Name: Special Collection by The Hollies
Brand: The Hollies
SKU: 724385980459
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 4 (420 reviews)

COMPILATION

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

The Hollies Special Collection was originally issued in the late 1990s, around the same time as the At Abbey Road vault excavations of this and numerous other bands, and then re-released by EMI in 2008 in its EMI Gold line. What makes it "special" is anyone's guess -- not even the notes by drummer Bobby Elliot really explain that, though its sheer breadth could be an explanation...1963 to 1999 is a long history for any working rock & roll band, and they've gotten ten years past that as of this particular writing. There's also a strange consistency and unity to the material, across 60 songs covering over 35 years -- from R&B covers at the outset to a closing live rendition of Prince's "Purple Rain." Nor have the producers focused only -- or even over-much -- on hits, drawing on numerous worthy B-sides, EP, and album tracks. The result is the fullest cross-section of the group's sound heard on an anthology, this side of The Hollies Collection -- one might disagree with some of the emphasis embodied in the selections, such as the non-presence of a single one of the Bob Dylan songs they cut in the late 1960s; that Dylan collection had some very good moments, despite what some critics said. And couldn't they have fit in the Mikael Rickfors-era single "The Baby," which was a great record regardless of who was singing lead? Those criticisms aside, however, the virtues here far exceed the minor flaws -- the sound is excellent and the lineup of songs, if not perfect, is eminently listenable in the extreme, rivaling the very best that the British Invasion could deliver on its best days. The stereo masters are used wherever possible, and the collection is successfully designed to please longtime fans and maybe pull in a few more casual listeners.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo

Special Collection

Product information

Release options

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 1

1. (Ain't That) Just Like Me

2. I'm Talking About You

3. Lucille

4. Little Lover

5. Here I Go Again

6. Don't You Know

7. To You My Love

8. You'll Be Mine

9. We're Through

10. The Very Last Day

11. Look Through Any Window

12. So Lonely

13. I Am a Rock

14. I'm Alive

15. Bus Stop

16. Tell Me to My Face

17. Clown

18. It's You

19. After the Fox (with Peter Sellers)

20. Stop Stop Stop

Volume 2

1. Carrie Anne

2. Dear Eloise

3. Then the Heartaches Begin

4. Pegasus

5. Postcard

6. Rain on the Window

7. On a Carousel

8. Have You Ever Loved Somebody

9. Leave Me

10. Listen to Me

11. Open up Your Eyes

12. Wings

13. Do You Believe in Love?

14. Goodbye Tomorrow

15. He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother

16. Frightened Lady

17. Man Without a Heart

18. Too Young to Be Married

19. Isn't It Nice

20. Gasoline Alley Bred

Volume 3

1. Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)

2. Hold On

3. To Do With Love

4. Little Thing Like Love

5. If It Wasn't for the Reason That I Love You

6. The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam Mcgee

7. The Air That I Breathe

8. No More Riders

9. Draggin' My Heels

10. Daddy Don't Mind

11. Caracas

12. Let It Pour

13. Soldier's Song

14. Take My Love and Run

15. Too Many Hearts Get Broken

16. This Is It

17. Reunion of the Heart

18. Find Me a Family

19. The Woman I Love

20. Purple Rain

Technical Specifications