7 Park Avenue

Pete Ham | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 18, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009QE
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,221 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Catherine Cares

2. Coppertone Blues

3. It Doesn't Really Matter

4. Live Love All Of Your Days

5. Would You Deny

6. Dear Father

7. Matted Spam

8. No Matter What

9. Leaving On A Midnight Train

10. Weep Baby

11. Hand In Hand

12. Sille Veb

13. I Know That You Should

14. Island

15. Just Look Inside The Cover

16. Just How Lucky We Are

17. No More

18. Ringside

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Badfinger leader Pete Ham hanged himself in 1975 three days before his 28th birthday, leaving behind six albums, a note declaring the group's manager a "soulless bastard," and the demos collected here. Most of these songs didn't make it to Badfinger's records, a circumstance 7 Park Avenue's liner notes put down to a glut of material. A couple of tracks contain bits that Ham would later adapt for "Day After Day" (a verse from "Matted Spam") and "Baby Blue" (a melodic fragment in "I Know That You Should"); that both those hit singles are more distinctive pieces is a hint to why some of these numbers were rejected. Ham's homemade music has some of the same fragile quality of another Rykodisc reclamation project, Big Star cofounder Chris Bell's I Am the Cosmos, but often lacks the bite of both Bell's record and the finest Badfinger studio cuts. It is, however, somewhere between sad and appalling to hear Ham sing "Just How Lucky We Are" only months before his death. Much closer to that reality is the closing "Ringside," with its resigned passages about being bid on. Happiness prevails on a few cuts (an acoustic "No Matter What," "Hand in Hand," "Catherine Cares"), but even if Ham had merely faded into obscurity, this disc's overall effect would be that of a thoughtful, downbeat craftsman at work--not always at the height of his powers, though filled with emotion. --Rickey Wright

Product Description

Japanese edition of 1997 rarities compilation by the late Badfinger guitarist with five bonus tracks: 'Just A Chance', 'The Heart That Can't Be Understood', 'Come Come Tomorrow', 'Blessing In Disguise' and 'Know One Knows'. 23 tracks total. The album is comprised of solo studio demos from the late '60s through the mid '70s. A Rykodisc release. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pete Ham - Pure Genius, June 16, 2006

By 

Mark R. Garner (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 7 Park Avenue (Audio CD)

After purchasing both CD's of Pete's unreleased demos I am left with one overriding impression - the man was amazing. He wrote lovely melodies that even Gershwin would have admired. He was an above average guitarist and blessed with a beautiful voice. Such a rare jewel deserves a better epitaph than "wrote hit songs and died penniless due to a rogue manager." If you are a Badfinger fan then I would strongly recommend buying these two CD's.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Good As Any Badfinger Album, September 4, 1999

By 

GDS - See all my reviews

This review is from: 7 Park Avenue (Audio CD)

"7 Park Avenue," along with "Golders Green," is a must-have collection of homemade demos by the late Pete Ham. This beautiful assortment of songs shows just what a talent Ham was and makes his 1975 suicide seem all the more tragic--if indeed that is possible. Highlights include "Coppertone Blues" and "No Matter What" featuring Pete and his acoustic guitar; the rollicking "Matted Spam" and "Leaving On A Midnight Train; and the haunting "No More" and "Ringside," both recored just days before Pete's death. Thanks to producer/author Dan Matovina for resucing these demos from obscurity and for succeeding in making them available to all of us. Pete Ham's music, lyrics, and voice are what seperated Badfinger from their power-pop brethren of the 1970's. Pete Ham made Badfinger special. This compact disc of lost gems shows why.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A preview into genius, March 19, 2004

By 

Jeff Harris (NY, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 7 Park Avenue (Audio CD)

One of the Badfinger reviewers somewhere stated something to the effect of Pete Ham "grabbed his melodies directly from heaven." I can't agree more. Although some of the tracks on this compilation are sparce, short, and mono, the insight these cuts give to his power pop genius help solidify that his songwriting talent may never be surpassed. Thank you Pete, in heaven, for the melodies you found there for us!

The only reason I take a star away, is for the unfortunate snippets and pieces of songs that keep you longing for more, rather than full length tunes, and of course, is for no ones fault,that make up this album.