19 July 1965
The sunny doo-doo vocal harmonies and shimmering tremolo guitar at the start of ‘I’m Alive’ suggest the influence of an innovative ’60s US group we won’t be seeing in the Irish number one spot: The Beach Boys. Still, after tunnelling through a sewer of showband hits I’m relieved to hear a chart-topping record that acknowledges the existence of American pop sounds more contemporaneous than Jim Reeves and post-army Elvis, not to mention the original Holly, Buddy. The bleak verses have a pleasing ring of Roy Orbison to them too.
After that, though, The Hollies make this just another lower-order ’60s UK beat-pop single. The chorus is pure Merseybeat. The strange breaking rhythm of the outro tells me this Manchester crew wanted to innovate but weren’t sure how one went about such a thing. Luckily, 1965 will soon bring us two other chart-topping guitar bands, one American and the other British, each with a distinctive and inventive signature record that helps define that decade and the shape of rock music for decades to come. Move along there, buddies.
