Monday, 3 September 2012

The Session Musicians Who've Played On The Most AAA Albums (News, Views and Music Issuer 160)




This week we’ve decided to dedicate our top ten to those unsung heroes of music, the session musicians, whose playing often brings AAA artists (and plenty of others) to greater heights, even when no one outside the group actually bothers to learn their names. There have been literally hundreds playing on all the various AAA albums down the years and rather than get into a big debate about quality we’ve decided to go for quantity and bring you the ten session musicians that we think played on the most AAA-related albums. Now, this is so big a premise that we may well have missed somebody out along the way (sorry!) and we’ve had to bring a few rules in too: namely that the person involved has to play on more albums than just one AAA artist (so, for instance, Ben Keith doesn’t appear despite his 40-odd appearances on Neil Young albums because he never played with another AAA band – but Jack Nitszche, who played with Young and Crazy Horse as well as the Rolling Stones, does; the ‘Beatles’ count as one artists, even their solo albums, as do the CSN family). Some of these names you might know thanks to their solo work or their TV appearances – some you won’t unless you’re the kind of anorakky fan like us who loves reading the small print on CDs. We’re also limiting the entries of the AAA members themselves, although you may be interested to know that, had we included them, Jerry Garcia would have made the list after playing on albums by the Jefferson Airplane family and the CSNY family as well as his own albums and those by the Grateful Dead.

Nicky Hopkins (pianist; 24 AAA albums)

 The undisputed giant of this list, Nicky Hopkins was a talented pianist who could effortlessly sum up in an instant what a band needed, from the new and inexperienced (that’s him playing on The Who’s debut album) to the very experienced (his last performance comes on Paul McCartney’s 16th solo album ‘Flowers In The Dirt’). Nicky longed to be in a band, but his ill health (complications from Crohn’s disease) meant that he was unable to tour and only ever played live with the one ‘band’ he ever joined (Quicksilver Messenger Service – think of the Grateful Dead playing the blues and you’re halfway there) and the Jefferson Airplane at Woodstock. I can’t imagine how infuriating that must have been: the band gets to party until dawn doing drugs and mashing TVs whilst Nicky, on a paltry salary, lived at home with his parents until his 30s, couldn’t risk tiring himself out and didn’t have the constitution for heavy drugs. As well as the two artists mentioned above, Nicky Hopkins alternated keyboards with Billy Preston (see below) and Ian Stewart on 11 Rolling Stones albums from ‘Between The Buttons’ through to ‘Tattoo You’, played piano alongside The Beatles on their B-side version of ‘Revolution’ and had a song written for him by Ray Davies (‘Session Man’, from the Kinks’ album ‘Face To Face’). The Stones admired Nicky so much they even released an ‘album’ (‘Jamming With Edward’) on their Rolling Stones lable credited to Nicky and with almost all the band backing him on a series of boogie woogie type jams (it was released on CD for the first time last year after becoming a collector’s item). Nicky died in 1994, aged 50, from the Crohn’s disease he had been fighting all his life. Greatest moment: the eerie piano tinkle that sets the scene on The Who’s ‘Love Reign O’er Me’, the grandstanding finale to ‘Quadrophenia’; legend has it a hole in the roof of the band’s makeshift recording studio meant poor Nicky got soaked while recording this song all about drowning and re-birth (his dark and scary part on The Stones’ 1967 single ‘We Love You’ comes a close second; I doubt its coincidence that two of my all time favourite songs feature Nicky’s playing).

Russell Kunkel (drummer; 19 AAA albums)

Best known for his work with the CSN family, Russell must be about the only musician the whole trio have got on with, hence his appearance on just about every CSN family album starting with Crosby-Nash’s ‘Wind On The Water’ in 1975. Russell worked on so many LA-centred albums in the mid 1970s that he became known as part of ‘The Section’, part of a session musician group with Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar and Craig Doerge (who also played on several CSN-related albums). Russell makes this list, however, by virtue of also performing on albums by Buffalo Springfield singer Richie Furay, three solo albums by Byrd Roger McGuinn, Art Garfunkel’s album ‘Breakaway’ and two Neil Young albums ‘Zuma’ and ‘Comes A Time’. Russell continues to play and was last seen backing James Taylor and Carole King on their recent return to the Troubadour Club (broadcast on BBC4 last year). Greatest moment: The eccentric but perfectly fitting percussion work on CSN’s ‘Shadow Captain’ (from ‘CSN’ 1977) – as mysterious, ethereal and shadowy as befits Crosby’s gorgeous song about the subconscious.

