The French Studio Wizards Blow it Again!!
charlie bear | Big Sky Country | 10/25/2006
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Out On The Road gets it's first digital release ever.
The Hollies forged on with Mikael Rikfors after the brilliant "Romany" - releasing "Out On The Road" a bit less than a year later. Although it has it's moments, it is no match for the Alan Parson's engineered Romany and indeed the weak production is the biggest drawback. Also, the songs aren't as strong although several were good enough to be re-recorded for the 1974 "Hollies" reunion LP with Alan Clarke. It is very interesting to compare the versions between Mikael & Alan. Truth is some songs were actually more suited to the deep toned Rikfors and yet certainly as you track the Hollies legacy, the signature songs could have only been sung by Clarke.
"Out On The Road" is a very RARE album which was only released briefly in Germany and Spain. This is the first time it's been readily available in any form in the USA but here is your BIG WARNING:
The same ingrates in France who botched the ROMANY release have done it again with "Out On The Road"
This CD is in MONO!
And not a warm and pleasing mono either.
It sounds hollow and shrill....like it was being fed thru a long pipe.
I have both of the Rikfors record albums on vinyl in STEREO and they sound great. In fact, both were never offered as an option in mono back in the day so why are they releasing them that way now?
Clearly there is no rational reason and one can only assume that the so called techs at the board weren't paying attention.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
"
Mine is in stereo
Rockin' Robin of Locksley | Richmond, VA USA | 02/17/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I ordered a copy of this Magic Records France release in Sept 06 from Amazon UK, and my copy is in stereo. While the overall sound is not perfect, and I don't have the original vinyl to compare it against, it sounds very good to me on most tracks, a little weak on just a few. I'm extremely glad I was finally able to get a copy of this long lost album. As for the music, the songs are pretty good even if they're not great. And even though Allan Clarke wasn't on board for this album (he is credited on 2 of the bonus tracks), the trademark Hollies harmonies are there in full bloom. Long live The Hollies!!"
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1