Friday 30 July 2010

News, Views and Music Issue 69 (Intro)




July 30:

♫ Hello again all of you out there in non-AAA land. We so wish you could join us here in our world, full of lemonade lakes, Lucy in the sky with diamonds and one of the most surreal and pictorial albums of all: Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake. Yes that’s right, we’re looking for the other half of the moon this week – and this is your invitation to join us. All you have to do is scroll down the page to join in with this review (and yes, we have officially gone mad this week!) Meanwhile, what the heck’s going on – we’re just chock-a-block with news stories this week after waiting ages for any en masse at all. Could it be the summer sun has woken everyone up? (Well, everyone our end of the planet anyway). Oh and a big thankyou for all you visitors – we’ve now passed the 1600 point! Another milestone falls! At this rate we’ll be competing with Facebook and Google (well, perhaps not just yet...)



                                                        

Beach Boys News: Brian Wilson and George Gershwin dont seem the most natural of bedfellows, but the elder Wilson brother often cites the American master as an influence. Whilst his brothers and cousin spent their time referencing Chuck Berry on mid-70s LPs, Brians gone the whole hog and recorded a complete CD full of Gershwin songs re-recorded in the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson style, titled Brian Wilson Re-imagines Gershwin. Most interesting for fans is the news that Brain has been working on two incomplete and unreleased Gershwin songs, donated to the project by the composers estate. Although other fans are probably more interested in Brians a capella take on Rhapsody In Blue and the Beach Boys re-make of I Got Rhythm which sounds like it was recorded in 1963.

Beatles News: Whilst weve always got our ears out for conspiracy theories here at the AAA (well, you explain how on earth the likes of George Bush, Ronald Reagan and David Cameron got into power), theres an old one from the 60s we never really got. You see, Paul McCartney is meant to have died in a 1966 car crash and been replaced by a body double named Billy Shears, a conspiracy that was ousted by a bored DJ in 1969. Beatles fans know all about the clues, much as most of us try to avoid the subject, from the Beetle on the front cover of Abbey Road which tells us the age Paul would have been...a year later in 1970! (something most fans miss and take at face value Macca was 27 not 28 at the time of the cover shoot), the black carnation in Pauls lapel in Magical Mystery Tour (which was either the caterers fault or the Beatles for not realising the flower was out of season and thus rather rare during the time of shooting) and Lennons cryptic  announcement at the end of Strawberry Fields Forever (where Lennons seasonal muttering Cranberry Sauce does sound a bit like I buried Paul).

The only convincing detail in any of this is the continuing insistence of the band that the walrus was Paul (a word that means death in India, where the Beatles were about to travel in a few months spookily enough) and the mafia sign of a death about to occur the outstretched palm over Pauls head on the Sgt Peppers cover, although strangely neither clue seems to get a mention. Well anyway, you can now buy a DVD to go with the books and websites on the subject (named Paul Really Is Dead), which adds the disturbing news that George Harrison revealed the conspiracy to be true on his deathbed (and sent a cassette of the confession to a Hollywood film maker, hence this film). It seems pretty unlikely that George of all people would keep anything quiet that long and the whole scheme is made even more unlikely when it is revealed that wait for it John Lennon wrote all the bands songs post 1966 (as if! Lennon would have taken all the credit for them and given himself the good songs). The other new revelation that The Queen was behind the switch because she feared mass suicides from all of Pauls fans is even more ludicrous because even in 1966 the Royal Family had no power or sympathy with the young at all. Just thought youd like to know its out, thats all. 

In other news, Pauls faithful guitarist Rusty Anderson whose been playing in his band for gulp nine years now has released his first solo album, the curiously titled Born On Earth. The album sadly doesnt feature any of the rest of Maccas band (including the big man himself) but is nevertheless an interesting release, revealing very similar influences to the last cache of McCartney solos.

