Katerinas Magic World

One of the less essential '60s albums by the Hollies, whose capabilities were arguably stretched by the two-album-a-year-pace-in-addition-to-three-hit-singles model established by the Beatles during this time. Their version of Paul Simon's "I Am a Rock" is nice, but the soul and early rock covers of Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, and Chuck Berry are pretty dispensable; the Hollies were not the Stones or the Animals, lacking their soul and interpretative imagination. Some of the originals are pretty ho-hum too (including the pathetic "Fifi the Flea," which was covered by the Everly Brothers). But every Hollies album of the '60s has some strong overlooked tracks. On this one, they're the surprisingly tough folk-rockers "Hard, Hard Year" and "I've Got a Way of My Own." The ultra-catchy "Don't You Even Care," written by Clint Ballard, Jr. (also responsible for their number one British hit "I'm Alive," as well as "The Game of Love" and "You're No Good"), is the real obscure gem here and could have well been a hit under its own steam. The album's last song, "I Can't Let Go," was a big hit in Britain (and a small one in the U.S.) and one of the Hollies' best performances. The record was issued in America, in a slightly amended version, as Beat Group!
Tracks
01. I Take What I Want
02. Hard Hard Year
03. That's How Strong My Love Is
04. Sweet Little Sixteen
05. Oriental Sadness
06. I Am A Rock
07. Take Your Time
08. Don't You Even Care (What's Gonna Happen To Me?)
09. Fifi The Flea
10. Stewball
11. I've Got A Way Of My Own
12. I Can't Let Go
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