Customer Reviews

Badfinger

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Nothing like being under the gun to 1) Stress you out 2)Cause writer's block 3)Create enough friction to start a fire and 4)Cause members to leave. That's what happened to Badfinger during their brief tenure with Warner Brothers Records. They recorded three albums (only two of which were initially released. Head First finally appeared about two years ago)none of which received any push from Warner at the time. Why? They were talented, had a couple of hits and bestselling albums. What's more, they managed to help invent power pop and produce two incredible albums all within two years. It all comes down to the size of the pond; they were big fish in a small pond at Apple Records. At Warner, they were out of their element and lost.

Badfinger finds the band casting for direction. Ass, their last album for Apple had been recorded nearly a year before but came out within a couple of months of their latest album. This contributed to the confusion. What's worse, is the writing crisis effecting their most talented songwriter; Pete Ham suddenly thought he could do no right.

A cliched observation about this album is really true; Badfinger is the band's White Album. The production by Chris Thomas is fine for the most part although a number of production gimmicks do distract a bit from the quality of the songs. Still, some of the sonic experiments were interesting. The truth is that the band was exhausted. Their new contract required them to turn out an enormous amount of product within a short span of time (2 albums a year plus 2 singles--not too dissimilar from the early Beatles situation. However, of The Beatles first five albums only one consisted of all original material).

The music has a number of stunning moments chief among them the Ham & Evans collaboration Shine On, Ham's Lonely You and Song For A Lost Friend all are strong songs. The weakest of the bunch Lonely You has a stunning vocal arrangement that makes up for the more mundane melody. Joey Molland shines on the amazing Give It Up and the unfinished Love Is Easy. Unfortunately, there's a bit too much filler on the album. The ambitious, uncertain direction of the album makes it one of Badfinger's more challenging listens but, like many flawed albums, the highlights more than make up for the weakest moments.

The next album Wish You Were Here would be the band's finest hour. Sadly, virtually no one heard it when it was first released and it's only available as an import.

The first album resulting from Badfinger's Warner's cotract was quickly recorded after ASS(the band's last Apple record since deleted--although rumor has it that it will be reissued) and, although well produced, suffers for it.

Pete Ham makes two major missteps. "I miss you", although heartfelt, is sweet enough to require insulin. "Matted spam", although a good song(the superior version appears on Ham's posthumous solo album currently available), it's marred by a pop/funk arrangement. The r&b groove of the song and arrangement is strained and inappropriate.

That said, there are some Badfinger classics on this album as well. Ham & Evans "Shine on"(their attempt to write a single)has all the strong elements that make a Badfinger song worth having; strong melody, great riff and vocal arrangements. Joey Molland's "Give it up" is a terrific straight ahead rocker. There are other examples scattered throughout the disc. This album shows the band a little unsure of where to go next, but the ride is welcome and interesting. BADFINGER paved the way for the far superior WISH YOU WERE HERE and the still unreleased(although drummer Mike Gibbins custom label Forbidden will be releasing it later this year) HEAD FIRST.

Though it doesn't have the continuity of its predecessor, the underrated Ass, Badfinger's debut on the Warner Bros. label has the one thing that Ass was greatly missing: Pete Ham compositions (he sang lead on only two tracks on Ass)! The sound may be a bit muddy, I believe due to the fact that the master tapes do not exist anymore, but all the instruments can still be clearly heard.
As always, Pete's contributions are the best (and most commercial) and Joey's are the heaviest & roughest. The piano- & organ-laden "I Miss You" seems like a strange choice for an opening track, but it works for this album, as most of the best tracks are the laid-back ones. "Shine On" is an energetic slight rocker with light instrumentation and guitars which seem to leap out of the speakers. "Matted Spam" breaks the mood of the album (without killing it) with its horns and bouncy melody. While a few of the middle tracks may be a bit generic by the band's standards, the album truely takes off about 70% of the way through. Mike breaks out of the drummer's mold and contributes one of the best tracks, "My Heart Goes Out," a song which I find to be indescribably beautiful. Pete's "Lonely You" is possibly the best song on the album, and I think could have been a great hit for someone with a more commercial voice. Joey's "Give It Up" juxtaposes hushed verses with a heavy chorus whose opening guitar chord seems to jump in out of nowhere.
While Badfinger may be an uneven effort, it's certainly a worthy addition to the band's discography. Don't overlook it just because the CD is only available via import--it's worth every cent.

While not quite a classic on par with their 'No Dice', 'Straight Up', and 'Wish You Were Here' albums, Badfinger's self-titled Warner Brothers debut is nevertheless a solid effort. With its varied music styles it brings to mind the Beatles' 'White Album'.
Joey Molland's "Island" and "Give It Up" are among his finest contributions to Badfinger. Tom Evans scores with "Why Don't We Talk" while Mike Gibbins' "My Heart Goes Out" is a lovely folk ballad.
For me, the highlights are Pete Ham's tunes including "Song For A Lost Friend" and "Shine On" (co-written with Tom Evans). The latter is the definitive country-rock song that the Eagles *WISH* they could have written :-)
My personal favorite is the gorgeous "Lonely You", a Pete Ham classic that would have fit nicely on The Beatles' "Rubber Soul".
The remastering done in Germany is fabulous, providing clear and dynamic listening experience.

