The Hollies - The Very Best of the Hollies

The Hollies – The Very Best of the Hollies
United Artists, 1975
Acquired: Love Garden Shotgun Room, Used, 2007
Price: $1



“Bus Stop” was one of my top three favorite songs from the years of 1993-1996, my peak of listening to Oldies 95. The other two are “Runaround Sue” by Dion and “Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke. Only now, today, after putting this on, did I realize how weird “Bus Stop” actually is and how fucking good this band was. They're also an interesting group of lads, based on the cover. The frontman has a goatee, one dude looks like a slack-jawed Tim Roth, another looks like a train conductor and another looks like he's trying to be George Harrison but looks too much like Ringo Starr. The other guy looks like Logan from Logan's Run. Basically, this is the shit I was raised on and it always sounds good to me. “Bus Stop” sounds kind of creepy, like something sinister is afoot, and I think the msuic is commenting on the subject matter. Homeboy offers to share his umbrella with a lady and they end up getting married. The whole song is spent realizing how “silly” all of this is. However, the wording is fucking weird. People look at them like they are “quite insane” when she shows him the things she's purchased at the shoppes when they're waiting for the bus and he remarks that “Someday my name and hers are going to be the same,” which is a weird way to think about getting married. That and “Nice to think that that umbrella/ Led me to a vow.” I feel like this guy is a wife hawk, like George Sibley on Six Feet Under. Regardless, killer cut!