(May 2024) Episode 571 of the is THE HOLLIES. I have tended to discount British Invasion bands that were not among the Big Four, as but in the recent episode on Dave Clark Five, I realize my mistake with The Hollies too. I was surprisingly pleased to learn they are far more than the familiar handful of hit singles and for being launching pad for Graham Nash. Their best and most distinctive feature is the top-notch harmonies. Their arc is a familiar one: initial albums featuring R&B covers; blossoming when they start recording original material, including the obligatory 1967 psychedelic album; flowing into the 1970s with power pop and soft rock, enjoyable but not as good as before Nash left; then a slide into blah in the late 1970s, 1980s and 2010s. They always stayed on the lighter side of pop-rock, never getting adventurous like their more famous peers. And they’re still around today with two original members, and two others still alive but not with the group.

Favourite album: Evolution

Favourite song: Bus Stop

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: The four albums from Would You Believe (1966) to Butterfly (1967), although you’ll also want a greatest hits disc to capture Bus Stop, Dear Eloise, Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, and The Air That I Breathe.*

* Fun fact: As noted in my Connections page, the chords from the verses in “The Air That I Breathe” (1972) were lifted by Radiohead into “Creep” (1992), and later used by Lana Del Ray in “Get Free” (2017) and in the title song “Red Swan” from the third season (2018) of the anime series “Attack on Titan.”