Search - Herman's Hermits :: Blaze

"Blaze" is definitely the best of Herman's Hermits!

Olaf Owre | Finnsnes, Norway | 02/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Herman's Hermits' 1967 album, "Blaze", is the aestathic high point of all their recordings from the 1960s, and seems to be a result of some careful thoughts from the group. It was an excellent album and illustrated a lot of the changes occuring within the group at the time. The lyrics were more introspective than anything they had done prior to that, and according to lead guitarist Derek Leckenby, songs like "Moonshine Man" (Leckenby-Hopwood-Green) and "I Call Out Her Name" (Hopwood-Leckenby) were deliberately done with subtle satire in mind. Peter Cowap (ex-Country Gentlemen), who was later to take over as lead singer when Peter Noone went solo in 1971, wrote the psychedelic gem "Last Bus Home" and co-wrote "Ace, King, Queen, Jack" with Noone. Both songs were representative of the new, more aggressive Hermits sound. The "My Old Man's A Dustman" spoof in the ending of "Ace, King, Queen, Jack" was a result of weariness brought about by 3 a.m. recording sessions. Tiredness combined with drinking caused Karl Green and Lek Leckenby to spout off about things that irritated them, all done in falsetto voices. Another Hopwood-Leckenby-Green collaboration, "Busy Line", seemed to have all the ingredients of a hit, but was never released as a single. "Blaze" included Donovan's "Museum", which reached a modest #39 in the US charts, and Kenny Young's "Don't Go Out Into The Rain", which peaked at #18. Graham Gouldman's contribution was "Upstairs, Downstairs", while Geoff Stephens of The New Vaudeville Band came up with "Green Street Green" and "One Little Packet Of Cigarettes", the latter co-written by John Carter of The Ivy League. But even though "Blaze" shines as the group's best ever album, it also more or less marked the end of an era for Herman's Hermits in America. With the onslaught of "acid-rock" and "progressive, heavy-rock" in 1967, in addition to severe competition from The Monkees in the Hermits' segment of the market, MGM threw all their promotion efforts behind new acts and seemed to completely ignore Herman & Co. and other established artists. The 12 bonus tracks on this CD are singles (A- and B-sides) from the 1968-69 period, when the decline in sales and popularity in the US set in, and the group dropped from the charts. In the UK and Europe, however, the group was given a new lease of life in 1968, and they continued to have hits until 1971. It's worth mentioning that "London Look" was only released on a promo EP sponsored by Yardley cosmetics in the UK, and "Nobody Needs To Know", written by Leckenby-Hopwood-Brook, appears for the first time in CD format. No real Herman's Hermits fan can be without this lavishly packaged digipak CD from Repertoire. Buy it now!"

Fine 1960's Pop Album!

Morten Vindberg | Denmark | 12/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"" "Blaze" was Herman's Hermits' last regular album; first released in 1967.



Compared to other rock/pop albums that were released that year ( Sgt Pepper / Axis Bold as Love / Disraeli Gears etc. ), it's no surprise that this album did not 'cause much attension at it's time. Most of the album could just as well have been recorded in 1964-65, and clearly the heyday of the band was coming to an end.



But apart from this, it's actually a fine 1960's pop album; several fine songs, fine production etc.



The band members were even beginning to write fine songs themselves. On this album "Busy Line" and the bonus-track "Nobody Needs to Know" are good examples of this. Other highlights are Donovan's "Museum" and "Don't Go Out into the Rain". So this is probably their most consistent and mature album.



Great with 12 bonus-tracks. All singles A's and B's from 1968-69. The rare B-side "London Look" was a nice surprise for me."