Billy Preston (keyboardist; 16 AAA albums)

Billy was of course a star in his own right, releasing several under-rated solo albums (two for the Beatles’ Apple label) and being ‘discovered’ by Little Richard at the tender age of 16. He remains the only musician ever to get a co-credit with The Beatles on a release (‘Get Back’ – Billy knew the band from their Hamburg days and was brought into the sessions by close friend George Harrison as a ‘friendly face’) and the only man – alongside Nicky Hopkins – to appear with the Beatles and The Stones. In fact Billy appears on six Stones albums, nearly all their best received (from ‘Let It Bleed’ through to ‘Black and Blue’ plus ‘Bridges To Babylon’) and even gets to share vocals with Mick Jagger on the song ‘Melody’ (which many think he deserved a co-writing credit on). Billy stayed friends with the Beatles, too, playing on Lennon’s first solo album, plus three of George’s and three of Ringo’s solo albums as well as his show-stealing performance at George’s ‘Concert For Bangladesh’ concert (1971) where Billy is so moved by the occasion he starts dancing! Little known fact: Jazz legend Miles Davis was so heavily influenced by Billy’s playing he titled oine of his own compositions ‘Billy Preston’ in his honour (you can find it on the 1974 album ‘Get Up With It’). Billy died of kidney failure in 2006 at the age of 59 after a troubled couple of decades that involved prison terms (for house insurance fraud, drugs and sexual assault charges), but never lost his beaming smile that could always be relied upon to light up a room. Greatest moment: ‘100 Years Ago’, the overlooked Stones song from the overlooked ‘Goat’s Head Soup’, that changes tone and texture throughout from playful to frightening. Billy’s chirpy organ and clavinet dominate the sound throughout and makes for a great foil for Mick Jagger’s dreamy and guilt-ridden narrator.

Jim Gordon (drummer; 14 AAA albums)

George Harrison loved working with Jim Gordon so much that he even included a joke advert for the Jim Gordon Fanclub on the back of his ‘Living In The Material World’ album (1971) in return for three ‘stamped undressed elephants’ in honour of the session musician’s lack of recognition. As well as playing on three of George’s solo albums (including the ‘apple jam’ disc of ‘All Things Must Pass’ where Gordon gets co-credits alongside Harrison and Eric Clapton) Jim can be heard playing on all sorts of Beach Boys LPs (from ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ through to ‘Pet Sounds’), the Byrds’ ‘Notorious Byrd Brothers’ (finishing off the album when Michael Clarke got the push), the first two Monkees albums and two of John Lennon’s albums, Art Garfunkel’s ‘Angel Clare’, plus the short-lived Souther-Hillman-Furay Band (featuring Byrd Chris Hillman and Buffalo Springfielder Richie Furay). Unfortunately Gordon’s life got more and more out of control after his success in the early 70s and he gradually succumbed to schizophrenia. Ending up back living with his mother, he began hearing voices in his head and, convinced that his mother was trying to kill him, in 1983 hit her over the head with a hammer. Despite his clear mental incapability he was still sentenced to 16 years to life in prison and is still currently serving his time inside. Greatest moment: The tremendous percussion power of ‘Wah Wah’, George Harrison’s song from ‘All Things Must Pass’, a song directly inspired by a row with Paul McCartney during the recording of ‘Let It Be’. Thunderous, echoey and insanely huge, the drumming (alongside Ringo – see if you can spot which drummer slows up before the end!) is the perfect backing for George’s angst and confusion.

Klaus Voormann (bassist; 13 AAA albums)

Klaus will forever be a hero to Beatles fans for ‘discovering’ them playing at the star club in Hamburg (he was also the girlfriend of Astrid Kirchherr, before she met Stuart Sutcliffe, then still with the group) and for his evocative collage-style artwork (which graces the sleeves of ‘revolver’ and the three ‘Anthology’ outtakes sets). But he was a well known bassist too thanks to his stints with Manfred Mann and the band Paddy=Klaus and Gibson (bet you can’t work out which one he was!...Alright then, yes he was ‘Klaus’) and came within a gnat’s crotchet of becoming a Beatle himself when Paul McCartney left the band. As consolation, he got to play on solo albums by all Beatles except Paul, including becoming part of Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band during their early days, managing an impressive 13 appearances on albums by John, George and Ringo up until 1976 (when ‘Ringo’s Rogotravure’ was his last). He also played on Art Garfunkel’s second record ‘Breakaway’ – along with half this list it seems! Klaus still performs and actually released his first ever solo LP in 2009 – at the age of 71! – with guest appearances by Ringo and, at long last, Paul. Greatest moment: Lennon’s ‘Plastic Ono Band’ is bare and tortuous throughout and only a friend who had known John well could have second guessed the improvised twists and turns around it. Klaus’ playing on ‘I Found Out’, especially, is terribly moving and by the sound of it the whole of the coda is down to Klaus’ good ear, encouraging Lennon to go round the houses again with a simple push of the bass note that the whole band falls onto playing. It’s exciting, gripping stuff.

