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My rallying to Badfinger's defense may be getting old...
...but I think what the music business did to them is unforgivable. Yes, times and styles change, but Badfinger's style was almost timeless and for them to constantly get the short end of the stick only makes me have more faith in the booming independent side of music. In fact, this was where Badfinger would have been much better off. The major labels may be great for distribution opportunities, but for creative control, independents luckily don't always have to be a buttinsky like the biggies. I'll admit Badfinger was lucky to put out an album like WISH YOU WERE HERE, which was a radical departure from their signature power-pop sound. The addition of horns and funk rhythms to songs like "Meanwhile Back At The Ranch" showed that Badfinger were much more innovative and intelligent than people thought. But, of course, people haven't realized this until it's too late. WISH YOU WERE HERE's failure to find success turned out to be the last straw for Pete Ham, the heart and soul of Badfinger, who committed suicide only months after this album's release. In the years since, the surviving members have tried to revive Badfinger, but when Ham died, the thrill was forever gone.

Overlooked Classic Album
Badfinger's second album for Warner Brothers was recording during two sessions - the first took place at The Caribou Ranch, Colorado in April/May 1974; the second at AIR studios, London in June. Though financial worries had begun to have great influence on the 4 members; they all felt that they had to put everything they had into these recordings. And this really shows on the album - another masterpiece - one of the really great albums of the seventies. It has been called "The Sergent Pepper of the 1970's"; personally I feel that it has more in common with "Abbey Road".

Badfinger had grown into an albums-band, and this album really works as a whole, especially the original side 2 which features two very succesful medleys. The album opens with Pete's very powerful Just A Chance and with Mike's light and catchy You're So Fine song by Joey and Pete - once again Mike proves himself as a competent songwriter. Know One Knows is another powerful melodic rocker by Pete - I love the Japanese voice that meddles with leadguitar part. The first side closes with another grand production which characterizes most of the album; Pete's Dennis written to his step-son. Besides the two medleys side two features Tom Evans' King Of The Load ( one of my favourite Tom Evans songs) and Joey's quiet Love Time. No singles were released from the album; this was a period when hit-singles didn't matter much to the progressive/ambitious bands. Just a Chance or Know One Knows might have been able to make the charts with the right promotion, though none of them have obvious hit-potentials.

Abbey Road SIDE #3, maybe!?!?!?!??!
Well, I'm sure you all have heard the problems this band went through, so I won't even go into that. What you have here in Wish You Were Here is not to be mistaken by Pink Floyd's CD of the same title. Just over 30 minutes, this album broke new ground, a different approach then previous releases. I won't sit here and insult anyone's intelligence by stating this is their greatest work. Personally, its my favorite. From start to finish, no bad tracks, some medley's, some excellent choices of intruments never used before on a Badfinger record. This is by all means, the last record of the Classic Badfinger lineup. The comparisons to Abbey Road are prevelent.....but it stands to this day as a Classic Lost Album that will go down in history as just that.....Lost. No hit songs here, no tradmark sounds, just pure brilliance!!

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One of the Best Albums of Its Era
"Straight Up" may be one of the most underrated albums in rock. From FM radio classics "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day," to the haunting gem "Name of the Game," this is British power pop at its best. There's not a bad song on the disc, and the production talents of George Harrison and Todd Rundgren bring out the best of the band's sound. Pick up a "greatest hits" package if you must, but "Straight Up" is essential listening for any fan of Badfinger, '70s power pop, or British rock. A masterpiece!

a true classic
Definitely a five star album. Todd Rundgren and George Harrison did a masterful job producing this band. It's amazing to me that the sound is so seamless when two different producers were involved. The extra tracks on No Dice show that, when the band was given more say in the studio, they sounded much more like a pedestrian rock band. Rundgren and Harrison gave them more of a pop sheen and turned songs like Day After Day, Suitcase, Sometimes, Take It All, Perfection, etc. into classics that sound as good today as they did in 1972. Evans may not have been McCartney as a bass player (and Gibbins certainly wasn't Ringo) but the overall sound was very effective and let the songs and vocals shine. There is not a weak song on the album.

