Now Available: The Hollies, 50 at Fifty

2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the debut album by The Hollies, and to celebrate this momentous occasion, the band just released 50 at Fifty, a new three-disc, 50-track set which covers their career to date, including a new track – “Skylarks” – which they recorded earlier this year. If this information sounds vaguely familiar to you, it may be because we chatted about the set with Bobby Elliott, the band’s longtime drummer, a few weeks back.)

Yes, The Hollies have put out best-of compilations before, but in addition to the fact that you can’t really blame a band for wanting to celebrate hitting the half-century mark by putting out another one, this is actually quite a strong selection of tracks, including “Look Through Any Window,” “Bus Stop,” “Stop! Stop! Stop!,” “On a Carousel,” “Carrie Anne,” “He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother,” “The Air That I Breathe,” and “Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress),” among many, many others. There’s also a nice bit of serendipity in the decision to kick things with the band’s debut single, 1963’s “(Ain’t That) Just Like Me,” and wrap things up with a new song that confirms that there’s still quite a bit of life left in these lads.

Clearly, the look back has gotten the guys a bit sentimental. In the press release for 50 at Fifty, Elliott observed, "It's over fifty years since I first wrote a Hollies song: it was the B-side of 'Just One Look,' and I shared the writing with Tony (Hicks). Today I feel quite privileged to be writing the 50th track on this compilation, which contains some of our best work. I'm in good company with my buddies Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, and Graham Nash, who, throughout our career, have written some outstanding Hollies material.”

If you’ve never picked up a Hollies best-of, or if the one in your collection is one that you purchased out of convenience and isn’t quite as career-spanning as you might’ve preferred, then 50 at Fifty is a solid way to go. But don’t take our word for it: here’s the track listing, so you can see for yourself!

Disc One

1. "(Ain't That) Just Like Me"
2. "Searchin'"
3. "Stay"
4. "Just One Look"
5. "Here I Go Again"
6. "We're Through"
7. "Yes I Will"
8. "I'm Alive"
9. "Look Through Any Window"
10. "If I Needed Someone"
11. "I Can't Let Go"
12. "Bus Stop"
13. "Pay You Back With Interest"
14. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
15. "On A Carousel"
16. "Carrie Anne"
17. "King Midas In Reverse"
18. "Jennifer Eccles"
19. "Listen To Me"
20. "Sorry Suzanne"

Disc Two

1. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
2. "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top"
3. "Gasoline Alley Bred"
4. "Hey Willy"
5. "The Baby"
6. "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)"
7. "Magic Woman Touch"
8. "The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam McGhee"
9. "The Air That I Breathe"
10. "Lonely Hobo Lullaby"
11. "4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)"
12. "I'm Down"
13. "There's Always Goodbye"
14. "Boulder To Birmingham"
15. "Too Young To Be Married" (Live)
16. "Daddy Don't Mind"

Disc Three

1. "Hello To Romance"
2. "Amnesty"
3. "Soldiers Song"
4. "Heartbeat"
5. "If The Lights Go Out" (First version)
6. "Take My Love And Run" (First version)
7. "Stop In The Name Of Love"
8. "Let Her Go Down"
9. "Too Many Hearts Get Broken"
10. "Laughter Turns To Tears"
11. "So Damn Beautiful"
12. "On A Carousel" (Live)
13. "Then, Now Always (Dolphin Days)" (Live)
14. "Skylarks" (New 2014 Recording)