should have been, on the positive side, 3 tracks hold up to repeated listenings: "Take My Love & Run" (which I heard on New York FM radio), "Stop In the Name of Love" and "If the Lights Go Out". The rest are forgettable, mediocre tracks with heavy-handed production. Too bad Graham Nash's involvement was so half-hearted. Had they actually written some new songs together, The Hollies reunion would have been a bigger deal.

Suprisingly, Graham Nash returned to the fold in 1983 for this solid studio effort and brief tour. The two and three part harmonies beloved by Hollies fans are in full force. The production has an 80's gloss that some will dislike. At the time of release, some reviewers expressed disappointment that the songs were written by outsiders ... not the classic (and great) Clarke-Nash-Hicks combo. Well, big deal I say ... the tunes are perfectly servicable, occasionally compelling, and create a fine venue for those distinctive voices. If there are no great songs, there is nothing bad either. By the way, "Stop in the Name of Love," which scraped the lower regions of the U.S. top-40, is one of the LESSER performances here. This is, for the most part, an energetic, contemporary (for 1983)sounding record, with a ballad or two for balance. Everyone is in great voice -- no ragged edges whatsoever. Some will dislike the heavy "synth" feel to the tracks, but the superb (and criminally underated) Tony Hicks still gets in some stirring guitar licks here and there. So hell, what's there to complain about? This is a good listen all the way through if you like killer harmonies in a pop-rock setting. In terms of sheer vocal power, let me suggest that this group (with Nash)have few if any peers.

Everything that was bad about the '80s (synthesizers, drum machines, overproduction) is in glorious, excessive full display in this recording. The Hollies are/were a great band. But this album doesn't enrich their legacy. Most of the songs are so maudlin they could have been written for the contestants of 'American Idol'. I own most of the Hollies catalogue up to the mid-70s but this does not belong with it. I keep revisiting this hoping that I will 'warm' to it but I can't. This pales beside anything they did. Put this on and then put on the great comp CD 'All the Hits and More' or the 70's albums 'Distant Light', 'Romany' or 'Hollies'. There is no comparison. This one's going back to the used CD bin.

Worth purchasing for the bonus tracks though as a previous reviewer indicated, the sound quality is not as good as the CD release containing just one bonus track. Casual Hollies fans will be happy enough with the standard release, but I must say, as someone who has purchased the majority of the Hollies catalogue I find it amazing that some of these bonus songs never saw the light of day in the U.S. Let Her Go Down, Hillsborough, Carrie and Baby Come Back are better than most of the songs on the standard issue.

Everything and everyone has to move on. The Hollies were no exception and, if anything, they have proven themselves to be versatile with whatever era befalls them. Okay, so this album is really, REALLY 80s. Did you expect these guys to be singing "Dear Eloise" in 1983? Did you expect McCartney to perform "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" with Wings? Maybe the hardest part of loving a band you grew up with is watching them go through several different transitions to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. I watched it happen to the bands I listened to in high school (class of 1983, people), and it probably isn't easy for diehard Hollies fans to take. I love their old stuff from the 60s, so am totally on board with what some of you are saying. Still, as one person pointed out, the 80s drum machines and synth indulgence make it all seem a bit foreign. Not horrible, just different.

This is a nice pop album, but it's obvious to anyone who's done their homework that the songs were penned "outside the box." This is not necessarily a bad thing in that the guys could concentrate on their undeniable trademark harmonies. One thing that thrills yours truly is Alan Clarke's one-of-a-kind distinctive voice piloting each of these tracks and, though I would have loved a better showcase, the underrated Tony Hicks' guitar virtuoso. So Graham Nash didn't front any of the songs, and what was he doing on here at all? Answer: Read Johnny Rogan's Byrds biography Timeless Flight Revisited. David Crosby's substance abuse had him literally running to this project.

So this isn't the Hollies we know and love of old. What it is? A pleasant, harmonious pop album heavy on synths and drums. I actually love their version of "Stop in the Name of Love" and bought it for that track alone. What else is really outstanding? "Take My Love and Run," the beautiful ballad "Someone Else's Eyes" and the bonus track "Musical Pictures." I don't mind anything on here and use it for aerobic walking, but there is one thing I simply cannot stand: their remake of "Just One Look." It sounds like the crud that blasted over shopping mall PAs in the 80s, and you can give me the original version any day.

It's a good 80s pop album even if most of it isn't memorable, but when it comes to the Hollies, their harmonies and melodic sense make up for a multitude of sins. You could do a lot worse, but I truly recommend the two disc anthology or any of their earlier albums to this. And this is coming from a mid-60s born puppy.

The two stars for this record are for "If The Lights Go Out," a wonderful slice of folk rock romance featuring Tony Hicks' chiming guitar and the only song on here that sounds like something the Hollies would have recorded (they did two years earlier--with Terry Sylvester) and that Graham Nash also might have recorded.

The rest of the material is slick and shallow. The arrangements are heavy on synthesizer, light on Hollies. This group showcased its brilliance with arrangements on three previous albums full of outside material ("Hollies Sing Dylan," "Romany" and "Buddy Holly") but there's none of that here. In fact the members did not even attend the same studios to make these tracks.

A Hollies fan will have to buy this album for the rare chance at the original vocal trio, but aside from "If the Lights Go Out," there will be nothing here to enjoy aside from those voices.