Friday, 25 November 2011

News, Views and Music Issue 123 (Top Twenty): Rarest AAA Records


Got a spare Beatles acetate sitting in the loft? Or perhaps a Monkees corgi Monkeemobile is more your thing (one of the most expensive TV tie-ins they ever did!) Perhaps you have an autographed copy of the first Pink Floyd album? Or you’ve got the Spice Girls tied up in your attack. Where do you turn? Well, for all but the last one (for which you should give pest-control a call) you can turn to the Record Collector Price Guide for information, which is what we’ve done for our latest top 10 – one which we’ve had to do effectively twice because so many blooming Beatles albums seemed to creep up on it! – along with some ‘newer’ auction prices we’ve heard about! Now I can’t afford to get this mammoth 1500 page book every year (even if I myself have written around that many pages this year), so some of these listings may be out of date – please get a copy of the latest book (I think its the 2010 one, with a 2012 one due soon) if you really want to know the absolute definite price guide to the following). This listing was inspired by the recent auction of our no 1 item that had collectors salivating when they first learned of its existence about five years ago – and have been waiting to get their hands on it ever since, hence the – quite frankly – ridiculous price tag. Presumably there’s some other AAA memorabilia that’s just as rare if not rarer (like John Lennon’s cap worn in the ‘Help!’ film that went for thousands not long ago, or his white piano), but the high price tags there are because they’re unique one-offs and unless youhad a relation that worked for Abbey Road/Top Of The Pops/ went on tour with an AAA band you’re unlucky to have one of those sitting in your loft. So for this article we’re sticking just to records, in all their shapes and forms and giving prices that relate to their being in ‘mint’ (ie ‘as new’) condition. By the way, if you do find that you own one of these rare items then why not sell it via our partners Amazon? (and encourage your bidders to give us 5% of the sale price while you’re about it! Well, it was worth a try wasn’t it?!) Happy hunting!

General Top 10:

10) Pink Floyd “A Saucerful Of Secrets” (mono copy, 1968 in mint condition) worth £400

This album, the Floyd’s second (reviewed on these pages not long ago as news and views 118), was for them a comparatively slow seller. Especially in mono – stereo recorders had taken off in a big way in 1966-67 (legend has it that most fans switched so they could hear ‘Sgt Peppers’ in stereo) and by 1968 records built to sound the same in both speakers were dead in the water. So if you own a ‘perfect’ copy of this record (and yes don’t panic, the ‘coffee cup’ circles are meant to be there on the front cover!) then this record is certainly a saucerful of secrets for you!

9) The Who “Who Did It?” (Track Records Sampler, 1970) worth £400

Back in the late 60s, in the pre-Tommy years, Track Records really went to town pushing re-issues of their best-selling artists. That re-issue series includes such delights as ‘The Ox’ (a compilation of John Entwistle songs), Track Allsorts (a bit of everything!) and, most memorably, this album which features side one of the album ‘A Quick One While He’s Away’ and side one of the album ‘Who Sell Out’ (why???) However by 1970 The Who were into their rock-opera stage and needed their works to be heard complete – which might be why this sampler sold so poorly and was catually withdrawn weeks after release. There’s a snazzy cover you can’t see anywhere else too (with the band in ‘boxes’ on the cover with different coloured backgrounds)



8) The Rolling Stones “Live Stones” (unreleased compilation, 1975) worth £500

‘Rolled Gold’ is for many the definitve Stones compilation, full of classic hit singles and album tracks. ‘More Rolled Gold’ is less so, featuring a pick of all the stuff that wasn’t chosen the first time. ‘Live Stones’ is pushing the box even further – a jumble of tracks from the two live albums the Stones had cut up to that time (‘Live’ and ‘Get Yer Ya Yas Out!’), which might be why Decca pulled this album before official release (though some copies did leak out or were given to friends or disc jockeys or something). Apparently the price applies to ‘pink labels’ only by the way!

7) The Rolling Stones “Golden B-Sides” (unreleased compilation,1973) worth £600

Decca were really desperate to milk their cash-cow weren’t they?! Actually a compilation of B-sides sounds like one of their better ideas – there are certainly enough gems in the Stones catalogue, some of which (‘Dandelion’, ‘Child Of The Moon’ ‘Play With Fire’ ‘The Spider And The Fly’ etc) are the best things they ever did. So I’m sorry that this album never made it to official release either – if you do have a copy then its probably a ‘test pressing’ (ie one made in the factory to see how they would sound rather than issued to the public).