Oh and a bit more news about those re-mastered Lennons due for release on Johns 70th birthday in October. Whilst all the albums have new and unreleased material, Lennons comeback album Double Fantasy is set to get a 2-disc makeover, with oodles of extras from the sessions featuring the songs in stripped back and bare form. Now, Ive never been a big fan of that album (I see it as Lennons worst after Imagine), but I do really like the outtakes from the sessions as heard on Anthology and Acoustic, so a back-to-basics version of the album can only be a good thing in my eyes. Oh and incidentally the albums original producer Jack Douglas has been persuaded out of retirement to work on the tapes spookily doing the post-production in the Sony office which used to be the New York recording plant for Geffen where the album was made (and which was the last room Lennon saw until dying in the street outside his house 20 minutes later).

Belle and Sebastian News: The band seem to have got back together again and are headlining this years Latitude festival after several years of silence since 2005s The Life Pursuit and various spin-off solo albums, never a good sign for a healthy group. The band are also playing a short six-date tour of Britain and in true B and S style will be playing some of the smallest venues the United Kingdom has to offer, not the largest! Talking of solo albums, Isobel Campbell who left the band in 2002 is due to release Hawk in August, the fourth album in her well-received series of duets with singer Mark Lanegan and the pair will be performing two gigs in September, one in London and another in Glasgow.

The Kinks News: In a hilarious riposte to the sun-shiney delights of High School Musical and Glee, Ray Davies has just announced hes resurrecting his old war horse Schoolboys in Disgrace , which is to be turned into a film due out on our screens in 2013. Like many a Ray Davies project, this one will probably fall by the wayside but should the high school monstrosities still be around in three years time it would be fantastic to see Rays story of love, betrayal, pregnancy and an uncaring school system who doesnt understand its pupils show up what the other films dont tell you about school life. A whole new cast are said to be re-recording the album, replacing The Kinks work which was released in 1975. Dave Davies, meanwhile, has just released a fascinating DVD Mystical Journey which, like many of Daves recent releases, has a paranormal theme. This extended interview with Dave fills us in a bit more about how Dave got interested in the subject (which he talks about briefly in his excellent autobiography Kink), the visions Dave saw during his time with the band and the love-hate psychic relationship with brother Ray. As a bonus for Kinks fans theres a 15-track CD full of snippets from Daves career  including a new song and previously unreleased home footage of The Kinks.

Moody Blues News: At long last the Moodies’ record label Threshold are re-issuing Ray Thomas’ two under-rated solo albums ‘From Mighty Oaks’ and ‘Hopes, Wishes and Dreams’ in a limited-edition two CD set. This will be the first time on CD for both albums which, like many a solo Moody effort are patchy but the highlights (‘Adam and I’ and ‘We Need Love’ respectively) are well up to the band’s best efforts. The set is due for release in late August and Ray will be signing copies at the Threshold shop sometime in September (see either the band’s website or Mike Pinder’s very classy website for more).

Pink Floyd News: More on that Floyd reunion we mentioned last week. Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters were performing at a charity fundraiser for Palestinian children in Oxfordshire’s Kiddington Hall on July 10th this year. The two Floydians, both of whom are known for their extensive charity work though not usually together, played a four-song set made up of Floyd favourites Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2), Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb (almost the same as their Live 8 set, although interestingly there was nothing from Dark Side Of The Moon) plus a Floyd soundcheck favourite, a cover of The Teddy Bears’ ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him’ which the band have never played before an audience before. The duo, who both played on acoustic guitars for much of the gig, were joined by Gilmour’s sidemen bassist Guy Pratt, Waters’ sidemen guitarist Chester Kamen and keyboardist Jonjo Grisdale, session favourite Andy Newmark on drums and Roger’s son Harry on keyboards. Only 200 privileged people got to see the gig which the two musicians kept a well-kept secret and the reunion bodes well for another Floyd mini reunion sometime in the near future (especially as Roger will be touring with his live show re-creation of ‘The Wall’ sometime soon). In other news, there’s a new and as yet untitled book about Syd Barrett in the works, promising unseen photographs of the young Floyd at London’s UFO Club in 1967 plus many interviews with those close to Barrett and some of Syd’s paintings. More news if and when.

Otis Redding News: Despite the poor spelling and its last-minute status instead of the cancelled ‘At The BBC’ set (see below), BBC6 are repeating the 1990s documentary ‘The Otis Redding Story’ in two parts this Monday and Tuesday night as part of their ‘midnight documentary’ hour. If I remember rightly this was a fine but flawed look at one of the world’s greatest singers, which didn’t have much new to offer (and mostly played the usual suspects) but did have some very illuminating interviews with members of Otis’ backing group Booker T and the MGs. 