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Badfinger comes of age
No Dice (1970.) Badfinger's second album.

From their infancy when they were known as the Iveys to Pete Ham's untimely suicide in the mid-seventies, Badfinger was a damn fine (and severely underrated) classic rock group. Because they were on Apple Records, they were often forced to live in the shadow of the Beatles - and some people unfairly coin them a Beatles rip-off. This really is a shame. Badfinger's music is nothing short of excellent, and there's no place this shows like on the band's sophomore LP, No Dice. Read on for my review.

It is on this album that Badfinger truly discovered their sound. Their Iveys LP and first Badfinger LP were excellent, too, but it was obvious that the band was still strugging to find their sound. Well, they found it here. Pete Ham and the boys serve up a damn fine classic rock and roll album here, that doesn't have a single weak track. One of the band's biggest hits of all, the classic No Matter What, comes from this album. The track still get classic rock radio play to this day, and with good reason. But, the other non-hit tracks are also excellent. Many are what you'd expect from a classic rock band, and many even take on somewhat of a country-rock sound, reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. All in all, this is probably Badfinger's strongest LP overall.

The new reissue of this album doesn't just remaster the album and expand the liner notes - it also adds some rare bonus tracks! The original album, as it was, was already a five-star masterpiece, but these bonus tracks are the icing on the cake - they take an already-great album and make it even better.

In the end you were left with a damn good classic rock album, arguably Badfinger's finest. It's a shame these guys tend to be so underrated in this day and age, because their music was some of the finest classic rock out there. If you like classic rock, this album is not to be missed.

Essential Album for Power Pop and Rock fans
Even if you've never heard of Badfinger, you're probably already a fan of two or three of the AM radio standards included on this thoroughly enjoyable record.

Though they began as Beatle protégées, Badfinger quickly developed into power pop innovators whose four-part harmonies and infectious guitar melodies echo in the music of Big Star, The Raspberries, The Shoes, and The Posies among others.

No Dice is a great introduction to Badfinger, largely because producer Geoff Emerick was happy to capture the band's live sound instead of overexerting his own influence on the music as Todd Rundgren, Bill Collins, and even Chris Thomas would sometimes do.

As with all of Badfinger's albums, it's the Pete Ham songs that really shine brilliantly, though Tom Evans and even Joey Molland more than rise to the occasion. If you like this album (and I honestly can't imagine who wouldn't) be sure to pick up Wish You Were Here, Straight Up, and the Pete Ham demo compilations 7 Park Avenue and Golder's Green.

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Head First Finally Released
This was supposed to be Badfinger's 3rd album, but several reasons it was not released until year 2000. But well worth waiting for.

The recordings for Badfinger's third Warner album began at the end of November 1974. You would expect the members of the band at this point to be totally exhausted from touring, financial worries and the departure of Molland; and of course they were. Never the less they were still convinced that they could/had to work their way out of their crisis. For their latest British tour they had recruited Bob Jackson (keyb.), because of a short departure of Pete Ham. This tour had been as a 5-piece and by the end of the tour Molland had left the band. Two you producers were found for the new album; Kenny Kerner and Ritchie Wise - before Badfinger they had produced The Stories.

New songs did not come easily to Pete Ham at this point; he was losing faith in the the whole thing, but he worked hard to come up with more quality material. Of his three contributions for Head First the two of them are among his best ever. The opener "Lay Me Down" is a very catchy and powerful rocker with great commercial potential. "Keep Believing" is a typical Ham ballad; a very beautiful melody. Pete's third track is a short instrumental called "Saville Row". Tom Evans is back as a very important songwriter on the album. He'd written two songs alone and two songs in collaboration with with Mike and Mike/Bob. The first two are angry comments to the music business; both of them very intense; especially Mr. Manager is bound to become an all-time Badfinger favourite. Rock'n Roll Contract was rerecorded for Say No More, but this version is much better - I love the middle part. Passed Fast and Moonshine are well-known from Best of Badfinger Vol 2 - both of them very strong and indicating that this new line-up might have become their most interesting ever. Bob Jackson demonstrates powerful vocals and songwriting abilities on Turn Around; a track that could have been written and sung by Steve Winwood. Mike wrote Back Again and Rocking Machine. Rocking Machine is a charming little tune; I think Mike sounds a lot like George Harrison.

All in all the band play and sing their best on this album that is among Badfinger's strongest. Pete Ham does not sound burdened by having to play all guitars and they all appear extraordinary inspired.
The original master-tapes which have been considered lost seem to have been rediscovered in the vaults of Warner Brothers. This means that they may release the album some time in the future. or maybe license it to another label. Until that may happen luckily we have this Snapper release remastered from Bob Jackson's tape copy of the original Apple mixes.

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A Good Album!
Magic Christian Music was the first album to bear the Badfinger name, though 6 of the songs on the album are in fact old Iveys recordings that had already been released on the Maybe Tomorrow album. Some of the recordings were done with Paul McCartney, and he obviously helped the band create their characteristic sound. Great tracks like "Midnight Sun", "Crimson Ship" and "Come and Get it" point clearly in the direction of the classic follow-up album "No Dice". "Walk Out in the Rain" is another stand-out track. "Rock of All Ages" is probably the wildest rocker the band ever recorded. "Maybe Tomorrow" which had been a minor hit for the Iveys, was also selected for this album.The material in this album is too varied in style and quality to make a real strong consistent album. The two bonus tracks are Iveys recordings from late 68 - none of them very interesting.

My favourites: Come and Get it, Crimson Ship, Midnight Sun, Beautiful and Blue and Walk Out in The Rain

4.5 stars - an excellent album
Magic Christian Music (1970.) Badfinger's second album, and the first to be released under the name Badfinger (their first album was released under the band's original name, The Iveys.) This album is actually a collection of songs from various sources. To give you a better understanding of this album/compilation, I am going to deviate from my normal reviewing style.

INTRODUCTION:
In the latter half of the sixties, Great Britain was filled with rock bands trying to make it big. Among these was a little group called The Iveys. Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbons (drums), Ron Griffiths (bass), and David Jenkins (rhythm guitar) made up the band. Early on the band got a job backing up singer David Garrick in live shows and in the studio. Around this time, David Jenkins left the band. His replacement on rhythm guitar was Tom Evans. The band released its first and only album under the Iveys name, Maybe Tomorrow, around this period. A new rhythm guitarist also entered the band, Joey Molland. Evans switched to playing bass when Griffiths left the band. Soon, the band got signed to the Apple Records label, and changed its name to Badfinger. The band was asked to contribute some songs to the Ringo Starr film The Magic Christian, and they did. They also recorded several other songs in this era. By combining these recordings with older Iveys songs, they put together Magic Christian Music, which is now recognized widely as the first Badfinger album. Read on for my review of this album.

RECYCLED IVEYS TRACKS:
-Dear Angie
-Beautiful And Blue
-I'm In Love
-Angelique
-Knocking Down Our Home
-Maybe Tomorrow
Comments: These tracks were taken from the band's only album released under the Iveys name, Maybe Tomorrow. Dear Angie is classic melodic pop rock at its very best. Beautiful and blue is another excellent pop rocker that's tough to top. The blues-inspired Angelique is also excellent. It's a shame the album that originally featured these tracks is out of print and harder than hell to find, but I'm greatly relieved to see that some of them are on this album.

TRACKS FROM THE FILM "THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN":
-Come And Get It
-Rock Of All Ages
-Carry On Till Tomorrow
Comments: These are the tracks the band recorded for the film The Magic Christian. Come and get it was written by Paul McCartney, and it really shows. It's about as good as pop music gets. The other two tracks the band recorded for the film are also excellent.

NEW RECORDINGS FOR THE ALBUM:
-Crimson Ship
-Midnight Sun
-Walk Out In The Rain
-Give It A Try
-Fisherman
Comments: To make the album more "complete", the band recorded these songs to go along with the others. Fisherman is not the same recording that appeared on the Maybe Tomorrow LP - It's an all new recording (I haven't gotten a chance to hear the original yet.) This track is bizzare but still good. Give It A Try is a classic example of Beatles-esque rock that must be heard to be appreciated. And don't even think of overlooking Crimson Ship - sixties-style pop music never sounded better!

BONUS TRACKS FOR COMPACT DISC REISSUE:
-Storm In A Teacup
-Arthur
Comments: These are two bonus tracks, only available on this, the compact disc reissue of the album. Arthur is previously unreleased. It's a shame this track didn't get released until now, because it's very good. Storm In A Teacup is noticably different from the band's other material (it has a much more "soulful" sound), but it's still excellent.

FINAL VERDICT:
Overall, this is a great first album. If you're a fan of classic rock, Badfinger is a band you must not overlook. It's a shame these guys go unappreciated in the modern age, because their music is an infinite number of times better than that junk that gets played on the radio today. This has been referred to as the band's most Beatles-sounding album, but I think that's a GOOD thing. If you're fortunate enough to find this album, BUY IT.

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The unjustly forgotten Apple album
While Badfinger's Straight Up and No Dice albums are widely and deservedly considered classics, their Apple swan song, "Ass" gets so little attention that it's never even been released domestically. Few people outside the core of die-hard fans even know it exists. Too bad, because they're missing some stellar moments. While power-pop was the buzzword that surrounded much of the rest of the band's catalog, "Ass" doesn't come off quite as sweet and is all the better for it. "Ass" was Badfinger stretching out and showing that they were more than recycled Beatle hooks and harmonies. While "Apple Of My Eye", Ham's achingly appropriate tip of the hat to the band's soon to be ex-label, captures the band's sound of old, several of the other songs seem to come from a harder edged, refreshingly different vein. "Timeless" is quite possibly Pete Ham's finest recorded moment with it's slow-building intensity, harrowing guitar and fade to infinity ending, and if nothing else shows just how huge a talent the world lost a short time later. Pete was not only a gifted songwriter, but as this song also shows, a brilliant guitarist. These two songs along with "Constitution", "Icicles", "Blind Owl" and "I Can Love You" are the albums undoubted highlights, but only Mike Gibbins' "Cowboy" seems out of place on the album. Despite it's thrown together, admittedly rushed feel, Ass is a great Badfinger album that has never recieved a fair shake. It's nice to see this import only re-release for those who missed it the first time around, but I have my doubts as to whether this will wake people up to what they've been missing. Again, too bad.

Ass is good
A darn good album and a brilliant song is "Apple Of My Eye". Pete Ham's beautiful voice and a fantastic sentiment about leaving behind the Beatles label. has there ever been anyone like him since? Hopefully this reissue is remastered. All the material is great. Ham's guitar at the end of "Constitution" is excellent. Molland's "I Can Love You" is another favorite of mine. Too bad he turned out to be such a dip, putting out that atrociously produced not-really live LP, a let's-make-a-quick-buck collection of some demos of his that was shoddy, and his horribly embarrassing covers CD's of many Badfinger classics that take away from people buying the legitimate stuff. Joey --- Come back to reality!! It's not about the money--- Granted this album isn't perfect, like "Straight Up," but it's my second favorite Badfinger LP. Thanks to Mike B. for turning me on to it.