6) The Kinks “Are The Village Green Preservation Society” (unreleased 12 track version, 1968) worth £600

If you own an original mint-edition copy of this album, The Kinks’ worst seller at the time but now largely regarded as their masterpiece, then congratulations: your copy is now worth either £125 (in mono) or £80 (stereo). If you own the original shorter version of this album though (given to sample disc-jockeys and the band themselves) then you’re in for a treat (£600 to be honest). Ray Davies was unhappy with it and asked record label Pye for more time to record five new songs – leaving two songs that didn’t appear on the final LP. ‘Days’ came out as a single and fits the nostalgia vibe of the record well, though its ‘Mr Songbird’ that’s unique to this record (till the 1990s CD re-issue anyway), a chirpy, retro pop song about taking all your troubles away that fans used to have to pay a fortune to hear.

5) The Rolling Stones “History Of The Stones” (unreleased 3 album box set, 1975) worth £800

This release is another Decca compilation that was abandoned in favour of ‘Rolled Gold’. The track listing would have been similar, but longer, with yet more A sides, B sides and album tracks added to the mix. Interestingly no sleeves were ever produced for this compilation and it’s yet another test pressing, with ‘pink’ labels, unavailable to the public at large.

4) The Rolling Stones “Their Satanic Majesties Request” (promotional copy, 1967) worth £1000

‘Promo’ albums are copies that were sent to record company executives, DJs, in fact anyone who would help get a record on the air and were designed to be ‘desirable’ and largely unique so they’d be more likely to be played and the receiver would forever be in the band’s debt (or at least less grumpy about getting whacked with food during the cake fight the Stones had to promote ‘Beggar’s Banquet’ the following year!) The ‘Satanic Majesties’ promo is particularly desirable because it features the album’s 3D cover imprinted not on a cardboard sleeve but on silk! Can I request one of those please, your satanic majesties?...

3) The Rolling Stones “Fortune Teller” (withdrawn single, 1963) worth £1000

Before the Stones bumped into Lennon and McCartney and were given ‘I Wannna Be Your Man’ as their second single, The Stones wanted this well-loved song to be their second single. The song itself later turned up on the Stones’ ‘Got Live If You Want It’ EP smothered in fake screams (!) and actually sounds like one of their better early recordings. After all, it’s hard to go wrong with a song as funky and rhythmic and yet as silly and genuinely laugh out loud funny as ‘Fortune Teller’ – a song The Hollies and The Who also did, among many non-AAA bands. ‘Poison Ivy’, another gem relegated to that live EP, would have been the flip and, again, in my opinion would have made for an improvement on both debut single ‘C’mon’ and ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’.

2) The Rolling Stones “The Rolling Stones” (LP first pressing, 1964) worth £1200

So how do you know if you have a first pressing of this album? (originally only produced in limited numbers because Decca never expected it to sell that well!) It has the matrix number XARL 6272-1A scratched into the album’s second side and a much shorter edit of the early Jagger/Richards song ‘Tell Me’ that only runs 2:52, not 4:06. So there.

1)    Pink Floyd (promotional copies of first four singles, 1967-68) worth £2000 each

For those who don’t know, that means promotional copies of the four singles with Syd Barrett in the band: ‘Arnold Layne’ ‘See Emily Play’ ‘Apples and Oranges’ and ‘It Would Be So Nice’ (although even promo copies of later single ‘Point Me At The Sky’ is worth £1000). The reason these promos in particular are so collectible are that, yet again, the Floyd were giving DJs and record executives something unique in return for plugging their single. Each of these five promotional singles come in their own unique picture sleeve which never appeared on any other Floyd release. Hence the rather extreme price tag!

Beatles Top 10

10) ‘Our First Four’ (promotional pack featuring The Beatles, Mary Hopkin, The Black Mills Dyke Band and Jackie Lomax, 1968) worth £1000

The first releases of The Beatles’ new label Apple Records were a big event and everybody wanted a copy of the first batch of releases – including The Queen, whos asked for ‘Hey Jude’ (hmm, I wonder if she ever listened to B-side ‘Revolution’?!) The Beatles were never one not to make a big event if the public wanted it and so copies of ‘Hey Jude’ ‘Those Were The Days’ ‘Thuingumybob’ and ‘Sour Milk Sea’ respectively were given the works: ‘mounted on a PVC pocketon a printed dayglo card insert in a 10”x 12” card or scarcer plastic box’ according to the Record Collector Price Guide! The ones without the box are worth £750 by the way, still more than enough money to give the whole of the Sgt Peppers audience a slap-up meal. 

