Alan's Album Archives

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About Alan's Album Archives
Born in the nexus point of Britain (well, the Midlands anyway), the author has swapped the concrete paradise of Stafford for …the concrete paradise of Ormskirk/Skelmersdale. Along the way he got a music GCSE and A level (including a national award for his composing work) and music theory grades 3-5 (his compositions can be heard online through the link at www.alanasalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk if any of The Beach Boys want to get their own back and review them!) He was also awarded an English and History degree from St Martin’s College in Carlisle for his ability to make 3000-word essays quadruple in length overnight (which makes sense given the size of this book!; Carlisle remains his spiritual home, whenever it isn’t raining – which is, sadly, most of the time). His artistic crest is the following description of a record: ‘two parts melodious funk to one part Theolonious Monk’! He started Alan's Album Archives to give him something to get up for after getting poorly from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, originally intending to stop after six months and at 101 short reviews: he didn't quite succeed, or you wouldn't be reading this now!
You can read more at www.alansalbumarchives.blogspot.co.uk, see the collection of Alan's Album Archives Youtube Videos starring our mascot Max The Singing Dog at www.youtube.com/user/AlansArchives, comment on the author's 'Best Ever Albums' top 100 chart at http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=3692, follow the author on Twitter under the username @alansarchives, visit his facebook page @alansalbumarchives and listen to his music at https://soundcloud.com/alan-pattinson - though probably not all at the same time, you might get a headache!
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Volume six is sizzling with all things CSN/Y, taking in what they did in fours, threes, twos and ones, from their 1968 demos as ‘The Frozen Noses’ right bang up to date with David Crosby’s latest which came out only last week (now that’s service for you!) That means 38 studio albums analysed in-depth alongside live albums, compilations, box sets, a quick summary of pre-CSN material and Neil’s career and spin-off groups like the unsung heroes of the CSN catalogue, Manassas and CPR. There’s an extra ‘B-Sides’ section dedicated to key concerts, cover versions, surviving TV clips, books, DVDs, outtakes, radio broadcasts and aborted CSN projects abandoned partway through. This book’s essay ‘The Superest of Super groups’ looks at why the CSN model for making music and forming a band is unlike any other, while the ‘thematic threads’ section cover such things as politics, reincarnation, water and songs about each other! The ‘News, Views and Music’ newsletter top tens include such varying entries as astrology, most revealing interviews and most insane album covers. To give you a taste and to check your compatibility levels Alan’s favourite songs and album in this book: Laughing (Crosby), Word Game (Stills) Another Sleep Song (Nash) Ohio (Young) and ‘CSN’ (the one with the boat!) His least favourite
Book seventeen is a bit different, dear readers as The Monkees were effectively two bands - the one seen on television and the ‘real’ one in the studio. This book covers them both, with every last romp, every train to Clarksville and a tundra full of tapioca here across a smidgeon over 1000 pages (A4 size). Part one looks at all the usual: thirteen studio albums reviewed in-depth, plus mini-reviews of pre-fame recordings, live albums, key compilations, solo albums, non-album recordings and ‘Missing Links’. Part two then looks at the entire fifty-eight episode TV series, with additional reviews of ‘Head’ ’33 and 1/3rd’ and ‘Episode 761’. There’s additionally a ‘B-sides’ section dedicated to key concerts, influences, cover versions, books, DVDs, surviving TV clips and outtakes pus a special section dedicated to writers Boyce and Hart. There’s also not one but two essays this month, with a ‘new’ one looking at the unique way the band was created and an ‘old’ one regurgitated from my university dissertation ‘The Monkees In Relation To Postmodernism’ (yes, I was always like this – I would get out more but my headphone lead doesn’t get me very far out the door!) The ‘thematic threads’ section, meanwhile, looks at the four different Monkee writing styles, karma
Volume five takes in the full flight of The Byrds and all their various spin-off bands and solo albums. All twelve studio albums are analysed in-depth alongside archive live albums, compilations, box sets, pre-fame recordings (together and apart), every solo album by Roger, Chris, Gene C, Gram, Clarence, Gene P, John and Skip are here (with a quick run down of David’s in preparation of our CSNY book out next month) not to mention spin-off LPs by McGuinn, Clark and Hillman, The International Submarine Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, CRY and The Desert Rose Band. This book’s essay ‘Why The Byrds Were Made For Turn Turn Turning’ studies the band’s ever changing styles from folk and rock to country and psychedelia and blues (sometimes on the same track!), while the ‘thematic threads’ section cover such things as space, flight and nostalgia. The ‘News, Views and Music’ newsletter top tens include such varying entries as drum solos, craziest sleevenotes and re-incarnation. To give you a taste and to check your compatibility levels Alan’s favourite song and album in this book: ‘Change Is Now’ and ‘The Notorious Byrd Brothers’. His least favourite song and album in this book: ‘Born To Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and the eponymous reunion album of 1973.
The Kinks would surely appreciate being book number thirteen – they specialised in writing about the unlucky under-dogs and misfits in the world and giving them a voice. In so many ways they were such an unlucky band too, hit by brotherly rows, record company politics and an American ban that would have ended the careers of lesser bands but made this one come out fighting – and made them even more English than they were before. This volume in the AAA series charts their entire history from London’s Muswell Hill across Village Greens and on to Americana with reviews of every song between 1963 and 2018. That amounts to 860 pages (A4 size) analysing 23 studio albums in-depth plus every solo album by Ray and Dave Davies, compilations, live albums, every A and B side and CD bonus track all preserved and catalogued in the great Kinks tradition. There’s also a ‘B-sides’ section dedicated to key concerts, influences, cover versions, books, DVDs, surviving TV clips, outtakes and a special column on abandoned Kinks projects, songs Ray Davies gave away and Kink outside productions. This book’s essay looks at why The Kinks aren’t like everybody else and how they did things differently with their career from the first, while the ‘thematic threads’ section looks at nostalgia, cynicism and the songs the brothers wrote about each other.
Tonight’s the night for the release of the 30th harvest and last ‘normal’ volume in the Alan’s Album Archives e-book series. We end with an epic: Neil has been to so many places across fifty-two years and counting that it takes a full 1080 pages (A4 size) to tell his story. That’s no less than forty in-depth reviews of studio albums alongside mini-reviews of live records, compilations, ‘archive’ sets, non-album recordings and spin-off releases by the likes of Billy Talbot, Pegi Young and Crazy Horse plus ‘extra’ sections dedicated to the discographies of Buffalo Springfield, CSNY and Nils Lofgren. The book starts in the pre-Springfield era and runs right up to the present day with the release of ‘Homegrown’ and ‘The Times’ in 2020. In addition there’s the last of our regular features – key cover versions, landmark concerts surviving TV clips, the best unreleased songs, books, DVDs and more. This book’s essay ‘Will To Love’ looks at the changing nature of spirituality in Neil’s music and the ‘thematic threads’ covers such items as ‘cities’ ‘dancing’ and ‘looking at mother nature on the run since 1970’, while the ‘top ten’ column rounds things off with such entries as ‘biggest stylistic leaps between AAA albums (to be fa
Our eleventh book has lift off as we follow the Jefferson family through seven Airplane records, three Paul ‘n’ Grace LPs, eight Starship albums and a Grace solo set all reviewed in our usual 7000-8000 word depth, alongside our usual plethora of mini-reviews of solo (Marty, Jorma, Jack, Joey, Papa John, Craig, Pete and Mickey), live and compilation albums alongside spin-off works by The Great Society, Hot Tuna, Bodacious DF, The KBC Band and plain ol’ Starship. That’s 667 pages (A4 size) of white rabbits, funny cars, surrealistic pillows, wooden ships, fish wearing false teeth and nuclear furniture. There’s also an extra ‘B-Sides’ section that gets knee-deep into the hoopla of key concerts, cover versions, surviving TV clips, books, DVDs, outtakes and radio broadcasts. This book’s essay looks at why the Jeffersons ‘flying in formation’ was such a special sound, while the ‘thematic threads’ section covers such things as drugs, changing perceptions, brotherhood and dragons. The ‘News, Views and Music’ newsletter top tens include such varying entries as German translations, AAA stars in conversations with their maker and bagpipes.
Volume four is dedicated to all things Buffalo Springfield and is the shortest in our series, with a look at the adventures of Stephen Stills and (when he wasn’t quitting every five minutes) Neil Young. All three studio Buffalo Springfield albums are analysed in-depth alongside the Stills-Young Band’s ‘Long May You Run’ from 1976, box sets, compilations, live albums and bootlegs. Not to mention everything the ever-talented Richie Furay did since the end of the group, from inventing country-rock in Poco long before The Eagles flew the nest to various pop albums and ending up with Furay’s days as a minister making religious albums full of Christian hymns. This book’s essay studies the Springfield’s unusual idea of democracy and politics (and why ‘Steve is the leader – but we all are’ didn’t work as a band dynamic), while the ‘thematic threads’ section covers such things as children, flying and, umm, grumpiness. The ‘News, Views and Music’ newsletter top tens include such entries as a tribute and obituary to drummer Dewey Martin from 2009, the history of the band’s unfinished second album ‘Stampede’ (which got as far as a title and cover but not a tracklisting) and the fascinating story of how the band were steamrollered into picking their name.
Our Beatles edition comes with lashings of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Topping nearly 800 pages in A4 word document this edition covers everything you’d expect: all thirteen Beatle albums analysed in depth and every A side, B side and EP track. Plus all the Anthology outtakes and every BBC session recording. There are a few things you might not expect too: while we’ve kept John, Paul and George’s solo releases for another book we bring you mini rundowns of all of them plus a look at Ringo’s career, the songs the other three wrote for him, the songs John and Paul gave away to other people, the American edition Beatle albums, every Beatles Fanclub Christmas Flexidisc, all the key pre and post split compilations, every live album, the Beatle films, DVDs, the surviving TV clips, landmark concerts, key influences and cover versions, the ‘Beatles: RockBand’ game, an extended guide to books written about the fab four, a quick run-down of all the non-Beatle releases on ‘Apple’ and even a guide to The Beatles Cartoon Series because, well, it’s hard finding out about that stuff anywhere else and after sighing that no one else was doing it, it would be hypocritical if I hadn’t done it myself. This book’s essay deals with ‘The Way The Beatles Changed The World Forever’ (basically by making it cool to be nice to people – and being both regional and working class) and the ‘News, Views and Music Newsletter’ top ten includes the un-made Beatle play ‘Pilchard’, Paul McCartney’s paintings and the four Beatle references in British comics The Beano and The Dandy!
The AAA bibliography is now replete, with book 18 no mean feat, vibrations reaching up to become light, across 658 A4 pages for your eyes of sight, between these pages there does lie every studio, live, solo and compilation album piled most high, that’s 18 in-depth reviews would you believe, with mini-reviews of others all around if you can perceive, plus you can also gaze on the album by The Blue Jays, additionally a B-sides section adds more notes to life’s chord, with yet more goodies for you to absorb, an essay key concerts influences, outtakes, TV clips, books and DVDs, so that everything Moody and Blue is here in some sort of degree, to cover everything by the band is our scope, to swap ideas with fans our life’s hope, to give it a name is important to some denizens and we call it ‘New Horizons’. This book’s essay looks at the different yet equally troubled themes that make up the Moodies' canon, while the ‘thematic threads’ section looks at nostalgia, age and children. The ‘news, views and music top tens’ section includes such entries as weirdest album covers (starring a wizard and a hoover), bands who started their own record labels and AAA utopias. To give you a taste and to check your compatibility levels, Alan’s favourite song and album in this book are: ‘For My Lady’ and ‘Seventh Sojourn’.
They were sixteen years old at the start of this book. They’re 78 now if you go take a look. Along the way the music world they shook. And the silence that was once there is now full of sound. Yes, we’re back with book 25 in the Alan’s Album Archives series (but you can call me Al!) This is a bit of a different one this volume, following Simon and Garfunkel across multiple break-ups, solo albums and reunions from their beginnings as Tom and Jerry back in the 1950s to their latest solo records as Art and Paul. Sometimes together, sometimes apart, often when least expected, it's all in this book. As a result there are a full 26 studio albums reviewed in-depth alongside mini-reviews of all the live albums, non-album recordings and most compilations as well as a special run-down of 92 (!) pre-‘Sound Of Silence’ recordings under many wacky names. This volume’s 731 pages (A4 size) further include an entire ‘B-sides’ section dedicated to key concerts, influences, cover versions, books, DVDs, surviving TV clips and outtakes. Meanwhile the regular ‘thematic thread’ section covers such things as alienation, childishness and ‘America’, whilst the ‘top ten’ section details such things as Christmas Carols, songs written at railway stations and AAA sports.
They may have been small but, boy, The Small Faces should have been big. Alas their catalogue lasted just two years and three actual albums before things imploded. The good news is that this gave us several new bands to love – The Faces, Humble Pie, Slim Chance, The Bump Band, even the under-rated Jimmy Winston’s Fumbs. All (or nothing…no, seriously all) of these spin-off groups and more are featured in Alan’s Album Archives’ 26th volume which covers everything made by Steve, Ronnie, Kenney, Mac and Jimmy from 1962 to the present day. That’s 489 pages of every studio album reviewed in depth (including the two reunion albums) and mini-reviews of live albums, solo albums, most compilations and our usual selection of landmark concerts, key cover versions, books, DVDs, surviving TV clips, an essay and more. This book’s ‘thematic threads’ section covers such items as curiosity, drugs and humour, while the top tens cover such things as spoken word, songs exclusive to BBC sessions and bonkers concept albums about the scintillating moon and dangly. So when life is just a bowl of all-bran (you wake up every morning and it’s…there), add some Alan’s Album Archives to your life and make your Small Faces stan a Happiness Stan! To check for compatibility levels Alan’s favourite song and album in this book are ‘Tin Soldier&rs
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