Albert Hammond & Friends - His Ultimate Collection - Vinyl Record 180g Import

Albert Hammond is the reason you know a dozen songs you'd never have credited to him. Born in London, raised in Gibraltar, he spent the early seventies writing with Mike Hazlewood and cutting his own records — "It Never Rains in Southern California" went top five in America in 1972 — before settling into a second career as one of pop's most reliably employed songwriters.

What makes this collection unusual is the "and Friends" half of the title. Alongside Hammond's own performances, it gathers hit versions by the artists who took his songs elsewhere: The Hollies with "The Air That I Breathe," Leo Sayer with "When I Need You," Tina Turner with "I Don't Wanna Lose You," and Dutch singer Albert West joining him on "Give a Little Love." Set beside "The Free Electric Band," "I'm a Train" and "99 Miles from L.A.," it makes the case for a catalogue that quietly shaped fifty years of radio. Hammond's son Albert Jr. plays guitar in The Strokes.

Sony Music, 180-gram vinyl, European pressing.

Side A:
A1 It Never Rains In Southern California
A2 I Don't Wanna Die In An Air Disaster
A3 I Don't Wanna Lose You
A4 Down By The River
A5 When I Need You
A6 To All The Girls I've Loved Before
A7 New York City Here I Come

Side B:
B1 The Free Electric Band
B2 I'm A Train
B3 The Air That I Breathe
B4 Everything I Want To Do
B5 Half A Million Miles From Home
B6 The Peacemaker
B7 99 Miles From L.A.
B8 Give A Little Love