Rolling Stones News: Bah! Humbug! Grr! Thanks BBC6 for cancelling the vast majority of the ‘At The BBC’ series we discussed last week. At the time of writing the two-part Beatles series is due to go ahead (this Saturday and Sunday) but sadly the Rolling Stones set due to be broadcast on Tuesday has been cancelled and replaced by something called ‘The Otis Reading Story’ (!) Assuming this is just a case of spellchecker-itis and they really mean Otis Redding I’m willing to forgive BBC6 for now (at least they’ve put something decent on) but after all the kind things we said last week they go and pull this stunt on us, huh!

There was some good news for Rolling Stones fans this week though as Tuesday also saw the broadcast of ‘Lies and Truths’ on the ‘Yesterday’ channel (formerly the History Channel – so presumably Today will be Yesterday, Tomorrow When It Comes). 


ANNIVERSARIES (July 26-August 1st): Happy birthday to the following hip AAA cats: Mick Jagger (singer with The Rolling Stones 1962-present) turns 67 on July 26th, the much-missed Rick Wright (keyboardist with Pink Floyd 1967-80 and 1987-94) would have been 65 on July 28th and finally the equally-mourned Jerry Garcia (guitarist with the Grateful Dead 1965-95) would have been 68 on August 1st. Anniversaries of events include: The Rolling Stones’ ‘Beggars Banquet’ becomes the first AAA album to be cancelled because of a cover dispute – Decca object to the band’s idea, a toilet wall with the album tracks scrawled on as graffiti (July 26th 1968); George Harrison holds the press conference that heralds the ‘Bangladesh’ benefit concerts (July 27th 1971); meanwhile his sometime colleague John Lennon finally gets his ‘green card’ allowing him to stay in the States after four years of fighting (July 27th 1976); The film Ned Kelly starring Mick Jagger receives its premiere (and weirdly I only bought my copy of it the day before writing this!) (July 28th 1970); the world record for concert attendance – 600,000 – takes place at a little heralded concert at New York’s Watkins Glen arena, starring the Grateful Dead (July 28th 1973); The Beatles’ film ‘Help!’ receives its premiere at the London Pavilion (July 29th 1965); The Beatles close their ‘Apple Boutique’ shop, giving away their stock to delighted customers for free (July 30th 1968); The Rolling Stones play their shortest ever concert (12 minutes) after the stage gets invaded by rioters in Belfast (July 31st 1964); The Beach Boys spend their first week of many on the British charts with ‘Surfin’ USA’ (August 1st 1963) and finally, George Harrison’s first concert for Bangladesh (also starring Ringo and Badfinger) takes place at Madison Square Garden (August 1st 1971).     


News, Views and Music Issue 69 (Top Five): 'Other' British Invasion DVDS we'd like to see




♫ We mentioned last week that the first ‘proper’ Small Faces DVD had finally been released by production company ‘Reelin’ In The Years’  as part of their ‘British Invasion’ series. Well, given that there seems to be no mention of when the second batch is coming out (the other early releases include non-AAA bands Gerry and the Pacemakers, Dusty Springfield and Herman’s Hermits), we thought we’d do their work for them and look at what other fascinating 60s footage there is for other AAA groups:

1)   The Beatles: Alas Apple don’t like giving away their copyrights so don’t expect a Beatles set anytime soon. But if anyone was to get the rights what a cornucopia of great early footgae they’d have access to: the whole of the under-rated (if short) ‘Around The Beatles’ set including performances of all the 1962/63 singles and the curio one-performance-only ‘Shout!’; various Ready Steady Go!s (if someone was very nice to Dave Clark who bought up all the rights to this show...) including the fascinating footage of Paul telling us he sleeps with his eyes open and giving an award to the Peggy Lee-dancing girl who will later become the inspiration for ‘She’s Leaving Home’ (not that either of them knew it at the time), not to mention a fair few TOTPs and promo films (for Ticket To Ride, Paperback Writer, Rain and more), the David Frost TV version of ‘Hey Jude!’ and a cracking lot of newsreels which presumably are out of copyright (and have filled up many padded-out Beatles DVDs down the years), not to mention the odd European TV footage. Alas we’ll probably never get to see the fab four on ‘Juke Box Jury’, but there’s still plenty of room for a decent set here even without replicating the footage used in the ‘Anthology’ series.



