The Hollies - Evolution (2016) [Hi-Res]

Evolution was the first of two albums released in 1967 by The Hollies - the other being Butterfly. The album features songs written by group members Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks. The artwork for the album cover was created by a Dutch design group The Fool along with the psychedelic photo by Karl Ferris. The cover portrays the group pushing through a psychedelic membrane as a reference to their wish to break away from their pop sound and move into more psychedelic music.

The Hollies are an English rock group known for their pioneering and distinctive three part vocal harmony style. They became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s (231 weeks on the UK singles charts during the 1960s; the 9th highest of any artist of the decade) and into the mid 1970s. The group was formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash in late 1962 as a Merseybeat type music group in Manchester, although some of the band members came from towns north of there. Graham Nash left the group in 1968 to form the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash.

„For many Hollies enthusiasts, Evolution (1967) is considered the band's most accessible blend of pop and psychedelia. The quintet were headed into musical territories beyond simply 'moon-June-bloom' and boy-meets-girl lyrics coupled with the tightly constructed vocal harmonies that had become their calling card. Nowhere is this more evident than in the tripped-out cover art from Dutch multimedia artists Seemon Kooer, Marijke Kooer, Josje Leeger, and Barry Finch -- known collectively as Fool. Although 'Carrie-Anne' could be considered an extension of the trite, somewhat predictable Brit pop, there are clear indications of new horizons on cuts such as the modish 'You Need Love,' the arguably passé distorted electric guitar on 'Have You Ever Loved Somebody,' and the wailing fretwork on the driving freakbeat rocker 'Then the Heartaches Begin.' Graham Nash (guitar/vocals), Allan Clarke (guitar/vocals), Tony Hicks (guitar/banjo/dulcimer/vocals), Bobby Elliott (drums), and new recruit Bernie Calvert (bass/vocals) -- who replaced original member Eric Haydock in the spring of 1966 -- were also taking different approaches in their writing and arranging, as heard on the trippy 'Headed for a Fall.' On this tune, most prominent is the unusual six-eight time signature, coupled with Hicks' inversion of the unmistakable banjo, which is similar to the sound he conjured up on the hit 'Stop, Stop, Stop.' However, somewhat more atypical of the Nash-era band are the light and limber acoustic and uptempo 'Stop Right There,' or the baroque 'Ye Olde Toffee Shoppe.' (Lindsay Planer, AMG)

Allan Clarke, vocals, harmonica
Tony Hicks, lead guitar, vocals
Graham Nash, rhythm guitar, vocals
Bobby Elliott, drums
Bernie Calvert, bass

Recorded 11 January – 17 March 1967 at Abbey Road Studios, London
Produced by Ron Richards

Digitally remastered