Evolution (The Hollies album)

Album profile

Like its predecessor, For Certain Because, this album features only songs written by group members Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks. None of the songs on the album were selected for single or EP release in the UK.

The album cover artwork was created by The Fool, with the psychedelic cover photo by Karl Ferris, who is credited with creating the first truly psychedelic photograph for an album cover.

Ferris commented on the making of the album cover during a special signing of cover prints in 1997:

... they wanted to break from their 'Pop Beat' sound into something more psychedelic. So I listened to the music that they were recording at Abbey Road Studios, and got an image of them pushing through a membrane into 'the Psychedelic world', and so in summer of 1966 I took a studio shot of them pushing out their hands and the lead singer pointing through clear plastic. Over this I superimposed a shot of William Morris Art Nouveau wallpaper with an illustration and 'Love' lettering drawn by my girl friend Anke. This combination created the image of the Hollies 'pushing through to a new wave of music style and consciousness'. I worked with The Fool (lead by Simon Posthuma) on this, and they did the lettering, the back cover design and the group's costumes.

In 1978, Parlophone reissued the stereo version of Evolution, along with Butterfly and Confessions of the Mind.

The song "Have You Ever Loved Somebody?" was released earlier (in September 1966) both by The Searchers and Paul and Barry Ryan as single a-sides. It was first released by the Everly Brothers on their Two Yanks in England album.

Recording

Evolution and its respective singles were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road studios in just six days spread over three months in early 1967, at the same time the Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The first session occurred on 11 January where "When Your Lights Turned On", "Have You Ever Loved Somebody" and the B-side "All the World is Love" were completed. Work began on, but was not completed for, the eventual single "On a Carousel". That song was completed during the next session on 13 January along with the album track, "Lullaby to Tim". Two songs sung in Italian, "Non Prego Per Me" and "Devi Avere Fiducia in Me" (the former composed by Lucio Battisti and Mogol), were also recorded on that day specifically for release as a single in Italy. The next session on 22 February was dedicated to two more songs meant specifically for release in Italy, "We're Alive" and "Kill Me Quick". "The Games We Play" as well as the Graham Gouldman-penned "Schoolgirl" were also begun during this session. The bulk of album work took place in March on the 3rd, 8th and 17th. "Schoolgirl" was attempted again on the 8th but was ultimately left unfinished for reasons unknown. The final songs recorded before the album's release in June were "Carrie Anne" on 1 May and its B-side, "Signs That Will Never Change", on the following day.

Stereo vs. mono

The stereo version of this album features a few tracks, but not all, in the "instruments on one channel, vocals on the other" mixing style heard on earlier Hollies stereo albums. Tracks from this album used in later compilations are just as likely to be in mono as stereo.

UK track listing

All tracks composed by Graham Nash, Allan Clarke and Tony Hicks.

US version

Evolution was also the name of The Hollies' debut album for their new US label, Epic Records. But, like many American issues of British albums, this album was remixed using heavy echo and reverb. In addition, three songs were left off the album (with only "Carrie Anne" added).

The cover shown is the US/Canadian cover, which used the same Karl Ferris photograph but differed from the UK cover by dispensing with The Fool's overall cover design. Instead, the US/Canadian cover put The Hollies' name on the cover in more conventional psychedelic-influenced lettering, placed the album title on the cover in a normal font, and then overlaid a paisley-patterned image to be more consistent with US visions of psychedelia.

US/Canada track listing

Side 1

1. "Carrie Anne" (Clarke-Hicks-Nash) lead vocal: Clarke, Hicks and Nash
2. "Stop Right There"
3. "Rain on the Window"
4. "Then the Heartaches Begin"
5. "Ye Olde Toffee Shoppe"

Side 2

1. "You Need Love"
2. "Heading for a Fall"
3. "The Games We Play"
4. "Lullaby to Tim"
5. "Have You Ever Loved Somebody"

The 1998 US CD reissue of Evolution by Sundazed presents the original US Epic Evolution LP using the original EMI stereo masters. In addition, two of the songs that appeared on the UK Evolution, "Water on the Brain" and "When Your Light's Turned On" appear here as well as "Jennifer Eccles," "Signs That Will Never Change," and "Open Up Your Eyes."

"Leave Me," though part of the UK album, was issued on the second US/Canada Epic album, Dear Eloise/King Midas in Reverse.

Personnel