Romany - THE HOLLIES***

Won't You Feel Good That Morning/Touch/Word's Don't Come Easy/Magic Woman Touch/Lizzy & The Rainman/ Down River/Slow Down/Delaware Tagget & The Outlaw Boys/Jesus Was A Crossmaker/Romany/Blue In The Morning/Courage Of Your Convictions

Romany was unique in The Hollies album catalogue as it is the only one without main vocalist Allan Clarke who left to forge a solo career. His replacement, Swede Mikael Rickfors, would be ousted in little more than a year as Clarke returned to the fold. (US:84)

“Mikael Rickfors does a fantastic job replacing Allan Clarke and The Hollies couldn't have chosen a better singer as a replacement. His soulful voice fits perfectly on ballads like his self-written Touch or the tender Romany. He shines on the rockers like the heavy Slow Down with a great guitar riff or the driving rock 'n' roll song Courage Of Your Convictions, and he is on top of his powers on rockers like the single Magic Woman Touch.”

“The symphonic 60s style folk-pop of Romany was well out of style by 1972 but this is an accomplished effort of the genre that fans of the early Bee Gees or Walker Brothers should dig, with a couple tunes like Slow Down going in a rockier direction.”

“Allan Clarke was a talented and engaging singer. The Hollies had forceful, nuanced harmonies that were among the best of their day. Exit Clarke and enter would-be crooner Mikael Rickfors. All you need to do is listen to the over-emoting on Down River to know how the personnel change panned out. As for the harmonies, hidden behind a glitzy production wall, The Hollies can't seem to survive without him.”

“Romany was the first Hollies album not to feature Allan Clarke on vocals. He had left the band to seek solo success. His replacement, Swedish-born Mikael Rickfors, whose vocal register was a lot deeper, utterly changed the band's distinctive style. Some of the music is OK, but the general overall standard of the songs is neither as infectious as their work in the sixties, nor as good as the softer rock/folk rock options around at the beginning of the seventies.”

“Allan Clarke split from The Hollies after a disagreement regarding solo work. The remaining members decided to pick a replacement, and they couldn't have come up with anyone better than Mikael Rickfors, who got the job due to his songwriting and multi-instrumental abilities, but most of all for his incredible singing voice. Deep and rich, he brought a fresh new sound to the band.”