The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

/ News

Gasoline Alley Bred: The Hollies' "Complete 1969-1973" Box Set Coming From Parlophone

By 6 Comments

Hollies - Changin' TimesParlophone is getting back on a carousel this July with the release of a new 5-CD box set from The Hollies.  Changin' Times: The Complete Hollies January '69 - March '73 follows up the label's 2011 collection The Clarke, Hicks & Nash Years: The Complete Hollies: April 1963 - October 1968.  The July 10 U.K. release collects every commercially-released album track and non-album single from the band recorded between January 1969 and March 1973, for a total of 92 songs (including some previously released rarities) over the course of six studio albums from Hollies Sings Dylan (1969) through the rare Out on the Road (1973).  No previously unissued material is included.

Changin' Times finds The Hollies for the first time without Graham Nash.  The founding member departed the group in 1968 to begin his famous Southern California odyssey with David Crosby and Stephen Stills.  He was initially replaced by Terry Sylvester (The Escorts, The Swingin' Blue Jeans).  The line-up of Sylvester, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, Bernie Calvert and Bobby Elliott remained intact until November 1971, at which time Clarke followed his childhood friend Nash out of The Hollies.  Clarke was replaced by Swedish singer Mikael Rickfors.  Clarke would return in mid-1973, out of the purview of this set which concludes with the Rickfors, Sylvester, Hicks, Calvert and Elliott line-up.

Changin' Times, sequenced in session order, includes a number of international hit singles including "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," "Long Cool Woman in Black Dress," "Too Young to Be Married," "I Can't Tell the Bottom from the Top" and "Gasoline Alley Bred."  Much like the previous box in this series, Changin' Times is happily budget-priced.  At the time of this writing, it's available for £22.99 at Amazon U.K., or $35.25 in U.S. dollars (that's roughly $0.38 per song, folks!).   Also like the last set, however, this collection is a potpourri when it comes to remastering.  The first three discs largely appear to have been drawn from 1998-1999 remasters; the fourth disc has a number of 2007 remasters; and the fifth was mainly remastered in 2014.  (You can view the sources at the Amazon U.K. link below.)

All things considered, however, Changin' Times should prove to be one-stop shopping to round up The Hollies' previously released tracks from this key period in the band's history, and a worthy successor to The Clarke, Hicks and Nash Years.  The box is due on July 10 in the U.K. and one week later in the U.S., and you can pre-order at the links below!

The Hollies, Changin' Times: The Complete Hollies January '69 - March '73 (Parlophone, 2015) (Amazon U.S. TBD / Amazon U.K. )

CD 1

  1. Sorry Suzanne (Parlophone single R 5765, 1969)
  2. Not That Way At All (Parlophone single R 5765, 1969)
  3. Blowin' In The Wind
  4. I Shall Be Released
  5. The Mighty Quinn
  6. This Wheel's On Fire
  7. The Times They Are A Changin'
  8. Quit Your Lowdown Ways
  9. I Want You
  10. Just Like A Woman
  11. When The Ship Comes In
  12. My Back Pages
  13. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
  14. All I Really Want To Do
  15. Do You Believe In Love?
  16. Please Sign Your Letters
  17. Cos You Like To Love Me (Parlophone single R 5806, 1969)
  18. Please Let Me Please
  19. Goodbye Tomorrow
  20. She Looked My Way (first issued on Rarities, EMI LP EMS-1311, 1988)
  21. My Life Is Over With You

CD 2

  1. He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother (Parlophone single R 5806, 1969)
  2. Soldier's Dilemma
  3. Marigold/Gloria Swansong
  4. You Love 'Cos You Like
  5. Why Didn't You Believe
  6. Look At Life
  7. Louisiana Man (from Rarities, EMI LP EMS-1311, 1988)
  8. Don't Give Up Easily
  9. Reflections Of A Long Time Past
  10. I Wanna Shout
  11. Lady Please
  12. Sign Of The Times (from At Abbey Road 1966-1970, EMI CD 7243 4 93450 2 7, 1998)
  13. Separated
  14. Little Girl
  15. Eleanor's Castle (from Rarities, EMI LP EMS-1311, 1988)
  16. Confessions Of A Mind
  17. Mad Professor Blyth (Parlophone single R 5837, 1970)
  18. I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top (Parlophone single R 5837, 1970)
  19. Dandelion Wine (Parlophone single R 5862, 1970)

CD 3

  1. Survival Of The Fittest
  2. Perfect Lady Housewife
  3. Isn't It Nice
  4. Too Young To Be Married
  5. Frightened Lady
  6. Man Without A Heart
  7. Gasoline Alley Bred (Parlophone single R 5862, 1970)
  8. Hey Willy (Parlophone single R 5905, 1971)
  9. Row The Boat Together (Parlophone single R 5905, 1971)
  10. Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)
  11. You Know The Score
  12. Pull Down The Blind
  13. Promised Land
  14. What A Life I've Led
  15. Cable Car
  16. Hold On
  17. To Do With Love
  18. Look What We've Got

