Sunday 12 May 2019

The Hollies (1972) Romany - LOST 70s GEMS

 The Romany album was the first of two Hollies albums without their long standing vocalist Allan Clarke and it coincided with some the band's freshest material. Won't You Feel Good That Morning starts right out of the gate with a bright power pop guitar line and a chugging rhythm section and some laidback lead vocal lines but a horribly stilted pop chorus, they occasionally sang lines to straight without some soulful wavering or bluesy grit. Touch is a touch forgettable with it's acoustic/organ ballad sound I've heard many times before, though that quiet electric flamenco solo with a second guitar underneath plucking a note pull repeatedly like a Sonar signal; its a delight for the sense in it's dulled glowing style like Jimmy McCullough's solo on Thunderclap Newman's Something in the Air. But there are far more impressive tunes to come in this great..you read that..Great.. album! 

Words Don't Come Easy is built on a beautiful acoustic guitar figure of descending arpeggio where every chiming string is captured cleanly before the Baroque chorus enters with an upfront tabla sounding like the lead instrument over the more superfluous strumming and backing vocals. Lizzy and the Rainman opens with upbeat piano, crisp soft rock lead vocals and a ton of wah wah guitars filleting through the mix with it's squashy fills and a catchy chorus.
 Down River is almost the one forgettable tune on this solid album of folky pop rock but it harbours another heartfelt and unique Mikael Rickfors' vocal with a deep set heartbreak warble tone employed here. Delaware Taggett and the Outlaw Boys is the Hollies going full country with down-home deliveries and boogaloo bluegrass licks set to a folk rock shuffle as per usual for maximum commercialism; they found a formula and it worked! The funky scratches and the choral-ling 'ah's are stunning and fresh additions to their folk rock style.

 The American accents of Jesus Was a Crossmaker along with the tepid piano work shows their excellent arrangement sense and effortless use of light and shade, while the title track, Romany is a sweetly sung gentle folk ballad; it's all about that winning voice and the fabulous smooth guitar melodies of Tony Hicks and some more heavenly vocal stacks. Blue in the Morning is based on or around a circular acoustic guitar hook forming the basis for some CSN vocals. Courage of Your Convictions is a jangly slice of 60s tinged power pop with a wordy syncopated refrain but a nice use of hand claps. The Baby is a big horn and string sweeping number with big band passages mixing with psychedelic tabla, organ and electric sitar in the far more smaller and quiet verses. Strange for such an introspective tune as there are hollering group vocals and a magnificent sitar solo that is incredible. Magic Woman Touch features a huge smattering of squelchy wah wah Electric Sitar work amongst a frenetic acoustic chord progression and a pointless chorus and Rickfors' earnest croon. Indian Girl starts the way a lot of their songs start with a lone acoustic strumming and a bubblegum vocal joined by more folk group vocals before the inevitably cheesy chorus. 

 Papa Rain is a clean production with seductive blues rock guitars and country strums and haunted by some meandering mellotron work, while the classic stacked harmonies of the chorus are extraordinary. There cover of the Eagles' Witchy Woman tries a little too hard, from the tinny guitar whines of the opening riff to the heavily reverbed vocals, they lack the heady mystique of the original. While the Eagles were right up their 'Countrified Folk Rock' street they weren't as authentic as the LA quartet thought I must admit the 'ah' bridge is far more powerful in this version. Oh Granny is a kick ass country rocker with bombastic fills and vocal driven acoustic songwriting and a bluesy 60s rock solo to boot. I had a Dream is a Zombies' sounding number with more Santana-esque vibe as a funky wah wah plays around the edges of Terry Sylvester's hallowed Colin Blunstone-esque vocals before the typical big chorus while the wah wah twinkles away. I will choose the title track for the major highlight in a glowing album of great early 70s fairy lite Folk Rock.




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