The Hollies: "Butterfly"

The first piece here may not be the most typical example, as "Butterfly" did indeed get rather good critics and is even mentioned in "The Mojo Collection".

The fact that it is rarely mentioned in those all-time-lists probably has more to do with the fact that it was a Hollies album rather than people finding this a particularly bad album. In fact, the only ones who were truly alienated by "Butterfly" may have been several of their own fans.

But then, this isn't just a great album, it is probably one of the very best out of all the 50s albums in my list here. Simply a matter of an English light pop band trying out light psychedelia. It is hardly a freakout like "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" or even "Sgt. Pepper", but there are some really nice experimental tracks here, even though first and foremost it's a nice pop album like most Hollies albums.

In America, the album was renamed "Dear Eloise/King Midas In Reverse" - also including the latter single which may be their best ever moment. A single that starts off an acoustic ballad, but which adds several psych effects.
Still, the most freaked-out moments here are probably "Maker" and "Try It".
"Maker" is crowded with psychedelic effects and a very nice sitar. "Try It" is crowded with sound effects and some percussion recorded backwards. Plus lyrics that some people claimed were pro-LSD (which is probably why the track never made it to the US version of the album).

The rest of the album is typical The Hollies pop: Sunny, melodic and with some wonderful harmonies. And I guess there's where people have problems with it, like with everything else they did. The Hollies were, from the beginning, seen as Beatles copycats. And while Beatles became gradually "darker" and more "rock", The Hollies sort of went the opposite way. Their other 1967 "Evolution" had, with the exception of a track or two, been a rather typical light pop album, with few elements that reminded the listener the year was 1967. "Butterfly" was more of a psych album, but still largely light pop. The Hollies were the band that parents and teachers would accept. Nice guys with nice and pretty songs about love. They were great, but probabluy not provocative or rebellious enough to earn "credibility" with the hipsters.

But anyway, it's so great, it would have deserved to be up there with great English psychedelic classics such as "Sgt. Pepper", "Odessey & Oracle", "The Who Sellout", "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake", "Mr. Fantasy" and "Piper At The Gates Of Dawn". When it isn't, it is probably because of The Hollies reputation as "nice guys". They were too twee for the hipsters to accept them.