 Jack Nitszche (Keyboardist and arranger; 9 AAA albums)

We Neil Young fans have Jack to thank for encouraging the wayward guitarist to go solo at all – even if we Buffalo Springfield fans have always been a bit non-plussed as to why Neil had to leave and break the band up (not just once but several times between 1967 and 1968). There’s no getting away from it though, this pair were a match made in heaven, from their first collaboration on the exotic and fragile ‘expecting To Fly’ to Neil’s troubled sixth LP ‘Time Fades Away’ (where the pair fell out because Jack asked for more money and, so legend has it, slept with Neil’s first wife Carrie).Jack even joined Crazy Horse briefly, adding some great performances to their first LP even though he claimed to have ‘hated’ the band’s primitivism (calling them ‘quasi-criminal’). Even before that, though, Nitszche would have been a well known name to music fans, playing on various Dylan recordings and the early Rolling Stones records (from ‘No 2’ through to ‘Between The Buttons’) as well as dozens of film scores. Jack died in 2000, after cardiac arrest although he’d been very ill for two years before that after suffering a stroke at the age of 63. Greatest Moment: what else but the glorious Buffalo Springfield song ‘Expecting To Fly’ (from their second album ‘Again’), which remains one of the loveliest songs ever recorded, the lush orchestra and choir making Neil’s song of doubt and self-discovery sound like a multi-budget film score. It also helped kick-start CSNY, inspiring Graham Nash to write his song ‘Wings’ while he was still a member of The Hollies and encouraging him to work with Neil.

Steve Gadd (drummer; 8 AAA albums)

Remember that hypnotic drum effect that kick-starts Paul Simon’s ‘50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’? That wasn’t just played by veteran session musician Gadd, it was written by him too when Paul asked if he could ‘think of a part to play’. Gadd has become best known for his work on Paul’s solo albums starting with ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ in 1975 right up until 2006’s ‘Surprise’, but for my money will always be the fast-talking drummer in Jonah Levin’s band in Paul Simon’s glorious movie ‘One Trick Pony’. He’s also worked for Art Garfunkel on his ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ LP (after working with Art on Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Concert In Central Park’) and Paul McCartney (on the 1982 sessions that became both ‘Tug Of War’ and ‘Pipes of Peace’). Steve Gadd continues to play and has been on Paul Simon’s most recent tour, although his most recent session work was on Kate Bush’s most recent LP ’50 Words For Snow’ (on which the singer admits she’d always wanted to work with Gadd but was so impressed with his work she’d been ‘too nervous’ to approach him before, admitting the pair had a ‘chemistry’ she’d never felt with her other drummers). Greatest moment: ‘Late In The Evening’, the rousing horn-based percussion-heavy hymn to music from Paul Simon’s film-and-soundtrack ‘One Trick Pony’ – the one moment where Paul’s character ‘Jonah’ reveals why he still keeps playing to a disappearing audience with a forgotten band; the rest of the album is a majestic discussion of failure but this one track of release is a glorious exception, all confidence and swagger.

Carol Kaye (bassist; 7 AAA albums)

We now come to two members of the ‘Wrecking Crew’ who played for just about everybody in the mid-60s. It’s Beach Boys fans, however, that have taken bassist Carol to their hearts after her many appearances on band documentaries discussing her joy at working with Brian Wilson, who gave her much more direction and enjoyment than working for anyone else. Most fans ask her about ‘Pet Sounds’, naturally, though for me her playing peaks on their earlier records ‘Today’ and ‘Summer Days and Summer Nights’. In addition, Carol played on two Simon and Garfunkel records (‘Sounds Of Silence’ and ‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme’) and a handful of Monkees tracks (including ‘I’m A Believer’). Carol retired from playing after suffering from arthritis in the 1970s, but continues to teach guitar playing, with her books and study guides becoming some of the best-selling of the genre. Greatest moment: The Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls’ – surely one of the greatest bass lines ever written, rocking the track gently from side to side in gentle embrace, a part superbly played by Carol.

