All the songs flows effortlessly, this album is very pleasant to listen. It has a hard edge. Dave Holland's drumming is also much more inspired and imaginative than it would become when he went to Judas Priest.


Very good farewell for TRAPEZE   March 6, 2003
PATHERSON
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Even without Glenn Hughes, TRAPEZE proved that they were really a gifted band. THis CD sounds fresh, emmotive, hard. New vocalist Pete Goalby (who would later join Uriah Heep for their 1982 album ABOMINOG)fits perfectly and even contributes with three songs (one-third of the album).
Mel Galley's guitar is still great and sharp. Dave Holland's drumming is also very good, but he soon went on to play something totally different in Judas Priest.

HOLD ON is great, even with this uninspired title (there literally HUNDREDS of songs with the name "HOLD ON"....)


Very good farewell by TRAPEZE   March 6, 2003
PATHERSON
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Even without Glenn Hughes, TRAPEZED proved that they were really a gifted band. THis CD sounds fresh, emmotive, hard. New vocalist Pete Goalby (who would later join Uriah Heep for their 1982 album ABOMINOG)fits perfectly and even contributes with three songs (one-third of the album).

Mel Galley's guitar is still great and sharp. Dave Holland's drumming is also very good, but he soon went on to play something totally different in Judas Priest.

HOLD ON is great, even with this uninspired title (there literally HUNDREDS of songs with the name "HOLD ON"....)


Funk is faded, not forgotten, on "Hold On"   November 8, 1999
Les Thomassen (Atlanta, GA USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

The opening track, "Don't Ask Me How I Know," introduced Trapeze listeners to a new vocalist when the group's "Hold On" recording was released around 1979. Singer Pete Goalby sounds a bit like the group's longtime guitarist/vocalist Mel Galley, though not quite as nasal or sharp in the upper register. And without the record sleeve notes in hand, you might not have guessed the band's line-up had changed.

But the writing style on "Hold On" marks this album as separate from the rest of the Trapeze collection. The funk influence, most evident on '74's "Hot Wire" album, stays to the shadows here, peeking around corners in just a few tracks. Solid rock tunes and soulful ballads rule the song selection on this CD, where on earlier Trapeze records these styles were represented but were flavored heavily with funk, jazz and blues.

Goalby, who does the bulk of the lead vocals and some guitar work on "Hold On," probably wasn't at the root of the shift in sound. Of the album's nine songs, three are written by him, the most inventive being "Livin' On Love" where you'll hear some nimble vocal lines and harmonies with Galley. The six remaining tracks are Galley compositions, and even the more up-tempo songs among these have a melancholy tone.

"Running" may rank as the album's most driving rock song, dotted with creative harmonies and trading of vocal lines between Galley and Goalby. "You Are" shows that Goalby can sing with feeling and features more high range harmonies from Mel Galley. Fans of Galley's singing will be interested in "Time Will Heal," a pain-soaked, slow number that puts him at the lead microphone.

Originally released on Aura Records (and re-released on CD by Purple Pyramid), "Hold On" proved to be the last Trapeze studio effort. Original drummer Dave Holland was still in the band, as was bassist Pete Wright who joined after Glenn Hughes moved to Deep Purple. Guitarist Rob Kendrick, part of the group for "Hot Wire" and its follow-up, "Trapeze," is not listed as a contributor. "Hold On" demonstrates another stage in the evolution of Trapeze -- funk feel fading, rock replacing it -- as the '70s came to a close.