>Kevin,
>
>>Hi, Thomas....it was in August of 1995, in Maryland. Kansas opened the evening (though I wouldn't have called them the "opening act", I think they had as much stage time as Alan Parsons). I was stunned at how good Alan Parsons was live (and the fans took to them very well). They did extended versions of "The Raven" and "Standing on Higher Ground", and I think they had 3 encores. I'd give the Kansas performance 4 stars, and Alan Parsons 5 stars.
>
>AP/APP is right up there on my list. IMNSHO Song For America is hands down the best song of all time.
>
>Here is a dump of band/album count in my collection for all bands with more than one album. There's quite a bit of variance in the list and some seem way high because of their prolific album release rate (Jimmy B and Van the Man - who is coming to this year's ACL Fest so I'm psyched) and some bands are woefully low because I don't yet have infinite music purchase dollars... and others I've been thinking about getting the stat for total albums released by the band so I can measure what percentage of the albums I've got.
>
>
>Band Count
>Various Artists 45
>Jimmy Buffett 24
>Elton John 19
>Yes 19
>Chicago 17
>Kansas 17
>Genesis 16
>Heart 16
>Billy Joel 14
>The Moody Blues 14
>Jackson Browne 13
>Styx 13
>Van Morrison 12
>Electric Light Orchestra 11
>Soundtrack 11
>Steely Dan 11
>Carly Simon 10
>Fleetwood Mac 10
>Harry Chapin 10
>Journey 10
>Mannheim Steamroller 10
>Dire Straits 9
>Emerson, Lake & Palmer 9
>Cat Stevens 8
>Eric Clapton 8
>James Taylor 8
>John Mellencamp 8
>Leo Kottke 8
>REO Speedwagon 8
>Stevie Nicks 8
>Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 8
>10,000 Maniacs 7
>Foreigner 7
>Indigo Girls 7
>Neil Young 7
>Steve Winwood 7
>The Alan Parsons Project 7
>The Eagles 7
>Bruce Springsteen 6
>Jewel 6
>Rush 6
>Supertramp 6
>Terri Hendrix 6
>The Doobie Brothers 6
>Al Stewart 5
>America 5
>Asia 5
>Bob Dylan 5
>Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band 5
>Boston 5
>Crosby, Stills & Nash 5
>Joe Walsh 5
>John Prine 5
>Lyle Lovett 5
>Lynyrd Skynyrd 5
>Meat Loaf 5
>Paul McCartney 5
>Phil Collins 5
>Rod Stewart 5
>Shawn Colvin 5
>Steve Miller Band 5
>Aerosmith 4
>Alan Parsons 4
>Blues Traveler 4
>Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 4
>Jethro Tull 4
>Natalie Merchant 4
>Paul Simon 4
>Randy Newman 4
>Ray Charles 4
>Renaissance 4
>Santana 4
>Sixpence None The Richer 4
>Sting 4
>The Who 4
>Traffic 4
>Afro Celt Sound System 3
>Asleep At The Wheel 3
>Blood, Sweat & Tears 3
>Bruce Hornsby & the Range 3
>Buddy Guy 3
>Creedence Clearwater Revival 3
>Dave Matthews Band 3
>Gerry Rafferty 3
>Gordon Lightfoot 3
>Head East 3
>Huey Lewis & the News 3
>John Lee Hooker 3
>Johnny Cash 3
>Joseph Arthur 3
>Leona Naess 3
>Lucinda Williams 3
>Mac McAnally 3
>Marc Cohn 3
>Marcia Ball 3
>Melissa Etheridge 3
>Nickel Creek 3
>Nils Lofgren 3
>Peter Cetera 3
>Queen 3
>Rick Wakeman 3
>Sarah McLachlan 3
>Sheryl Crow 3
>The Allman Brothers Band 3
>The Cars 3
>The Police 3
>Timbuk 3 3
>Trish Murphy 3
>Warren Zevon 3
>Abra Moore 2
>BB King 2
>Bob Seger 2
>Brewer & Shipley 2
>Carole King 2
>Cheech & Chong 2
>Chuck Mangione 2
>Dan Fogelberg 2
>David Bowie 2
>David Gray 2
>David Lee Roth 2
>David Young 2
>Death Cab For Cutie 2
>Del Amitri 2
>Depeche Mode 2
>Derek and the Dominos 2
>Don Henley 2
>Don McLean 2
>Donovan 2
>Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians 2
>Garrison Keillor 2
>Gin Blossoms 2
>Greg Brown 2
>Hootie & the Blowfish 2
>Jason Mraz 2
>Jim Croce 2
>Jimmy Landry 2
>John Hiatt 2
>Jon Anderson 2
>Joshua Kadison 2
>Kacy Crowley 2
>Karen Nash 2
>Kelly Willis 2
>Kenny Loggins 2
>Kirsty MacColl 2
>Led Zeppelin 2
>Leftover Salmon 2
>Leo Kottke/Mike Gordon 2
>Liz Phair 2
>Margaritaville Cafe 2
>Mark Knopfler 2
>Matchbox 20 2
>Men At Work 2
>New Grass Revival 2
>New Monsoon 2
>No Strings Attached 2
>Norah Jones 2
>Pat Benatar 2
>Peter Frampton 2
>Peter Gabriel 2
>Pink Floyd 2
>Pure Prairie League 2
>Robert Palmer 2
>Roger McGuinn 2
>Sam Bush 2
>Simon & Garfunkel 2
>Spirit 2
>Split Lip Rayfield 2
>Steve Earle 2
>The Beatles 2
>The Blues Brothers 2
>The Byrds 2
>The Charlie Daniels Band 2
>The Goo Goo Dolls 2
>The Hooters 2
>The Jayhawks 2
>The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 2
>The Rolling Stones 2
>The Traveling Wilburys 2
>The Yellowjackets 2
>Three Dog Night 2
>Tom Petty 2
>Tomita 2
>Toto 2
>Tracy Chapman 2
>Uriah Heep 2
>Vanessa Carlton 2
>Willie Nelson 2
>ZZ Top 2
>
Holy moley, I thought I had a lot of CDs!
There is actually quite a bit of overlap between our music collections. More of some, fewer of others. I think I would turn my mother's picture to the wall before I would try to get by with only two albums by the Stones and Tom Petty ;-) And only two by Willie? -- you call yourself a Texan, boy? And no Lyle Lovett, neither. LL is something John Harvey and I agree on, so he can't be bad <lol>.
Do go see Van the Man. He has not taken very good care of himself and I have a strong feeling he will not be among us much longer. Go while you have the chance.