9) Please Please Me (demo of single, 1963) worth £1500

The first of two demos on this list, this is for The Beatles second (and probably second-rarest) 45rpm single.Like most EMI ‘demo’ singles pre-1967 this one is printed on a white label with a big red ‘A’ stamped across the label of the main side. So now you know.

8) Yesterday and Today (American LP with original ‘butcher’ sleeve, 1966) worth £2000

Possibly the most famous item on this list, this is the price for a mint edition of the ‘original’ version of this American album, back in the days when America released albums in a different order to their British cousins and so squeezed an extra three albums of materiasl out of the band in the early 60s. This particular one mixes seven tracks from ‘Rubber Soul’ and three songs from ‘Revolver’ plus ‘Yesterday’ (which had just become a US #1). The reason its famous, though, is because of that infamous cover by Robert Freeman picturing The Beatles surrounded by baby dolls with torn off heads and slabs of meat (this was originally meant to be the ‘back’ cover and released without the photogrpaher’s permission – the original ideas was for the four Beatles to be ‘born’ between the legs of a writhing female fan!) Understandably EMI-Capitol weren’t best pleased with the cover and withdraw the album after a public outcry.They then hastily ordered a much more innocent shot of the fab four fooling around with a packing case (on which all but Paul look so bored and annoyed they look ready to kill the cmereman for the inane stunt) which they promptly pasted in over the top of the top of the old one. When fans and collectors realised how rare the original sleeves were they started ‘peeling’ the new covers off with steam from a kettle, even though what generally happened was that they ended up with a nasty mix of the two covers. That’s why mint condition copies of this record are so few and far between – although there are a handful of a few hundred albums with the origibnal cover that were sold before they were re-called.

7) John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band “You Know My Name” (withdrawn single 1969) worth £2000

Most Beatles fans know ‘You Know My Name’ because its the last officially released Beatles product till 1994 (as the B-side of last Beatles single ‘Let It Be’), although its goonish humour actually dates from late 1967 in a break in the ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ sessions (and features Stone Brian Jones on saxophone, with the single finally released some six months after his death). Not as many fans know that Lennon, who loved the recording, wanted to get it out the vaults and release it under his own name (even though McCartney wrote as much of the song as Lennon, if not more). The B-side would have been ‘What’s The New Mary Jane?’, an even stranger collage of screams, sound effects, handbells and one of the most irritating choruses in rock. The ‘song’ didn’t end up being released until Anthology 3 in 1997 and most fans regard it as a bad move, although there is some sort of a hypnotic trance about the whole thing if you hear it long enough (plus Lennon made about half a dozen very different mixes of it, of which to date we’ve officially only heard one – and not the best one either). As the follow up to the poor-selling ‘Cold Turkey’ no doubt this single would have died an even bigger death, but it was long a source of pride amongst Beatles collectors. As the single was never officially released, only acetates of it exist, with a label stating ‘Apple Custom Made’ and handwritten catalogue numbers physically written onto the disc.

6) John Lennon/Yoko Ono “Two Virgins” (first pressing 1969) worth £3000

To think they actually made more than one pressing of this audio verite album! Actually, this is the ‘mono’ version of the record, which again sold less copies than the stero mix which had all but taken over by 1969. As well as the sound, there’s a difference to the sleeve that lists the name of the artists and the fact they are ‘merrie and olde in England’ on the front of the sleeve, not the back (like the stereo copy). Despite having an ‘Apple’ catalogue number, the few fans in the world to own a vinvyl copy may note that the label itself is of ‘Track Records’ (the home of The Who in the 60s). Apple, still owned by EMI, were furious that Lennon wanted to release an album with that cover (him and Yoko naked) and refused to release it. Even a rare personal plea from Lennon to Sir Joseph Lockwood (the head of EMI) reminding him about all The Beatles had done for the label only solved half the matter – that they would issue the album if another distributor got involved (good for Track, we say, who actually lost money on the record). The record originally came wrapped in a brown paper bag – the way they used to sell top-shelf magazines in those days – but few if any of the bags still exist today!