Hal Blaine (drummer; 6 AAA albums)

The other member of the ‘Wrecking Crew’ on the list, Hal also played on a run of four Beach Boys albums (including ‘Pet Sounds’), the title track of The Byrds’ debut album ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ (when the Byrds weren’t yet considered experienced enough to play in a recording studio) and the final two Simon and Grafunkel albums ‘Bookends’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ as well as some Monkees sessions. A barrel of laughs, Hal’s often referred to by people who’ve heard any of these band’s session tapes because he’s usually the one chatting and laughing between takes, teasing the producer or the other musicians about one thing or another. Infamously he carries a rubber stamp claiming ‘Hal Blaine Strikes Again’ with him everywhere he plays – given the hundreds of sessions he’s done over the years that’s hundreds of session charts – and a good few recording studio walls too! Hal, too, has spoken on lots of Beach Boys documentaries where Brian Wilson used him as his ‘right hand man’ running the sessions while he was in the control booth and still occasionally plays today, at the age of 83. Little known fact: between 1966 and 1971 Blaine played on every single song voted ‘recording of the year, including ‘Mrs Robinson’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ as well as no less than 50 number one hits (to put that in context, that’s every single by the Beatles, twice). Greatest Moment: Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Boxer’ is a perfect recording, Paul’s moody song about standing your ground and fighting back even when you don’t have a future accompanied by one of the best band performances on tape. Hal’s drums, recorded in the recording session lifts to get the right echoey sound, are a triumphant stab of hope in a song that couldn’t be better in any way shape or form.

 Jesse Ed Davis (guitarist; 6 AAA albums)

We close with John Lennon’s favourite sideman, his drinking buddy who played remarkable guitar throughout Lennon’s lost weekend’ period of ‘Walls and Bridges’ and ‘Rock and Roll’ (and whose name keeps cropping up on Lennon outtakes). Jesse can also be seen in the flesh as part of the Rolling Stones’ Circus, albeit he’s playing with Taj Mahal so that performance doesn’t count for our purposes. What does count is his work for Keith Moon (on his one and only solo album ‘Two Sides Of The Moon’), Byrd Gene Clark (where he adds some gorgeously fluid parts to the album ‘No Other’) and the two George Harrison LPs ‘Living In The Material World’ and ‘Extra Texture’. Sadly, Jesse fell into the bad ways of his mid-70s drinking buddies and died of unknown causes (though a drug overdose seems most likely) in a Californian Laundromat in 1988 at the age of just 43. Greatest moment: ‘Bless You’, Lennon’s heartfelt song for the absent Yoko from ‘Walls and Bridges’, wouldn’t sound half as lovely without Jesse’s luxurious guitar and its mixture of on-the-edge feedback aggression and mystical clarity.

And that’s that for another issue. Join us next week for more news, views and especially music!

A NOW COMPLETE List Of Top Five/Top Ten/TOP TWENTY  Entries 2008-2019
1) Chronic Fatigue songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/news-views-and-music-issue-1-top-five.html

2) Songs For The Face Of Bo http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/news-views-and-music-issue-2-top-five.html

3) Credit Crunch Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/news-views-and-music-issue-3-top-five.html

4) Songs For The Autumn http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/news-views-and-music-issue-4-top-five.html

5) National Wombat Week http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/news-views-and-music-top-five-national.html

6) AAA Box Sets http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/news-views-and-music-issue-6-top-five.html

7) Virus Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/news-views-and-music-issue-7-top-five.html

8) Worst AAA-Related DVDs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/news-views-and-music-issu-8-top-five.html

9) Self-Punctuating Superstar Classics http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/news-views-and-music-issue-9-top-five.html

10) Ways To Know You Have Turned Into A Collector http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/news-views-and-music-issue-9-top-five.html

11) Political Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/news-views-and-music-issue-11-top-five.html

12) Totally Bonkers Concept Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/news-views-and-music-top-five-totally.html

13) Celebrating 40 Years Of The Beatles' White Album http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/top-five-issue-13-40-years-of-beatles.html

14) Still Celebrating 40 Years Of The Beatles' White Album http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/news-views-and-music-issue-14-top-five.html

15) AAA Existential Questions http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/news-views-and-music-issue-15-top-five.html

16) Releases Of The Year 2008 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/news-views-and-music-issue-16-top-five.html

17) Top AAA Xmas Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/news-views-and-music-issue-17-top-five.html

18) Notable AAA Gigs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/news-views-and-music-issue-19-top-five.html

19) All things '20' related for our 20th issue http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/news-views-and-music-issue-20-aaa-songs.html

20) Romantic odes for Valentine's Day http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/news-views-and-music-issue-22-top-five.html

21) Hollies B sides http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/news-views-and-music-issue-23-top-five.html

22) 'Other' BBC Session Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/news-views-and-music-issue-24-top-five.html

23) Beach Boys Rarities Still Not Available On CD http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/news-views-and-music-issue-25-top-five.html

24) Songs John, Paul and George wrote for Ringo's solo albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/news-views-and-music-issue-26-top-five.html

