Actually, all are opinions and interpretations of this and that, the inside knowledge is not available for us.
Exactly, I'm just asking if there is anything to base all this on.
A narrative has developed that AC was this genius who came up with all the good stuff while he was in the band.
I'm just wondering what evidence there is to support this?
There is not an evidence in absolute terms. It's an opinion, and as we say in Spain, opinion and ass are the same, everyone has one.
And it's not "that AC came up with all the good stuff", is that he came up with very nice adds here and there in many of the songs that made them sound great, obviosly, let's say, "the ice in the cake" of the great songs that MK brought to the studio, and to the stage. Sometimes, specially live, many of the arrangements made them even better, but that's again an opionion, as there may be people who can't stand keyboards and/or sax arrangements in, for example, Sultans Of Swing.
And, again, my opinion, during the live are without AC, these arrangements are not so nice, sometimes boring than in those years.
I guess tha point could be that English is not my main language, and I try to write as fast as I think, I do literal translation and forget to add "imho" everywhere and I may sound like I'm doing statements. It's not an excuse, it's my fault, I know I do this and I do very little to avoid it. I'm truly sorry for it.
OK, AC was the only keys person on LOG so we can assume that he came up with most of the keys parts. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe MK told him what to play. Fits in with the view that MK was a tough boss, right?
Yes, it fits with what some of the musicians who played with him and talked about it said. My guess is that MK asks for a piano intro, a piano solo, a hammond here and there and it's the player who plays it without more indications than "play a piano part in a nostalgic way", or maybe MK whistle it note by note. When it comes to TR, what I read from AC is that both of them worked and built the song during the On Location tour soundchecks and rehearsals.
However, even MK was a tough boss, AC stayed in DS since the first day he put his feet in the band until the band disbanded, so I guess he coped very well with the tough boss and even managed to help to develope the songs in the studio and in the stage in the more succesful era of the band. Same than John, Guy and Chris.
On BIA and OES we have GF. From memory GF said he came up with the intro to MFN. That's my own personal favourite section of EVERYTHING MK has ever done. Ever. But wait, AC is a better musician and GF is just a yes man, blah blah blah.
For me is quite boring and I always skip it. BIA has too much synths for me, I don't like it, I preffer the organic sounds from pianos, hammonds etc from LOG. For me AC is better because what he plays, GF synths for me are boring, and when he plays hammonds, organs etc, it doesn't make me feel "wow, that sounds great", just ok.
And that Guy is a yes man, it's also an opinion, widely shared by many fans. Maybe not you, maybe not others and, as an opinion, can't not be the absolute truth.
I hope this time I put the correct amount of in my opinion to not hurt any feelings
and I want to add that these opinions are based on things I read from long ago in interviews from many people related to DS/MK since I follow the band, that I can't quote exactly as my memory is not so good, I cannot say exactly where and when I read Jack Sonni, Tommy Mandel, David Knopfler, Alan Clark, Chris White, Phil Palmer, John Illsley, Pick Withers, Willy De Ville, Guy Fletcher, Manu Katche, Paul Franklin etc etc etc etc etc saying this or that, but I do remember more or less what it was said in those interviews, although sometimes I can't remember exactly who said it