Badfinger had signed to Warner Brothers around 72/73 before the release of their final Apple-album "Ass". The recordings for the first album for their new company began in June 73, with Chris Thomas as the producer. The title for the new album changed twice during its creation. Originally it was to be called "Wish You Were Here"; that title was later changed to "For Love Or Money" and finally the album ended up just as "Badfinger". The album has often been critizised for being rushed and inconsistant; and is often considered one of the band's weakest , which doesn't neccessarily mean that is a weak album - in fact none of their albums are.

Most of the music on this album comes as a logical continuation of "Ass". This doesn't mean that no new grounds are explored - on the contrary. On Pete's "Matted Spam" the band experiments with funky/jazzy rhythms and Tom's "Why Don't We Talk" doesn't sound like anything they'd done before; the song is quite Lennon like and features a short but great guitar solo from Pete. This is one thing characterising the album: some very inspired leadguitar parts by Pete Ham ( he played almost all lead on it). Pete is also the main contributor of songs, and among them is the majestic "Lonely You" would have been a logical choice for a single. Unfortunately Warner chose Molland's "Love is Easy", which although it had a good guitar-riff, suffered from strained vocals and a production that sounded unfinished; the song also lacks variation in rhytm and melody. The second single "I Miss You" was an almost equally poor choice. The song doesn't have a hit-potential at all, but it's certainly a fine album-track. Its B-side "Shine On"; similar to "I'll Be The One" in style and sound; would have been a much better choice. Mike Gibbins wrote "My Heart Goes Out" for the album and for the first time Mike really shows his songwriting abilities, the song was easily his strongest contribution to Badfinger so far. All in all the album Badfinger is really a very good album; much better than its reputation. It contains several very strong tracks, some good tracks and - admitted a few weak/unfinished tracks (Andy Norris / Love is Easy ).

My favourites: Lonely You, Shine On, Song For A Lost Friend, Where Do We Go From Here and My Heart Goes Out

Badfinger's debut for the Warner Brother's label is often overlooked when discussing the band's best albums. Though it was released in early 1974 only three months after their final Apple album (1973's ASS), it is a fine collection of songs. Unsuprisingly, the best tracks are Pete Ham's contributions: the melancholy "I Miss You" and equally pensive "Lonely You," the moving "Song for a Lost Friend," and the uptempo "Shine On" (co-written with Tom Evans). Ham also wrote the horn-driven R&B number "Matted Spam," but it is by far the weakest and least Badfinger-sounding track on the disc.

Tom Evans turns in a couple lovely ballads, "Why Don't We Talk" and "Where Do We Go From Here?" The only real rocker on the album is Joey Molland's "Andy Norris," but his best song is the mournful "Give it Up." But perhaps my favorite song of the album is Mike Gibbins'gorgeous "My Heart Goes Out." It is certainly as strong a track as any of Ham's on the album.

I've owned this album since it first came out on vinyl and only recently purchased it on CD. Like their other WB album, Wish You Were Here, it is not available domestically. And while Rhino's Best of Vol. 2 culled many of these two albums' best tracks (including four tracks from Head First), any true fan will want the entire albums. The price of this import is certainly worth it. RECOMMENDED

After STRAIGHT UP, the Badfinger album for which I reach most often is the band's self-titled 1974 release, BADFINGER. I don't know why BADFINGER isn't considered among the group's strongest records. Excellent songs "Where Do We Go from Here?," "Matted Spam," "Shine On," "Give It Up," and "Lonely You" anchor the album. Then there's "My Heart Goes Out," "Andy Norris," and "Love Is Easy," three others that, while not great, sound good. That's eight worthwhile songs. If only every album had that much good music.

As I understand, even Badfinger members Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans and Joey Molland were unhappy with the results of BADFINGER. I guess there's nothing wrong with being your own toughest critic. But I think BADFINGER proves a great showcase of the band's songwriting and musicianship. Miss BADFINGER at your own risk.

Not a bad LP,there are some great songs here that make it worth buying,LONELY YOU,SHINE ON,SONG FOR ALOST FRIEND {I love the way that song ends, classic Badfinger ],and a real good song by Tom Evans, WHY DON'T WE TALK. I MISS YOU sometimes I feel like hearing it, but most of the time I skip it. Joey's attempt to be the main man here wasn't a good idea. His songs are not to good.If you're out there Joey reading this don't get mad. You have some good songs, but they're not here. The thing is the good songs on this LP are really good, but about half the songs on the LP aren't so great.If all the songs i listed were on 1 greatest hits CD I wouldn't buy this, but there not so i bought it anyway. If you're not hardcore don't get it. With exception to WHY DON'T WE TALK, you can get all the good songs here on BADFINGER'S GREATEST VOL. 2.