25) 5 of the Best Rock 'n' Roll Tracks From The Pre-Beatles Era http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/news-views-and-music-issue-27-top-five.html

26) AAA Autobiographies http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/news-views-and-music-issue-28-top-five.html

27) Rolling Stones B-sides http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/news-views-and-music-issue-29-top-five.html

28) Beatles B-Sides http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/news-views-and-music-issue-30-top-five.html

29) The lllloooonnngggeesssttt AAA songs of all time http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/news-views-and-music-issue-31-top-five.html

30) Kinks B-Sides http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/news-views-and-music-issue-32-top-five.html

31) Abandoned CSNY projects 'wasted on the way' http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/news-views-and-music-issue-33-top-five.html

32) Best AAA Rarities and Outtakes Sets http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/news-views-and-music-issue-34-top-five.html

33) News We've Missed While We've Been Away http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/news-views-and-music-issue-35-top-five.html

34) Birthday Songs for our 1st Anniversary http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/news-views-and-music-issue-37-top-five.html

35) Brightest Album Covers http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/news-views-and-music-issue-37-top-five.html

36) Biggest Recorded Arguments http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/news-views-and-music-issue-38-top-five.html

37) Songs About Superheroes http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/news-views-and-music-issue-39-top-five.html

38) AAA TV Networks That Should Exist http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/news-views-and-music-issue-40-top-five.html

39) AAA Woodtsock Moments http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/news-views-and-music-issue-41-top-five.html

40) Top Moments Of The Past Year As Voted For By Readers http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/news-views-and-music-issue-42-top-five.html

41) Music Segues http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/news-views-and-music-issue-43-top-five.html

42) AAA Foreign Language Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/news-views-and-music-issue-44-top-five.html

43) 'Other' Groups In Need Of Re-Mastering http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/news-views-and-music-issue-45-top-five.html

44) The Kinks Preservation Rock Opera - Was It Really About The Forthcoming UK General Election? http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/news-views-and-music-issue-46-top-five.html

45) Mono and Stereo Mixes - Biggest Differences http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/news-views-and-music-issue-47-top-five.html

46) Weirdest Things To Do When A Band Member Leaves http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/nerws-views-and-music-issue-48-top-five.html

47) Video Clips Exclusive To Youtube (#1) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/news-views-and-music-issue-49-top-five.html

48) Top AAA Releases Of 2009 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/news-views-and-music-issue-50-top-five.html

49) Songs About Trains http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/news-views-and-music-issue-51-top-five.html

50) Songs about Winter http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/news-views-and-music-issue-52-top-five.html

51) Songs about astrology plus horoscopes for selected AAA members http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/news-views-and-music-issue-53-top-five.html

52) The Worst Five Groups Ever! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/news-views-and-music-issue-54-top-five.html

53) The Most Over-Rated AAA Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/news-views-and-music-issue-56-top-five.html

54) Top AAA Rarities Exclusive To EPs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/news-views-and-music-issue-57-top-five.html

55) Random Recent Purchases (#1) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/news-views-and-music-issue-58-top-five.html

56) AAA Party Political Slogans http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/news-views-and-music-issue-60-top-five.html

57) Songs To Celebrate 'Rock Sunday' http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/news-views-and-music-issue-61-top-five_21.html

58) Strange But True (?) AAA Ghost Stories http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/news-views-and-music-issue-61-top-five.html

59) AAA Artists In Song http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/news-views-and-music-issue-63-top-five.html

60) Songs About Dogs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/news-views-and-music-issue-65-top-five.html

61) Sunshiney Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/news-views-and-music-issue-67-top-five.html

62) The AAA Staff Play Their Own Version Of Monoploy/Mornington Crescent! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/news-views-and-music-issue-68-top-forty.html

63) What 'Other' British Invasion DVDs We'd Like To See http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/news-views-and-music-issue-69-top-five.html

64) What We Want To Place In Our AAA Time Capsule http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/news-views-and-music-issue-70-top-five.html

65) AAA Conspiracy Theroies http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/news-views-and-music-issue-72-top-ten.html

66) Weirdest Things To Do Before - And After - Becoming A Star http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/news-views-and-music-top-ten-aaa-stars.html

67) Songs To Tweet To http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/news-views-and-music-issue-74-top-five.html

68) Greatest Ever AAA Solos http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/news-views-and-music-issue-75-top-ten.html

69) John Lennon Musical Tributes http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/news-views-and-music-issue-77-top-five.html

70) Songs For Halloween http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/news-views-and-music-issue-78-top-five.html

71) Earliest Examples Of Psychedelia http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/news-views-and-music-issue-79-top-five.html

72) Purely Instrumental Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/news-views-and-music-issue-81-top-five.html