CD 4

  1. Long Dark Road
  2. A Little Thing Called Love
  3. Oh Granny (Allan Clarke Vocal Version) (alternate of Polydor single 2058 199, 1972)
  4. Oh Granny (Terry Sylvester Vocal Version) (Polydor single 2058 199, 1972)
  5. The Baby (Polydor single 2058 199, 1972)
  6. Touch
  7. Romany
  8. Papa Rain (included on Romany: Expanded Edition, EMI 094639471225, 2007)
  9. Indian Girl (Polydor single 2058 299, 1972)
  10. Blue In The Morning
  11. Jesus was A Crossmaker
  12. Down River
  13. Magic Woman Touch
  14. Magic Woman Touch (Acoustic Version) (included on Romany: Expanded Edition, EMI 094639471225, 2007)
  15. Lizzy And The Rainman
  16. Delaware Taggett And The Outlaw Boys
  17. Words Don't Come Easy
  18. Courage Of Your Convictions

CD 5

  1. Witchy Woman (included on Romany: Expanded Edition, EMI 094639471225, 2007)
  2. Slow Down
  3. Won't You Feel Good That Morning
  4. If It Wasn't For The Reason That I Love You (from Rarities, EMI LP EMS-1311, 1988)
  5. Don't Leave The Child Alone
  6. They Don't Realise I'm Down
  7. Transatlantic Westbound Jet
  8. Nearer To You
  9. Pick Up The Pieces Again
  10. Slow Down - Go Down
  11. The Last Wind
  12. A Better Place
  13. Mr. Heartbreaker
  14. Out On The Road
  15. I Was Born A Man
  16. I Had A Dream (Hansa (Germany) single 12 728 AT, 1973)

CD 1, Tracks 3-14 from Hollies Sing Dylan, Parlophone LP 7078, 1969
CD 1, Tracks 15-16, 18-19, 21 & CD 2, Tracks 2-6, 8-9 from Hollies Sing Hollies, Parlophone LP 7092, 1969
CD 2, Tracks 10-11, 13-14, 16 & CD 3, Tracks 1-6 from Confessions of a Mind, Parlophone LP 7116, 1970
CD 3, Tracks 10-18 & CD 4, Tracks 1-2 from Distant Light, Parlophone LP PAS 10005, 1971
CD 4, Tracks 6-7, 10-13, 15-18 & CD 5, Tracks 2-3 from Romany, Polydor LP 2383 144, 1972
CD 5, Tracks 5-15 from Out on the Road, Hansa (Germany) LP 87119 IT, 1973

Avatar photo

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

Comments

  1. Excellent news! While there were aren't as many hits per disc on this set, there is a high percentage of worthy album cuts and very listenable rarities on this set. And one leftover Clarke-Nash-Hicks writing credit!

    Reply

  2. At this point, the Amazon companies are merely guessing at the price for this set, and guessing about £5 too high(it should be £16.99, and is at Spin CD's), and they (Amazon) don't even know what label its on(it's on Parlophone via Warner Music). It's good news that the tracks from the rare "Out on The Road" album are newly mastered. They've never been properly mastered before(the French "Magic" label's CD of "Out on The Road" was dubbed from a phasey cassette release, all to avoid paying Abbey Road Studios for a professional quality digital copy). I love the "Out on the Road" album, having transferred the vinyl (on the 3rd play) to reel-to-reel back in 1973, and then transferring the reel to CD-R many years later, so that I could keep the rare vinyl L.P. in pristine condition.
    However, it is unfortunate that no unreleased material is included. There are still further unreleased songs from 5 of these 6 album sessions. Perhaps Warner Music didn't think that there were enough vault tracks to warrant going to a 6th disc. This would seem to close the door on hearing further vault tracks by the Hollies. A complete sessionography was included with the 6-CD set "The Long Road Home", though it should be cautioned that some of the Nash-era unreleased tracks listed don't exist anymore.

    Reply

    • Hi how do you know if the Nash sessions are not available anymore? Were they wiped like many gems from the past? I am a big Hollies fan and have a few rarities myself. Love- When Doves fly demo. Still sends shivers down my spine. There will never be a replacement for Allan Clarke (probably the most underrated singer ever)!!
      John.

      Reply

  3. For my $$, the Hollies were better off without Nash. Terry Sylvester is MUCH better guitarist and about as good as a harmony singer and writer. And they stopped doing crap like Stew Ball and Fifi The Flea. (Yeah I know, LeadBelly did a version of Stew Ball.)

    Reply

    • Agree that "Stewball" is crap but must correct you. As you can see on You Tube the song stayed in their repertoire even after Nash (who I don't think is crap).

      Reply

  4. Look forward to this set -but don't know why they have to break up the albums into sessions as they were recorded. You lose the flow of the original album. Suppose you could programme the discs if you were that way inclined? Hope they've done a good job remastering Out on the Road album. Have a poor sounding cd probably taken from the rare lp and not the original master! Shame they couldn't find any more new rarities for this release as anyone who is a Hollies fan-like me has it all anyway but hopes the remastering might be a bit better sounding than the time before? Weren't there more tracks recorded for the Sing Country album?
    . I look forward to the next re-release of Hollies(1974 ) to Live Hits?) in four years time?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy