Saturday, 3 March 2012

News, Views and Music Issue 135 (Top Six); Beatles Albums That Might Have Been




We’re going to have a little bit of fun with this week’s top whatever-the-heck-it-is-this-week. Keeping in with our solo Beatles and ‘what might have been’ theme, we’ve taken our cue from an interview a harassed John Lennon gave to the Daily Express when asked yet again about the likelihood of a Beatles reunion in 1972: ‘If people need the Beatles so much, all they have to do is to buy each solo album, put it on tape, track by track, one of me, one of Paul, one of George, one of Ringo if they really need it that much...’ Of course here in 2012 we really do need The Beatles, more than ever if this week’s top 10 albums chart is anything to go by (Adele #1? Again?!) So here’s my mischievous guide to the albums that might have been had The Beatles patched up their differences and continued to work with each other. Of course, many of the tracks on solo Beatles albums would never have turned out the same way had they been ‘band’ records (would George have ever got away with ‘Ding Dong Ding Dong?’ Would Lennon ever have bared his soul to primal scream therapy? Would Paul ever have written so many stadium rockers without Wings?) so we’ve taken a few liberties here and told you about them along with each album. This is all a bit like playing ‘Beetledrive’, actually, but instead of adding parts of an insect and putting them together you’re doing it with tracks from assorted Beatles solo albums instead.

It’s worth nothing here 1) George did very little in 1971 and 1972 so we’re assuming that, limited to the Beatles’ method of three George songs-per-album, he’d only have got the chance to release his ‘All Things Must Pass’ songs a little bit at a time and 2) That The Beatles finally broke up when Lennon announced his retirement in 1975, making just one more album when he returned from his ‘house-husband’ phase in 1980 (we’d love to have an alternate reality where he was never shot and to this day lives with Yoko on a rocking chair in Scotland, his dream of the 1970s, but I wouldn’t dare to invent John Lennon song titles he might have gone on to write so that’s where we’re finishing this list). All songs issued by all four Beatles between 1970 and 1974, plus 1980, are up for grabs (we’re assuming here that Paul George and Ringo would have released their 1975-79 material solo before reforming so that material is null and void – we’re also refusing any material later than that although we’ve made a special case for George and Ringo, who both had albums in the pipeline at the time of Lennon’s death). We’ve also had some fun with the names and some possibly track listings – we seriously doubt any of these album titles would ever have been used but they seemed to fit (and made for a lot more hilarity than simply naming the albums after the solo releases). Think we missed anything major out? Let us know on our forum!

Album #1 “Every Night Is Another Day” (1970)

Another Day/Working Class Hero/My Sweet Lord/Junk/Love/Maybe I’m Amazed//All Things Must Pass/Beaucoups Of Blues/Every Night/Run Of The Mill/God/Give Peace A Chance

Review: ‘The Beatles’ most thoughtful album, this album shows how close the band came to breaking up after the rigours of ‘Let It Be’ and various court cases, following on from the moodier second side of ‘Abbey Road’. Lennon has found his scathing tongue again, especially on album highlight ‘Working Class Hero’ (oh so nearly a single before Macca came up with ‘Another Day’ at the last minute), although its the surprise affirmation ‘yes I do believe in Beatles’ on ‘God’ and the singalong Beatles extended version of ‘Give Peace A Chance’ that are the most moving moments. Paul’s moments are more guarded and anxious, especially the other album highlight ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ with a terrific guitar solo from George and Beatles harmonies to die for. George continues the strong run of form he had on ‘Abbey Road’ and is clearly the band’s ‘conscious; at work here, reminding the band of their near-failures in the delightful ‘All Things Must Pass’ and song-of-burned-friendship ‘Run Of The Mill’, although its the religious ‘My Sweet Lord’ (with strummed guitars from all 3 Beatles minus Ringo) that’s got the critics talking (Lennon even took out a line on ‘God’ about ‘I don’t believe in religion’ to please his old buddy). While Ringo is under-represented, with only a cover of a country song to his name as in the days of ‘Help!’, even that fits into the melancholy feel of this subdued, almost unplugged album. As the band title says, this is a band still with a great deal to give, not content to look back on ‘Yesterday’ and full of the dreams that if they can go back to working together again then world peace in the 1970s should be a doddle. The band cover, of the group in soft focus underneath a tree clutching bowls of cherries, has caused a lot of speculation – I much prefer the back cover of all the Beatles with their babies/toddlers sticking out of their jackets. Another magnificent creation that should compete well with this year’s mania for super-groups’.

Album #2 ‘Imagine-nation’ (1971)

Power To The People/Heart Of The Country/Beware Of Darkness/Jealous Guy/Ram On/Long Haired Lady/Isn’t It A Pity?//It Don’t Come Easy/Gimme Some Truth/What Is Life?/Oh My Love Back Seat Of My Car/Imagine

Review: ‘Another album by the lads (now all grown up) finds Lennon strongly back in charge. He’s been talking a lot in the press of late about how he wants the band to de-camp to America or, failing that, create their own ‘Nutopia’ and let the human race start again from scratch. Perhaps that’s why this album has such an upbeat feel to it, especially after the doom and gloom of the band in 1970, with the band’s latest international hit (‘Imagine’) striking a chord with youth all over the world (the fact that John and Paul play on two pianos, black and white, back to back, in the video is another pleasing touch). Elsewhere Paul is in comparatively pensive mood with two epic songscapes (‘Lady’ and ‘Car’) in stark contrast to the funkier songs he provided on the last LP. The delightful ‘Heart Of The Country’ is also strongly suited to the theme of starting again, though, and ‘Ram On’ (this album’s title track at one stage) sounds delightful with a full orchestra and Beatle accompaniment. Yet again George takes the honours with this album’s second single ‘What Is Life?’, complete with criss-crossing guitars from John and Paul and his moody song of warning ‘Beware Of Darkness’ is easily up to the high standards of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team. Even Ringo delights with his collaboration with George ‘It Don’t Come Easy’, a breezy classy pop song that the band clearly relish playing with Merseybeat nostalgia. A refreshingly hopeful and impressive album, with only Lennon’s acerbic bite on ‘Gimme Some Truth’ (once recorded for ‘Let It Be’ we understand) upsetting the ‘applecart’. Word has it the band also revived ‘Not Guilty’ from the White Album sessions for this record, but gave up after a trying series of a further 300 takes. The album cover, with John nursing a pig, Paul holding a ram, Ringo holding a whisky bottle and George clutching a gnome is good for a few laughs though and will surely add much to the ‘Beatles are Dead and actually disbanded in 1969’ rumour that’s sweeping the planet. Should put those glam rockers in their place, despite the growing friendship between Marc Bolan and Ringo.’

Album #3 ‘Tomorrow Is A New Yesterday’ (1972)

Woman Is The Nigger Of The World/I Am Your Singer/Back Off Boogaloo/Some People Never Know/John Sinclair/Attica State/The Art Of Dying//Tomorrow/The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)/Apple Scruffs/Medley: Sunday Bloody Sunday-Give Ireland Back To The Irish-Luck Of The Irish/Dear Friend

Review: ‘The fab four (still with Billy Preston since 1969) have come up with a brave album for 1972 that should ruffle more feathers than any Beatles album thus far. Yes, in common with many of the 1960s bands still going (how sad that the Stones should have split up so soon after finding their mojo again with ‘Stikcy Fingers’) The Beatles have gone all political on this album. The talking point will no doubt be the ‘Abbey Road’ style Irish medley, made up of three leftover Lennon and McCartney songs stuck together by the aid of some fiery Harrison guitarwork. It’s no ‘A Day In The Life’ but this song does make more sense with the Beatles working together than apart and its interesting how after all this time both Lennon and McCartney hold similar political views. Elsewhere this album marks something of a backward step after past glories, with Lennon obsessed by all things American (he still keeps threatening to move there one day on a permanent basis) and McCartney reduced to recycling the key changes of ‘Yesterday’ for the band’s latest single ‘Tomorrow’, although his song of companionship with John on the 10th anniversary of the first Beatles single (‘Dear Friend’) should bring a lump to the throat of fans (especially when all four Beatles kick in during the fade-out to what is otherwise a solo Macca song). George’s contributions still continue to shine, though perhaps not as brightly as on the first two albums, whilst Ringo’s retro rock contribution ‘Back Off Boogaloo’ sounds very odd in the context of the album, with the band aping the recent success of Marc Bolan rather than stretching forward as before. The album cover is odd too, with a mock-up newspaper of the band featuring gnomes and a shot of them all balancing precariously on a tree above a river. A curious album, this one, which finds The Beatles on rather lacklustre form in 1972. It’s still better than the surprise hit of the year Slade, though, as at least The Beatles can spell their song titles’. 

