Search - Hollies :: Stay

Exciting document from the Merseybeat era

Randall E. Adams | Los Angeles, CA United States | 01/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Hollies' first album ranks as one of the most exciting memorials of the British beat scene of 1963-64. It totally trumps the first Searchers album. Unusually, the album was recorded in proper stereo with the voices and instruments arrayed in a reasonable manner suggestive of how it might have sounded live. There are few if any overdubs. And all of the performances are RAW. If you object to the Hollies' versions of the familiar r & b and rock 'n roll numbers because they do not sound at all like the originals, you are missing the point. This album has raw and scorching versions of such familiar songs as "Memphis," "Lucille," "Candy Man" and "Whacha Gonna Do 'Bout It." There is a very courageous version of Conway Twitty's classic "It's Only Make Believe" on which Tony Hicks' guitar takes the limelight for an extended time. This album was cut before the Hollies developed their famous polished sound and gives a very good demonstration of why they were so successful in the North of England. The additional tracks are intelligent choices as they mostly come from the same time period. Some of them, "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah" and "Poison Ivy" are very difficult to locate. The few early originals are very fun, particularly "Hey, What's Wrong with Me?" and "Keep Off That Friend of Mine." If you enjoy the very early Beatles' records, you owe it to yourself to buy this disc."

Please allow them to introduce themselves

Mark Meli | Rochester NY | 06/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"STAY WITH THE HOLLIES is the starting point for this group that has now passed their 40th anniversary in the business. True, they have evolved in to something else now, but they didn't stay like this very long either. According to the group, most of their first sessions in 1963 contained the songs they were doing in their live sets at clubs in England. It's hard to imagine, but songs like "I'm Talkin' 'Bout You" and "Do You Love Me" were just considered cover songs then, because at the time, they were too new to be thought of as "oldies." It's the blossoming musicianship that I like about this album. The drumming of Bobby Elliott and the lead guitar of Tony Hicks is what pushes STAY WITH THE HOLLIES just a bit ahead of the pack. Special note also should be made of Eric Haydock on bass, since his bass lines were pretty wild for their time. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash's vocals are truly Everly influenced, but they are not as refined as they would turn out later on. Portions of this album turned up in the US as HERE I GO AGAIN. One thing this album makes clear is that the Hollies were hardly Beatles clones. Granted, both groups took shots at the Motown catalog, but the Hollies turned a bit more towards R&B (at first), while the Beatles tended to lean more towards that Carl Perkins/Southern Rockabilly sound."