The group's follow-up album to a pair of hit singles ("Long Cool Woman," "Long Dark Road") tries for the harder sound that sold those singles. Romany's cover art deliberately recalls its immediate predecessor Distant Light, but otherwise the two albums are rather dissimilar. For starters, this is the album that the group cut during the short-lived tenure of Mikael Rickfors as lead singer he's more of a weighty, David Clayton-Thomas type singer than Allan Clarke was, much more of a hard-rock crooner, as is evident on the version of David Ackles' "Down River" and the self-consciously heavy rocker "Slow Down." Tony Hicks and Terry Sylvester make a valiant effort to meld their harmonies into the familiar Hollies mode, and succeed on songs such as "Delaware Taggett and the Outlaw Boys" and "Jesus Was a Crossmaker," though apart from "Magic Woman Touch," most of this album's original first side lacks the memorable hooks, melodies, or tempos needed for hit material. There are tunes worth discovering, however, for anyone who has never heard this album. The title track, although it was too moody and arty to ever become a hit, could be the prettiest song to come from the group after the 1960s; the Tony Hicks co-authored "Blue in the Morning" has a hard-edged, crisp, economical guitar part reminiscent of "Long Dark Road"; and "Courage of Your Convictions" seems to be a conscious attempt at emulating the sound of "Long Cool Woman." The playing and singing are impressive, and these are solid album tracks, if not necessarily chart-topping material.

TRACKLIST

01. Won't You Feel Good That Morning (2007 Remaster)
02. Touch (2007 Remaster)
03. Words Don't Come Easy (2007 Remaster)
04. Magic Woman Touch (2007 Remaster)
05. Lizzy and the Rainman (2007 Remaster)
06. Down River (2007 Remaster)
07. Slow Down (2007 Remaster)
08. Delaware Taggett and the Outlaw Boys (2007 Remaster)
09. Jesus Was a Crossmaker (2007 Remaster)
10. Romany (2007 Remaster)
11. Blue in the Morning (2007 Remaster)
12. Courage of Your Convictions (2007 Remaster)
13. The Baby (2003 Remaster)
14. Magic Woman Touch (Acoustic Version) [2007 Remaster]
15. Indian Girl (2007 Remaster)
16. If It Wasn't for the Reason That I Love You
17. Papa Rain (2007 Remaster)
18. Witchy Woman (2007 Remaster)
19. Oh Granny (Terry Sylvester Vocal Version) [2007 Remaster]
20. I Had a Dream (2003 Remaster)