Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley, 12th June 2004
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Set List
I'm Alive / Here I Go Again / Jennifer Eccles / Yes I Will / On A Carousel / Listen to Me / I Can't Tell The Bottom from the Top / Bus Stop / Flowers in the Rain / Sorry Suzanne / Just One Look / Blowin' In The Wind / Gasoline Alley Bred / Too Young to be Married / Look Through Any Window / Blackberry Way / Carrie Anne / Stop Stop Stop / Air That I Breathe / I Can Hear The Grass Grow / Tiger Feet / He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother / It's In Everyone of Us
Tonight,
the band, with no interval, ran through 23 songs in quick succession, relying on
the music rather than their personalities to "sell" the performance.
At least the skies, which had threatened rain for most of the day, cooperated by
providing a gorgeous evening and sunset.
Yet, for personal reasons, the Wisley show was as emotionally satisfying to me
as my first concert in Nebraska two years ago or last November's gig at
"square one", Manchester. Any residual doubts as to whether I
should have been at this show or even in the UK were gone long before the
concert-closing "It's in Every One of Us". I was exactly where I
needed to be, and with the musicians and friends that could best help me put a
three day old personal tragedy out of my mind for a while.
As I had last seen the Hollies just seven months earlier, it was easy to forget
that there had since been a spring tour and the introduction of new material.
The first "new" song was "I Can't Tell the Bottom From the
Top", initiated by Tony's comment about an unknown Elton John being
enlisted to play piano on the studio version before the Hollies included a
full-time keyboard player. Alan did a fine job on the lead vocal, which
provides him with an equally brilliant showcase to replace last year's
performances of "Butterfly". Ray joined him for harmonies, sans
bass guitar (Ian added a deep bass figure from one of his keyboards). A
wonderful performance of another 70s power ballad, to augment those perennials,
"He Ain't Heavy" and "Air That I Breathe".
I was absolutely thrilled when, two songs later, I was finally treated to the
only Move song the Hollies cover that I hadn't yet heard Carl sing with them.
Carl was in top form for "Flowers in the Rain", and Ian's re-creation
of the original oboe/cor anglais flourishes was key to making the song work.
"Flowers" also inspired one of several references ("frolicking
among the lily pads") to the garden-like setting in which the audience sat
during the show. Of course Carl, who confessed to never having visited the
RHS, despite living practically next door to the site for nine years, introduced
"Blowin' in the Wind" by suggesting that "Wisley Bob
(Dylan)" used to work in the gardens!
Despite
having read about the West Coast version of "Look Through Any Window",
I was unprepared for the experience. For some reason I had assumed that
Tony and Alan played acoustics while harmonizing to Carl's soulful lead vocal.
Not quite...! This was the Hollies' two six-string masters blazing away in
a "Hotel California" meets "Freebird" twin electric lead
guitar instrumental climax. WOW! Yes, West Coast...but also
"the South's gonna do it again". The similar version they did a week
later in Heppenheim, Germany, was also fine, but there is nothing to compare
with a first encounter with this brilliant re-working of the Graham Gouldman
masterpiece.
Naturally, I also enjoyed "Stop! Stop! Stop!", the song that scarred
me as a Hollies fanatic for life - despite Carl describing it as "George
Formby and the Hollies Live at Town Hall". Carl, what Formby played
was a banjolele (a banjo-ukulele hybrid)! That makes a big difference to
splendid banjo players like Tony, and mediocre uke players such as myself. Anyway,
Tony's intro and the entire band's performance were spot-on, no matter what the
four-string lead instrument is technically called.
While I am somewhat more partial to the Hollies' rocking 60s songs, rather than
the 70s ballads, I will NEVER forget the performance of "The Air That I
Breathe" that night, toward the end of the concert. To start with, Helen,
Beth, our new friend Elaine and I were already doing what I can only describe as
a half "sway dance"/half "group hug" I had initiated (I
needed it emotionally; the wine connoisseurs among our group had additional
reasons, I think!). Then Carl, who had earlier adapted a spare
silvery-metal hat band I had brought him for use as a bracelet during the show,
spotted us and made a dedication early in the song: "This one's for you,
Bruce".
The Hollies and Carl won't permanently cure what ails you. But when you
get that kind of love and support from friends around you in the audience AND
another friend in the spotlight at the mic, it’s easy to ignore the crush of
real life for a few wonderful moments.
Despite a few technical and rapport drawbacks, Wisley had some truly beautiful
moments.
Photo copyright David Eaves, Helen Macdonald and Jane Simpson