The Hollies - Orchestral Heaven

This British CD seems like a superfluous 18-song compilation, devoted to Hollies songs on which the group was accompanied by string sections, variously arranged by Johnny Scott, Chris Gunning, Mike Batt, Tony Hymas, Mike Vickers, Peter Wingfield, et al. How these songs relate other than that is sort of dubious, as the material jumps across years and decades, back and forth from the '60s to the end of the '70s, zigging and zagging. On the other hand, it is a good excuse to remaster tracks such as "Butterfly," "Sandy," "Confessions of a Mind," etc., not all of which are that well-known to subsequent generations of listeners or, generally, too well exposed in the United States (and to make the music available at a mid-price level). Read More