Badfinger's Goodbye to Apple
The story behind the release of Ass is in several ways similar to that behind "Straight Up". The first recordings for this album, that turned out to be their last for Apple Records, began in January 1972; and the final recording took place in April 1973. The album was not released until late 73 in the USA and in March 74 in Europe. Their change of record company from Apple to Warner Brothers was one among other reason for the delay. Actually a first version of the album had been completed by the end of 72, but it was rejected by Apple. The original version of Ass had been produced by the band themselves, and they were going for a more basic rock album.

In early 73 Apple called in Chris Thomas to produce new recordings and to look through, what had already been finished. A similar situation had occurred when Todd Rundgren had been recruited for finishing "Straight Up". The two earliest recordings on this album were in fact ("The Winner" and "I Can Love You") produced by Rundgren. Pete's "Apple Of My Eye" and "Timeless" were re-recorded and two new Molland songs ( "Icicles" and "Constitution") with Chris Thomas were added. The rest of the album are leftovers from the scrapped version.

The album turned out to be a commercial failure; not because of the music but because of other things like little promotion, bad timing, the change of record company, lack of recent hit-single etc. The album was different from their earlier albums - they had wanted to do basic rock album representing the music they performed live, and that is mainly what "Ass" became. People who'd expected and hoped for another album similar to "No Dice" and "Straight Up" were obviously disappointed. Pete Ham only contributed 2 songs, of which only "Apple Of My Eye" was a typical Ham composition. Tom Evans wrote two very strong tracks, "When I Say" and "Blind Owl" - the first a lovely ballad and the second a wonderful rocker, which became a live favourite. Mike Gibbins wrote "Cowboy", a country styled song, which sound somewhat unfinished and which does not fit very well into the concept of the album. The rest of the album was written by Joey Molland. 3 straight ahead blues/rockers and two ballads. The album is the first where Pete Ham really gets a chance to demonstrate what a great lead guitarist he was, f. ex. on tracks like "Blind Owl", "Constitution" and "Timeless". The only bonustrack "Do You Mind" is an outtake from the first version of the album - it's written by Molland and it's one of his best early Badfinger songs.

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Badfinger - A Strong Album with a few Misses!
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

Hitless, but a good "album" album.
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.

Uneven self titled 5th studio album deserves 3 1/2 stars
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.

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An Outstanding Book on an Outstanding Band
I was floored when I saw this book in my local Borders store. I had loved this band in the '70s but had pretty much forgotten about them until I found this book. I bought it along with a few Badfinger CDs, which I have enjoyed since then. I really got a lot out of this book, too.

One truly amazing aspect is the investigative work on the background of their former business manager, Stan Polley. Author Matovina dug up many facts of an apparently shady past of Polley. He was the man that group member Pete Ham named in his suicide note, stating, "Stan Polley is a soulless bastard." This aspect gives more context to what ultimately destroyed these guys. I had always wondered what the story was after reading that quote in Rolling Stone years ago.

I was brought to tears on a number of occasions. The deaths of Pete Ham and Tom Evans were so sad. Apparently, they were tortured, talented, special human beings, and we lost them too early. But their contributions to the music world in writing many of the group's major signature songs, such as "No Matter What," "Day After Day," Baby Blue" and "Without You" will always be part of classic rock 'n' roll.

Thanks to the author for keeping Badfinger's story alive. A superb job, Mr. Matovina! Well, back to Straight Up!

A GIFT OF A BOOK!!
I have always liked Badfinger, but never knew the whole story behind what happened to the band, especially with Pete and Tommy's suicides. "Without You" gives out all the grim details...what a motion picture this story would make! The sad thing is it's a true story....and I am sure no one would want to play the part of the evil manager!
Hats off to Dan for a very well-written book...thanks for the CD insert too, it really adds a vocal narrative of music and voices to the story. Thanks to this book, I am looking forward to adding to my collection of Badfinger music.
(As a side note, it was great to learn the story of how the song "Baby Blue" was written...that song has always been one of my very faves!)
Long live on through your music, Pete and Tommy!