73) AAA Utopias

74) AAA Imaginary Bands http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/news-views-and-music-issue-82-top-five.html

75) Unexpected AAA Cover Versions http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/news-views-and-music-issue-83-top-five.html

76) Top Releases of 2010 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/news-views-and-music-issue-84-top-five.html

77) Songs About Snow http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/news-views-and-music-issue-85-top-five.html

78) Predictions For 2011 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_01_02_archive.html

79) AAA Fugitives

80) AAA Home Towns http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/news-views-and-music-issue-88-home.html

81) The Biggest Non-Musical Influences On The 1960s http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/news-views-and-music-issue-89-top-five.html

82) AAA Groups Covering Other AAA Groups http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/news-views-and-music-issue-90-top.html

83) Strange Censorship Decisions http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/news-views-and-music-issue-91-top-ten.html

84) AAA Albums Still Unreleased on CD http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/news-views-and-music-issue-92-top-five.html

85) Random Recent Purchases (#2) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/news-views-and-music-issue-93-top-ten.html

86) Top AAA Music Videos http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-issue-94-top-ten.html

87) 30 Day Facebook Music Challenge http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-issue-95-top.html

88) AAA Documentaries http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-top-five-aaa.html

89) Unfinished and 'Lost' AAA Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/news-views-and-music-issue-97-top-ten.html

90) Strangest AAA Album Covers http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/newsa-views-and-music-issue-98-top-ten.html

91) AAA Performers Live From Mars (!) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/news-views-and-music-issue-99-top-ten.html

92) Songs Including The Number '100' for our 100th Issue http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/news-views-and-music-issue-100-top-five.html

93) Most Songs Recorded In A Single Day http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/news-views-and-music-issue-101-top-five.html

94) Most Revealing AAA Interviews http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/news-views-and-music-issue-102-top-five.html

95) Top 10 Pre-Fame Recordings http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/news-views-and-music-issue-103-top-ten.html

96) The Shortest And Longest AAA Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-104-top-ten.html


97) The AAA Allstars Ultimate Band Line-Up http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-105-top.html

98) Top Songs About Sports http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-106-top-ten.html

99) AAA Conversations With God http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/news-views-and-music-issue-107-top-ten.html

100) AAA Managers: The Good, The Bad and the Financially Ugly http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/news-views-and-music-issue-108-top-ten.html

101) Unexpected AAA Cameos http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/news-views-and-music-issue-109-top-ten.html

102) AAA Words You can Type Into A Caluclator http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/news-views-and-music-issue-110-top-five.html

103) AAA Court Cases http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-111-top-five.html

104) Postmodern Songs About Songwriting http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-112-top-five.html

105) Biggest Stylistic Leaps Between Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-113-top-ten.html

106) 20 Reasons Why Cameron Should Go! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/news-views-and-music-issue-114-top.html

107) The AAA Pun-Filled Cookbook http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-115-top-five.html

108) Classic Debut Releases http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-116-top-five.html

109) Five Uses Of Bird Sound Effects http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-118-top-five.html

110) AAA Classic Youtube Clips Part #1 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/news-views-and-music-issue-119-top.html

111) Part #2 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-120-top.html

112) Part #3 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-121-top.html

113) AAA Facts You Might Not Know http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-122-top-ten.html

114) The 20 Rarest AAA Records http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/news-views-and-music-issue-123-top.html

115) AAA Instrumental Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_04_archive.html

116) Musical Tarot http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/news-views-and-music-issue-125-top-23-i.html

117) Christmas Carols http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_18_archive.html

118) Top AAA Releases Of 2011 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_25_archive.html

119) AAA Bands In The Beano/The Dandy http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/news-views-and-music-issue-128-top-five.html

120) Top 20 Guitarists #1 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/news-views-and-music-issue-129-top-ten.html

121) #2 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_15_archive.html

122) 'Shorty' Nomination Award Questionairre http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_22_archive.html

123) Top Best-Selling AAA Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_01_29_archive.html

124) AAA Songs Featuring Bagpipes

125) A (Hopefully) Complete List Of AAA Musicians On Twitter http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_02_19_archive.html

126) Beatles Albums That Might Have Been 1970-74 and 1980 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_02_26_archive.html

127) DVD/Computer Games We've Just Invented http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_03_11_archive.html

128) The AAA Albums With The Most Weeks At #1 in the UK http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_03_18_archive.html

129) The AAA Singles With The Most Weeks At #1 in the UK http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_03_25_archive.html

130) Lyric Competition (Questions) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_04_15_archive.html

131) Top Crooning Classics http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012_04_22_archive.html

132) Funeral Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/news-views-and-music-issue-142-top-five.html

133) AAA Songs For When Your Phone Is On Hold http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-143-top-five.html