5) Love Me Do (demo of single, 1962) worth £3000

The second of our two Beatle ‘demo’ discs, this one is notable for two reasons. One is that nobody at EMI has a clue who this group are and figure they don’t even need to check up on details – which is why both A and B side are credited to ‘Lennon/McArtney’(!) Secondly, as a new unknown group very few of these ‘test’ discs were ever pressed – the experts reckon only about 250 of them. As the first bit of Beatles magic ever manufactured on the EMI label (surprisngly original copies of ‘My Bonnie’ with The Beatles backing Tony Sheridan actually aren’t rare enough to make this list but would have made the bottom end of the top 20), these few copies are sought by many a collector.

4) The Beatles With Frank Ifield Live On Stage (American compilation, 1964) worth £3000

I always felt really sorry for US record label Vee-Jay. When the American branch of EMI (Capitol) passed on the Beatles’ first three singles, someone somewhere was sharp enough to hear something in ‘Love Me Do’ ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘She Loves You’ – before Capitol finally got their act together and heavily promoted fourth single ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ (an almost permanent #1 in Summer 1964). Vee-Jay never got the rights to another Beatles record, but luckily they still held the rights to three A sides and three B sides, which they released endlessly on all sorts of singles, EPs and LPs. This one is one of the weirder concoctiosn they came up with: figuring that Frank Ifield was British and therefore appealed to the same people, they stuck their same old six tracks on one side of the record and Ifield’s yodelling crooning on the other. The other infamous Vee-Jay fab four comp was ‘The Beatles vs The Four Seasons’, but at least they had some musical similarities (though not many – a Four Seasons vs The Beach Boys record, on the otherhand, made a lot of sense). As for that patronising sleeve of an English caricature (this record’s full name is ‘Tally Ho, what! The Beatles and Frank Ifield On Stage’, though thankfully most people don’t call it that anymore) the least said the better – and just why is this record ‘on stage’ when it was all made in the studio?!

3) Please Please Me (1st and 2nd pressings of album in stereo,1963) worth £3000

Want to know which pressing you’ve got? Well, have a gander at the music publishing. The first pressings came with a ‘Dick James and Co’ credit for ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ ‘Please Please Me’ ‘Misery’ ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret?’ and ‘There’s A Place’. However by the time of second pressings the Lennon/McCartney publishing group ‘Northern Songs’ has bought up the rights to all these songs (albeit they never did get to own ‘Love Me Do’ or ‘PS I Love You’, which are the only two songs that one of the Beatles (Paul) actually owns. The reasons these albums are so rare is that they were so limited – EMI gave The Beatles the go-ahead on the back of one top 20 hit and one top five hit and never in their lives expected this cash-in album to dominate the charts the way it did. The reason the stereo copy is so much rarer than the mono is because so few people had the technology back in 1963, when stereo was still very much the lesser cousin to mono.

2)    ‘The Beatles’ (AKA ‘The White Album’) copies 1-10 (1968) worth £10,000

The idea behind ‘The White Album’ was to make it seem like a ‘limited edition’ that only ever actually sold as many copies as the public bought. The ‘number’ was printed on the bottom right hand corner and, for the record, my vinyl copy is number 9782 so, alas, I’m not as rich as I’d hoped. Generally speaking you need a copy numbered in the first thousand for it to be worth anything special, with albums numbered between 11 and 100 worth around £7000 in mint condition. The reason the first 10 fetch so much more is because they were ‘bagged’ by The Beatles themselves to give away to friends or family – Ringo actually got copy #1, much to Lennon’s annoyance because he thought he’d ‘bagged’ it first!

1)    “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (special mock-up featuring Capitol music executives, 1967) worth £70,000

I still remember the fuss in Record Collector when this album was finally confirmed to be true and not just a mad fan rumour. Back in 1967, with ‘Sgt Peppers’ breaking all records, the record guys at Capitol (the American branch of EMI) wanted to celebrate and so commisioned a mock-up of the famous cover, but with the pictures of themselves and their mates appearing instead of John, Paul, George, Ringo and assorted film stars, sports stars, politicians, friends and gurus. Only 100 copies of this record were ever made (given to heads of department and some employees as Christmas present) and to date only three are confirmed to have survived- the most recent of which sold for this record price last month.If you happen to have one in your attic then start getting the champagne in now!

And that ends yet another newsletter. Join us next week – if you aren’t too busy counting the money you’ve just made at a record auction...
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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