Michael Rickfors had taken over the lead vocal role with the Hollies while Allan Clark was off pursuing his solo career. This song hit #60 in the USA not charting in the UK at all. It deserved to do better.
LOVE this song-the Hollies were always popular down here in New Zealand during the 60s and 70s and this song was a Big hit here during 1973,still listening to it 2021
Remember it well here in New Zealand wen it first came out. and yes still gets Air-time on Classic Hits radio stations in NZ. Hollies need to come down under to thank their loyal fans down here ay. Kia Ora
EVERYTIME i hear this track...... argh!, WHY was this NOT a hit in England?!?!...... it reached the Top 10 in New Zealand and is, here at least, one of their best known hits
Wow -- did Michael Rickfors ever give the Hollies a different sound -- in fact I had no idea this song was by them. To me, it sounds more like Crosby, Stills and Nash in its approach. Good song!
+soul4saken It's interesting that there were a number of bands that were very popular in the '60's: the Hollies, the Association, the Turtles, the Rascals,etc. that continued to make really good and interesting music in the early 1970's but were completely ignored as if they never existed. They had lost their public. It seems like so much of pop music is not only about talent but about timing as well.
Gerry Dooley So true. I have to laugh sometimes when my kid's criticize songs and songwriting of bygone eras, only to gush over a hip new song from their favorite band, and it satisfies me greatly to reveal this "new" song of theirs is actually a cover of an old band I've been listening to for years. I then leave them with the thought that there's a whole world of music prior to the 2000's which might just be worth a listen
This version doesn't sound the same as the Romany album version - or is it just the limitations of the internet? It sounds a bit 'thinner'. The bridge in the middle seems to have more echo behind it on the Romany album. Still it's a great track - thanks for the posting. As a Manchester (UK) lad, I always had a preference for The Hollies over the Beatles - although I have most albums by them both!
Graham Nash was a founding member of the Hollies hence the "CSN" sound. When I recently heard this song on satellite radio I thought it was CSN only to find out it was the Hollies. Really like this song!!
I can't say for sure but I don't think so. It's unlikely Richards would have been operating the board as that is the recording engineer's job so perhaps it is Peter Bown. Anybody?
I think that's Peter Bown. That was my first guess when I saw the video, and according to my buddy he and Alan Parsons were the engineers on the album.
@macboymike I agree. Romany is a great album and while I may upset the purists, I would venture to say that it would not have been nearly as good with Allan. His absence, and the addition of Rickfors, allowed the group to really stretch out. If one compares (for example) the versions of songs from the Rickfors period to those when Allan returned, it is my feeling that Hey Granny, Out On The Road and Trans-Atlantic Westbound Plane were superior without Allan, as great as he is.
I agree with you entirely on Romany: ther is not in fact a single duff song on that album. The band had such a versatile skill-mix at this point, and it really is hard to think of Allan making the album any better. That's not to say Allan was crap: of course he wasn't. His voice defined the band in many ways. But the Romany album just wasn't the sort of thing he could have done justice to, and I'd go as far as to say that he'd agree. Other LPs, brilliant. But would not have been on Romany.
@chakahfatah And something I forgot three months ago when you posted this, Ron Richards didn't work on the Romany album. It was produced by The Hollies. Interestingly and with no offence intended to the late great Ron Richards, I find that Romany has a fuller more mid-rangey type sound. Granted, that may have more to do with Rickfors than Richards but either way, it is one of my favourite sounding Hollies albums.
Big hit in Australia - with a long radio life. I saw the Hollies here in Adelaide in 2014 & this year (2017) & they did not play it either time! I was looking forward to it! Tiger.
No records that I'm at all aware of. There are some television appearances from that era floating about on RU-vid. Long Call Woman w Terry on lead vocals - Midnight Special - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0hV3oemoHvU.html He Ain't Heavy - Midnight Special - Rickfors Lead - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-puJqwU5XGig.html Long Dark Road - Rickfors on harmonica / Hicks - Lead Vocal - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GjMSl0E_SPY.html
if you like this ne007ne done a couple from this era try jesus was a crossmaker one of few hollies with terry sylvester on lead and if it wasent for the reason with mik and haunting i had a dream
While the lead vocals are certainly different (a good vocalist they chose though) those harmonies still make it unmistakably Hollies... Unlike the UK, the song was popular in Australia and New Zealand...
@MrSteveUtah A quick Google will give you all the answers you want and more. Alan Clarke may have been the lead singer of the band but that doesn't make one the head of the band.
Any Hollies fan (or music fan ; ) has to check out the acoustic version of this song, also here on RU-vid. Even better than this one. Check it out, pleeeease!
