They never got the recognition they deserved as the writers of the song Without You, which was big hit for both Harry Nilsson and later on for Mariah Carey. I believe two of the main band members (Pete Ham & Tom Evans) both committed suicide. These were the two members that wrote Without You.
Dennis has become one of my favorites as of late. Sad thing is it kind of brings me down hearing Pete sing those lyrics, terrible loss. Take away blue... What a tunesmith, made the band IMO.
I like the Ass album a lot. Certainly not as commercial as Straight Up and more of a rock album. I understand why Apple pulled "Apple of My Eye" as the single, but i think "When I Say" would have made a better single. Love Joe's work on the album, though "Constitution" took me a while--a little too 'heavy' for my normal tastes. And "Timeless" is a beauty.
Always loved Badfinger - what a treat that final scene of Breaking Bad was- SPOILER ALERT- don't watch this if you want to see the show in order... ...the single best show ever on TV next to Star Trek...and from a dramatic/artistic sense, the best show ever on TV.
Chris De Burgh covered Without You as well a few years back, but when he covered it he was keen on letting people know about the song's roots, and therefore went into detail about how and why that song was written when interviewed and at his concerts. After performing it once in concert a woman approached him after the show to say that Without You was written about her. She was Tom Evans' ex-wife. This would've been around 2008/09.
I have always loved Badfinger. Ass was never one of my faves (love Apple of My Eye), but it has more recently been the disc I pull when I wanna hear some Badfinger. Straight Up is still my fave. I've also been digging Airwaves.
This thread made me dig out my CD of the Head First album. I remember thinking the first track reminded me a LOT of what Fleetwood Mac would turn into when Buckingham and Nicks joined. Almost sounds like a Christine McVie song of the period. Coulda been a hit!
Given how much attention Apple records and now Universal owning the Masters for Apples artists, I still cannot understand the issues with "Without You" accolades, "Breaking Bad" using Baby Blue for Finale and yet nothing...from Apple on a definitive Boxset treatment by now! I would think Universal would be in the stages of moving Badfinger up a notch besides the ICON " Timeless: The Legacy of Badfinger" hits CD. If Ringo has a Boxset for his Induction to R&RHF this year, then maybe somewhere down the line Badfinger could get some interest.
Apple should re-issue the catalogue on LP mastered by the same team responsible for The Beatles' mono set.
I've owned all the originals on vinyl since college. I got into them initially through a friend and through Dan Matovina's excellent article in the May 1979 issue of Trouser Press. (Matovina, of course, went on to write their biography, Without You). Unlike a lot of music I listened to as a teenager, I found their music resonates more and more with me as the years go by, especially Pete Ham's songs. Beyond the hits he wrote, some of his album cuts are not only melodically compelling but get into a place lyrically few other writers go. I'm thinking of "Name of the Game," "Perfection," "Dennis," and "We're for the Dark. I don't know how to describe this stuff: philosophical? Political-meets-personal? Also, a few years ago, Matovina unearthed a 1969 demo of a Ham song co-sung by Tom Evans that I think is as good if not better than anything on the albums:
I don't like Azz, yes I know they were a rocking crew but I never understood why Pete wanted to rock out (Steve Miller cover??!) instead of having a longer quiet section. I play their cds a lot, and Pete's two embellished demo cds. They've really stood the test of time, I think. Pete was a great songwriter, Joey not so much. But I will give him credit he was a good guitar player. BTW, for those of you 'out there' looking, a really high quality live tape just surfaced from the Straight Up tour...........
Joey has lawyers. He has zero affection for Pete's family since the book came out. Let's leave it at that before this thread gets blown away like some others did.
Steve Miller cover?? Why would Joey block/be able to block a box set, but not the reissues with unreleased material? They were both great when released, but Straight Up has mostly been surpassed by the 2010 remaster.