2)   The Rolling Stones: There’s a similarly varied selection for The Stones. ‘It’s All Over Now’ ‘Get Off My Cloud’ ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ and ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ are all regularly seen on TOTP2s, there’s great footage of the band playing a live version of ‘satisfaction’ and miming to Sonny and Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe’ from Ready Steady Go! plus various other newsreel and European performances from around Europe (although strangely the band never seemed to play for the most famous – and most complete – TV programme, Germany’s Beat! Beat! Beat!) which would make for another nice set.



3)   The Hollies: There is a Hollies DVD out at present – ‘The Graham Nash Years’, but its an unofficial, poor-quality and repetitive set featuring no less than 4 versions of ‘Look Through Any Window’ in its hour. Goodness knows why because I know of a full 3 hours of footage over and above this set that exists and I bet there’s a lot more I don’t know about. Germany, a country far keener on holding onto their archives than the BBC and ITV, always liked The Hollies and there’s plenty of ‘Beat! Beat! Beat!’ and ‘Beat Club’ performances to draw from, spanning 1963 to Terry Sylvester’s first appearances with the band in 1969, not to mention two full 1980 and 1990s docs on the band which have never been screened in the UK. Add in a RSGo performance of ‘Here I Go Again’, many many many TOTPops (including a live version of ‘The Day That Crazy Billy...’ which is better than the record) and various promos that haven’t been seen for years (‘Dear Eloise’ filmed in the Abbey Road car park and a pioneering five-face version of ‘Do The Best You Can’) and you’d have one of the best music DVDs ever made.



4)   The Kinks: There’s just as much footage for The Kinks, although unusually this material has been largely released noawadays. Thew problem is, its spread across a lot of very cheap sets featuring linking material by Dave Davies at the height of his illness and aren’t exactly made for easy viewing (great promos from the 60s and 70s although no sign of the infamous one for ‘Dead End Street’ alas, plus performances from Shindig in the 60s, TOTP in the 80s and extracts from a full half hour TV special in 1978). Add this together with new footage (the unscreened ‘A Soap Opera’ TV special which is stupendous and well overdue for release, a 1981 concert screened in Germany, extracts from the TV show ‘At The 11th Hour’ for which Ray Davies wrote nine exclusive songs of which only two have been officially released, Ray’s theme song for the ‘Ballad Of The Virgin Soldiers’ film, various Beat Club and Beat Beat Beat shows which The Kinks kept appearing on long after most 60s bands had stopped plus various TOTPs that are forever being repeated on TOTP2 and an early bluesy performance on Beat Room the week You Really Got Me first made #1) and you’d have another DVD right up there with the very best ever made.



5)   The Who: Another plethora of unreleased treasures that still get shown on TV sometimes but have never yet been gathered together. There’s a whole nest of footage that still hasn’t been put onto DVD yet, despite there being two very very good DVDs available (the 1979 documentary film ‘The Kids Are Alright’ and the 1994 ’30 Years Of maximum R and B’). These include an explosive early version of ‘My Generation’ and the unreleased ‘Shout and Shimmy’ from Ready Steady Go, TOTP versions of ‘Substitute’ ,‘I Can’t Explain’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, ‘Pinball Wizard’ as featured on the Tom Jones Show in 1969, ‘Relay’ – a rare track plugged on the Old Grey Whistle Test and the band’s complete four song set from the Kampuchea benefit concerts (of which only one features in the ‘maximum r and b’ documentary). Add to that a few more Beat Beat Beat and Beat Club performances and the way is paved for a third excellent set of Who madness on DVD. 

Goodbye for another week but, just before we go, time for an in-joke: ‘the aliens are fighting for control of the Concourse!’ (They can have it if you ask me!) happy rocking and see you next week!

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