134) Random Recent Purchases (#3) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-144-top-five.html

135) Lyric Competition (Answers) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-146-top.html http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/news-views-and-music-issue-145-top-five.html

136) Bee Gees Songs/AAA Goes Disco! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/news-views-and-music-issue-147-top-five.html

137) The Best AAA Sleevenotes (And Worst) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/news-views-and-music-issue-148-top-ten.html

138) A Short Precise Of The Years 1962-70 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/news-views-and-music-149-top-eight.html

139) More Wacky AAA-Related Films And Their Soundtracks http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/top-five-for-news-views-and-music-150.html

140) AAA Appearances On Desert Island Discs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/top-eight-aaa-desert-island-discs.html

141) Songs Exclusive To Live Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/news-views-and-music-issue-153-top-10.html

142) More AAA Songs About Armageddon http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/aaa-armageddon-songsalbums-top-5-for.html

What difference does a name make? Arguably not much if you’re already a collector of a certain group, for whom the names on the album sleeves just...

This week’s top ten honours the humble motor car. The death trap on wheels, the metaphor for freedom, the put-down of capitalism, a source of...

This week we’re going to have a look at the 10 AAA singles that spent the most weeks at number on the American chart ‘Billboard’ – and it makes for...

Following on from last issue’s study of the American Billboard charts, here’s a look at which AAA albums spent the most weeks on the chart. The...

There are many dying arts in our modern world: incorruptible politicians, faith that things are going to get better and the ability to make decent...

This week we’ve decided to dedicate our top ten to those unsung heroes of music, the session musicians, whose playing often brings AAA artists (and...

Naturally we hold our AAA bands in high esteem in these articles: after all, without their good taste, intelligence and humanity we’d have nothing to...

What do you do when you’ve left a multi-million selling band and yet you still feel the pull of the road and the tours and the playing to audiences...

‘The ATOS Song’ (You’re Not Fit To Live)’ (Mini-Review) Dear readers, we don’t often feature reviews of singles over albums or musicians who aren’t...

In honour of this week’s review of an album released to cash in on a movie soundtrack (only one of these songs actually appears in ‘Easy Rider’...and...

Hic! Everyone raise a glass to the rock stars of the past and to this week’s feature...songs about alcolholic beverages! Yes that’s right, everything...

154) The human singing voice carries with it a vast array of emotions, thoughts that cannot be expressed in any other way except opening the lungs and...

Everyone has a spiritual home, even if they don’t actually live there. Mine is in a windy, rainy city where the weather is always awful but the...

Having a family does funny things to some musicians, as we’ve already seen in this week’s review (surely the only AAA album actually written around...

Some artists just have no idea what their best work really is. One thing that amazes me as a collector is how consistently excellent many of the...

159) A (Not That) Short Guide To The 15 Best Non-AAA Bands http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/a-not-that-short-guide-to-15-of-best.html%20%0d160

160) The Greatest AAA Drum Solos (Or Near Solos!) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-greatest-aaa-drum-solos-or-near.html%20%0d161

161) AAA Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame Acceptance Speeches http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/aaa-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame.html%20%0d162

162) AAA Re-Recordings Of Past Songs http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/aaa-re-recordings-of-past-songs-news.html%20%0d163

163) A Coalition Christmas (A Fairy Tale) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/a-coalition-christmas-news-views-and.html%20%0d164

164) AAA Songs About Islands http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/aaa-songs-about-islands-news-views-and.html%20%0d165

165) The AAA Review Of The Year 2012 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-aaa-review-of-year-2012-news-views.html



166) The Best AAA Concerts I Attended http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-best-aaa-concerts-i-attended-news.html

167) Tributes To The 10 AAA Stars Who Died The Youngest http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/tributes-to-10-aaa-stars-who-died.html



168) The First 10 AAA Songs Listed Alphabetically http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-first-10-aaa-songs-if-listed.html


171) The 10 Best Songs From The Psychedelia Box-Sets ‘Nuggets’ and ‘Nuggets Two’ http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-best-of-two-nuggets-psychedelia.html%20%0d172

172) The 20 Most Common Girl’s Names In AAA Song Titles (With Definitions) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/girls-names-in-aaa-song-titles-from.html 








180) First Recordings By Future AAA Stars http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/first-





185) A Tribute To Storm Thorgerson Via The Five AAA Bands He Worked With http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/a-tribute-to-hipgnosis-via-five-aaa.html



188) Surprise! Celebrating 300 Album Reviews With The Biggest 'Surprises' Of The Past Five Years Of Alan's Album Archives! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/celebrating-300-album-reviews-10.html


