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"Listen to Me"
Single by the Hollies
B-side"Do the Best You Can"
Released27 September 1968
Recorded28 August 1968 [1]
Studio EMI, London [1]
Genre Pop
Length2:37
Label Parlophone
Songwriter(s) Tony Hazzard
Producer(s) Ron Richards
The Hollies singles chronology
" Jennifer Eccles"
(1968) 		"Listen to Me"
(1968) 		" Sorry Suzanne"
(1969)

"Listen to Me" is a 1968 single by the Hollies, written by Tony Hazzard. It was the last Hollies single of Graham Nash's original tenure in the group. The song reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1968 and received praise from critics. [2]

Background and recording

"Listen to Me" has been characterised as gentler than previous Hollies releases, with the Evening Standard describing the song as "a change of style a la Rubber Soul Beatles." [3] Tony Hazzard wrote the song after conceiving the lyric "your ears are deaf, your mouth is dumb, your eyes are blind". [4] The songwriter was present at its recording session at EMI Studios; there, he pitched a further composition to the Hollies which Graham Nash liked, but the rest of the band chose not to record after Nash's departure. Consequently, "Listen to Me" was Hazzard's only composition to be recorded by the Hollies. [4]

The recording session for "Listen to Me" was Nash's last with the Hollies until he rejoined the band in 1982, with Nash later commenting "in my head, I had already left the Hollies". [5] The band promoted the single with an appearance on the 26 September edition of Top of the Pops. [6] According to drummer Bobby Elliott, they were invited to appear on the programme again as the song climbed up the chart but had to decline as Nash was in the USA and could not return in time. [7]

Tony Hazzard recorded a studio version of the song for his 1969 album Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard. [8] Hazzard's 2022 album Demonstration features a remixed version of his original demo of the song with a newly recorded guitar part by the Hollies' Tony Hicks. [9]

Reception

"Listen to Me" received a warm critical reception. John Wells of NME considered the song "a much more mature and sophisticated sound" for the band, adding "this won't please their " Midas" fans as out goes that mind-shattering sound to be replaced by a gentle, more melodic treatment." [10] Penny Valentine of Disc and Music Echo praised the Hollies' "instant commerciality", deeming the song "very competent, very good and a very big hit", [11] while Peter Jones of Record Mirror described it as "fast-tempoed and unusually phrased and clearly a tremendous hit." [12] Chris Welch of Melody Maker considered "Listen to Me" an example of "mysterious currents of influence [coursing] their way through the group scene" that shares "similar sounds and rhythms" to " The Weight", then recently-released as a single by both the Band and Spooky Tooth, and " Sour Milk Sea", a contemporaneous single recorded by Jackie Lomax. He summarised the sound as "the sort of nostalgic rock affecting many old-established groups... ...a heavy beat tinged with melancholy, which will appeal greatly to melancholy rockers around the 26 age group." [13] Billboard described the single as a "strong outing" and an "infectious rhythm entry." [14]

Charts

Chart (1969) Peak
position
West Germany ( Official German Charts) [15] 13
UK Singles ( OCC) [16] 11

References

  1. ^ a b The 30th Anniversary Collection (CD). The Hollies. EMI Records. 1993. D 202205.{{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link)
  2. ^ "Hollies". Official Charts. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  3. ^ Connolly, Ray (28 September 1968). "Discs". Evening Standard: 5. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b Hazzard, Tony; Wiser, Carl. "Tony Hazzard". Songfacts. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  5. ^ Graham Nash (26 September 2013). Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life. Crown Archetype. ISBN  9780385347549.
  6. ^ "Television and radio". Birmingham Evening Mail: 3. 26 September 1968. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  7. ^ Peter Doggett (April 2, 2019). CSNY: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Simon and Schuster. p. 318. ISBN  9781501183027.
  8. ^ "Tony Hazzard Sings". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Demonstration". Bandcamp. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  10. ^ Wells, John (5 October 1968). "Hollies shatter old image" (PDF). NME: 6. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  11. ^ Valentine, Penny (28 September 1968). "Hollies can be sure of a constant place in the chart" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo: 19. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  12. ^ Jones, Peter (5 October 1968). "New singles reviewed" (PDF). Record Mirror: 8. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  13. ^ Welch, Chris (26 September 1968). "Great-but who needs this if they have the LP?" (PDF). Melody Maker: 22. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. October 12, 1968. p. 80. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  15. ^ " Offiziellecharts.de – Hollies, The – Listen to Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Hollies, The"
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.


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