Album #4 ‘This Is So Sad That I Am Sorry (Aisumasen)’ (1973)

Big Barn Bed/Bring On The Lucie (And Freeda People)/Little Lamb Dragonfly/I’m The Greatest/Living In The Material World/Mind Games//C Moon/The Mess/I Know (I Know)/My Love/Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)/Aisumasen/Photograph

Review: ‘The Beatles’ record of 1973 finds the band in apologetic form, split equally between stomping urgent rockers and sweet insecure ballads. Ringo is the surprise package of the album, featured via three songs written by the other Beatles (John’s ‘I’m The Greatest’ George’s ‘Photograph’ and Paul’s ‘C Moon’, which works especially well with Ringo’s drawling delivery). John’s recent split with Yoko Ono has clearly affected his mood for the album, although his four selections on the album are under-rated at the moment, with the one last surge of political activism on ‘Bring On The Lucie’ especially strong  (even though its current Beatles single ‘Mind Games’, with its stunning Beatles tape loops, that’s getting the biggest response). Paul’s ‘My Love’, the Beatles hit of a few months ago, features excellent guitar work from George although its his delightful rocker ‘The Mess’ and the complex song-suite ‘Little Lamb Dragonfly’ that mark his greatest moments. George excels too with his ‘Give Me Love’ ballad the most Beatlesy moment on the album, although its ‘Living In The Material World with its fab four references (‘John and Paul were living in the material world...’) that’s causing the biggest fuss among fans. For my money though the best track is psychedelic band jam ‘Loup (1st Indian On The Moon)’, taken from the b-side of The Beatles’ news single and as psychedelic as anything they did in the summer of love. All in all this is a stronger album than last year’s effort, although in places it feels a little sorry for itself and needs another couple of world-beaters to rank among the band’s best efforts. The cover is intriguing though: the band standing in front of a ‘speedway’ bike with flowers in their mouths. Should do well against the sheer mess that represents the record charts in 1973, where the only thing to get excited about is a slight rock and roll revival’

Album #5 “Sgt Pepper Is On The Run” (1974)

Band On The Run/Whatever Gets You Thru The Night/So Sad/Let Me Roll It/The No No Song/Steel and Glass//Dark Horse/Goodnight Vienna/Jet!/Scared/It Is He (Jai Sri Krishna)/#9 Dream/1985/Goodnight Vienna (Reprise)

