''For Certain Because'' is the fifth UK album by

the Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

and their second released in 1966. It was the first Hollies album in which all the songs were written by members Allan Clarke,

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

, and

Tony Hicks Anthony Christopher Hicks (born 16 December 1945) is an English guitarist and singer who has been a member of the British rock/pop band the Hollies since 1963, and as such was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. His main rol ...

, and the first on which they did not use the songwriting pseudonym "L. Ransford" (or just "Ransford"). It was also the first Hollies album recorded with new bassist

Bernie Calvert Bernard Bamford Calvert (born 16 September 1942) is an English musician who played bass guitar and keyboards with The Hollies from 1966 until 1981. Career He worked with several rock and roll groups during the early 1960s, most notably Rickie ...

replacing Eric Haydock. In Bobby Elliott's book ''It Ain't Heavy, It's My Story'', he explains how he came up with the title ''For Certain Because'' by taking the three words from the children's song "

Teddy Bears' Picnic "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody by American composer John Walter Bratton, written in 1907, and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children's song, having been recorded by nu ...

". Most current CD releases of this album use the original UK album title and artwork, but a recent US CD reissue series instead uses the US title and artwork, described below.

Composition

Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, critic

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

sees ''For Certain Because'' as echoing the rapidly increasing sophistication in pop music throughout 1966, pointing out the album's "fuller, more adventurous arrangements and more personal, folk-rock-influenced compositions." According to author Brian Southall, the album is considered by some to be the Hollies' answer to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' ''

Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single " Day Tripper" / " We Can ...

'', released in December 1965. In a contemporary review, Keith Altham of '' New Musical Express'' noted the album's overall style as regularly crossing between varying genres, such as

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

, Latin-American music,

orchestral music An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

, and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

US/Canadian version (''Stop! Stop! Stop!'')

''For Certain Because'' was retitled ''Stop! Stop! Stop!'' for the US and Canadian markets and issued with a different, full-color cover image of the group in the US. This was also the fifth Hollies album released in the US and Canada. It was the first Hollies album on which the track listing for the UK version remained unchanged for the US and the Canadian versions; that would not happen again until the 1970s. In addition, other markets also used the title ''Stop! Stop! Stop!'' when issuing or reissuing this album—including the UK, which retitled this album as ''Stop! Stop! Stop!'' for a 1971 budget-line reissue. In 1983, Liberty Records in the US reissued this album as ''Pay You Back With Interest'' without the tracks "Stop! Stop! Stop!" and "High Classed". ''Stop! Stop! Stop!'' was the Hollies' last new album for

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

in the US and for Capitol Records in Canada and would be followed by a greatest hits album on those labels. The Hollies' next album of originals, ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'', would be released in the US and Canada on Epic Records while remaining on Parlophone/EMI in the UK and would revert to having a different track lineup between the US/Canadian and UK versions.

Track listing

All tracks written by Allan Clarke,

, and

Personnel

* Allan Clarke – vocals, harmonica *

– lead guitar, banjo, vocals *

– rhythm guitar, vocals * Bobby Elliott – drums *

– bass guitar except on "Don't Even Think About Changing", piano * Eric Haydock – bass guitar on "Don't Even Think About Changing" *

Mike Vickers Michael Graham Vickers (born 18 April 1940) is an English musician who came to prominence as the guitarist, flautist, and saxophonist with the 1960s band Manfred Mann. He was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. At the age of seven, his famil ...

– orchestral arrangements on "High Classed", "What Went Wrong" and "Crusader"

References

Citations

Sources

* * *

External links

The Hollies official website
{{Authority control 1966 albums The Hollies albums Albums produced by Ron Richards (producer) Parlophone albums