From the same folks who gave us the entertaining Melody Fair
Bee Gees' tribute,
Sing Hollies in Reverse sets its sights on one of the U.K.'s great (and often overlooked) pop craftsmen/harmonizers. The fact that the 21-track lineup represents the current cream of contemporary power-pop is no guarantee in itself of satisfying results. Fortunately, led by such sublime contributions as
Mitch Easter's "Pay You Back with Interest,"
Bill Lloyd's "Step Inside," and
the Wondermints' "You Need Love" the cream rises to
the Hollies' challenge. Some of the performers motor down a straightaway interpretation (
Tommy Keene,
Continental Drifters,
Material Issue) while others tinker furiously with the engines (
E,
Steve Wynn,
the Loud Family, Canada's perky
cub), but everyone is prepared to get their hands dirty and take to the task with fervor.
Sing Hollies in Reverse should send any novice running to his local disc emporium in search of an actual
Hollies compilation (I personally know of a documented case), surely the ultimate tribute that any "tribute" album could perform.
–
Roch Parisien, Rovi