Review: ‘Well, here it is at last, the album we thought we’d never see. To mark the 10th anniversary of ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ the band have returned to their heyday and updated their story of ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, picturing him now as a shadowy figure out playing gigs in the dead of night to get the message of truth across. This loose theme of fugitives plays over and over again across this fascinating return to form: from the ‘Band On The Run’ of the opening track (with the band, playing live for once, clearly relishing the mood changes in the song), to Lennon’s paranoid songs ‘Scared’ and ‘Steel and Glass’, his best in a while. Listen out for Paul pretending to be John on ‘Let Me Roll It’ and John pretending to be Paul on ‘Thru The Night’. George is often penned as the ‘dark horse’ of the group (they stopped calling him the ‘quiet Beatle’ a couple of years ago when he helped get the band back touring in a series of Bangladesh benefit concerts and wouldn’t stop talking about it), with the four Beatles’ psychedelic interplay on ‘It Is He’ particularly memorable. Ringo, meanwhile, is the comedy relief on this album with ‘The No No Song’, while his collaboration with Lennon, ‘Goodnight Vienna’, is pretty weird. The album ends with a memorable two song nostalgia fest in ‘#9 Dream’ and ‘1985, with John’s song clearly speaking about the band’s past (‘so long ago, was it just a dream?’) and Paul’s song ‘1985’ (‘she will be right, she may be fine, she might buy albums and they’ll be mine’) the band’s future. I’m particularly impressed with the way the song manages to circle back to ‘Band On The Run’ via snippets of ‘She Loves You’ ‘All You Need Is Love’ and ‘Get Back’ before heading into a reprise of Ringo’s Lennon-penned opening track. Overall, pretty funky, with the double ‘a’ side ‘Whatever Gets You Through The Night’/’Jet!’ currently doing well in the charts. There’s a terrific album cover too: three of the band caught in a prison light but silhouetted in night, surrounded by key 1970s figures Michael Parkinson, Kenny Lynch, Vincent Price (Macca’s choice), Richard Nixon and Jerry Rubin (Lennon’s choice), the robot from the film ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ (Ringo’s choice), plus various Hindu deities and some garden gnomes (George’s choice). Above them all hovers Ringo as a graceful angel whose just arrived in a spaceship to save them and is dressed as a robot, perhaps The Beatles’ most striking cover yet. Who’d’ve thought it, eh? The Beatles latest is as a strong as any album in their canon and beats anything else released in this forgettable year by aeons, matched only by the honest-to-God CSNY reunion ‘Human Highway’, which looked for one awful moment there like it might have been lost for good’.

Album #6 ‘Like A Flower’ (1980)

Coming Up/Beautiful Boy/Private Property/I’m Losing You/All Those Years Ago/Borrowed Time/One Of These Days//Blood From A Clone/Wrack My Brain/Secret Friend/I’m Steppin’ Out/Life Itself/Life Begins At 40/Real Love/Waterfalls

Review: ‘Well here we are again with another Beatles album that, as its title says, finds the band blooming once again. Following Lennon’s shock retirement (his announcement at the end of the last record ‘this is Dr Winston O’Boogie saying goodnight’ should have given us a clue) there’s been much speculation as to what a Beatles reunion album would sound like. And the results are, erm, mixed. The break hasn’t really done Lennon’s writing any favours, although the presence of a band backing on ‘Real Love’ is interesting (at the time of writing, the last Beatles single) and the funky powerhouse rock and roll on a couple of the tracks does make them sound a lot better than the demos that were broadcast on the ‘Lost Lennon’ radioshow John did during his sabbatical in new York. ‘Borrowed Time’ is a classic song too, much better than the song he gave away to poor Ringo, ‘Life Begins At 40’, although that said neither Paul’s ‘Ringo’ song (‘Private Property’) or George’s (‘Wrack My Brain’) are up to much. Paul’s on pretty good form, though, with current hit ‘Coming Up’ showing how well the band have adapted to the synthesisers that have become all the rage in their absence and ‘Waterfalls’, with its ghostly harmonies, one of his better ballads. George’s nostalgia song ‘All Those Years Ago’ is a bit of a limp song for such an auspicious project, however, and it’s his lovely religious ballad ‘Life Itself’ that remains his greatest song on the album. We expected a bit better, having heard how excited John was to return to work and how spurred on he was by the ‘Coming Up’ tape Paul played him. The cover is an odd one too: two blurry Paul McCartney’s look on from either side of the sleeve, whilst Lennon kisses Yoko, Ringo kisses a rose and George kisses a paving slab. At least it’s better than the latest wannabe Blondie though (rumour is John tried to get Ringo to cover their ‘Heart Of Glass’ for the album as his ‘Ringo’ contribution to the record) and at least Paul’s contributions have a bit of a ‘new wave’ feel to them, especially his spacey psychedelic flashback jam ‘Secret Friend’.’ 
And that’s enough parallel time-streams for another week! See you next issue!
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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