The Hollies
For Certain Because

For those who grew up on bread and Beatles, the Hollies represent a good substitute. For Certain Because is certainly their best album. It is a little masterpiece of 1966, overshadowed by Pet Sound and Revolver and thus forgotten, but worth every penny spent to own it.

The album sounds a bit old for 1966, let's say a year behind the Beatles and the Kinks to whom they obviously drew inspiration. On the other hand, the Hollies didn't want to start any musical revolution, they were interested in making music, making money, and that's it; they were lovable craftsmen and nothing more. In the years to come, the greed for money will make them produce records that to call useless would be an understatement, but let's forget about the future and what will be.

We are in 1966, the album sounds wonderful and is certainly pleasing to beat lovers. The Rickembacker, with its dry and sharp tone, the reverberated piano, the perfect and tuned harmonies, everything is polished to please. It will remind you of black-and-white television, girls in miniskirts with clean faces, jukeboxes, cut-tip ties, and all the rest.

They don't have the magic of the Beatles, the aristocracy of the Beach Boys, or the irony of the Kinks, but in the absence of anything else they can more than suffice. Try them, just for a change. It will be like using a sweetener instead of sugar; some like it, the coffee almost tastes the same, almost...