190) Comparatively Obscure First Compositions By AAA Stars http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/comparatively-obscure-debut.html



193) Evolution Of A Band: Comparing First Lyric With Last Lyric: http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/evolution-of-band-comparing-1st-lyric.html







200) The Monkees In Relation To Postmodernism (University Dissertation) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/university-dissertation-monkees-in.html


202) Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain': Was It About One Of The AAA Crew? http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/carly-simons-youre-so-vain-was-it-about.html















217) AAA 'Christmas Presents' we'd most like to have next year http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/aaa-christmas-presents-wed-most-like-to.html




221) Dr Who and the AAA (Five Musical Links) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/01/dr-who-and-five-musical-links-to-alans.html

222) Five Random Recent Purchases http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-random-recent-purchases-news-views.html

223) AAA Grammy Nominees http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/02/aaa-grammy-nominees-top-twelve-news.html

224) Ten AAA songs that are better heard unedited and in full http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/02/ten-aaa-songs-that-are-better-unedited.html

225) The shortest gaps between AAA albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-shortest-gaps-between-aaa-albums.html

226) The longest gaps between AAA albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-longest-gaps-between-aaa-albums.html

227) Top ten AAA drummers http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-ten-aaa-drummers-news-views-and.html

228) Top Ten AAA Singles (In Terms of 'A' and 'B' Sides) http://www.alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/top-ten-aaa-singles-and-b-sides-news.html

229) The Stories Behind Six AAA Logos http://www.alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-stories-behind-six-aaa-logos.html

230) AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! The Best Ten AAA Screams http://www.alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-best-aaa-screams-top-ten-news-views.html

231) An AAA Pack Of Horses http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/aaa-songs-about-horses-top-ten-news.html

232) AAA Granamas - Sorry, Anagrams! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/aaa-anagrams-news-views-and-music-issue.html

233) AAA Surnames and Their Meanings http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/aaa-surnames-and-their-meanings-news.html

234) 20 Erroneous AAA Album Titles http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/twenty-erroneous-aaa-album-titles-news.html

235) The Best AAA Orchestral Arrangements http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/fifteen-great-aaa-string-parts-news.html

236) Top 30 Hilariously Misheard Album Titles/Lyrics http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/top-thirty-hilariously-misheard-aaa.html

237) Ten controversial AAA sackings - and whether they were right http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/ten-controversial-aaa-sackings-news.html

238) A Critique On Critiquing - In Response To Brian Wilson http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/a-critique-on-critiquing-in-response-to.html

239) The Ten MusicianS Who've Played On The Most AAA Albums http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-ten-musicians-whove-played-on-most.html

240) Thoughts on #CameronMustGo http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/thoughts-on-cameronmustgo.html

241) Random Recent Purchases (Kinks/Grateful Dead/Nils Lofgren/Rolling Stones/Hollies) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/six-random-recent-purchases-kinksg.html 

242) AAA Christmas Number Ones http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/aaa-christmas-number-ones.html 

243) AAA Review Of The Year 2014 (Top Releases/Re-issues/Documentaries/DVDs/Books/Songs/ Articles  plus worst releases of the year) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/aaa-review-of-year-2014.html

244) Me/CFS Awareness Week 2015 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/mecfs-awareness-week-at-alans-album.html

245) Why The Tory 2015 Victory Seems A Little...Suspicious http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/why-tory-victory-seems-deeply.html

246) A Plea For Peace and Tolerance After The Attacks on Paris - and Syria http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/a-plea-for-peace-and-toleration.html

247) AAA Review Of The Year 2015 http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-aaa-review-of-year-2015.html

248) The Fifty Most Read AAA Articles (as of December 31st 2015) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/the-fifty-most-read-aaa-posts-2008-2015.html

249) The Revised AAA Crossword! http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2016_07_10_archive.html


251) Half-A-Dozen Berries Plus One (An AAA Tribute To Chuck Berry) http://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/an-aaa-covers-tribute-to-chuck-berry.html

252) Guest Post: ‘The Skids – Joy’ (1981) by Kenny Brown  https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/guest-post-skids-joy-1981.html


254) Guest Post: ‘Supertramp – Some Things Never Change’ by Kenny Brown https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2018/06/guest-review-supertramp-some-things.html

255) AAA Review Of The Year 2018 https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-aaa-review-of-year-2018.html

256) AAA Review Of The Year 2019 plus Review Of The Decade 2010-2019 https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-alans-album-archives-review-of-year.html



257) Tiermaker https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2019/06/alans-album-archives-on-tiermaker.html

258) #Coronastock https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2020/04/coronastock.html

259) #Coronadocstock https://alansalbumarchives.blogspot.com/2020/05/coronadocstock.html
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