The BADFINGER Album-By-Album Thread

FYI : TracksUK has apparently taken in a motherlode of RARE original Apple acetates recently. There are numerous Badfinger examples for sale, many I have never seen before anywhere. Some go back to the Iveys.

Here's a look at a few.. Enjoy!



Rare Trident Studios lacquer.

 

I appreciate several of the albums Mike worked on! I did buy that 9/11 CD Single he released, plus he had two songs featured on a very small Independent compilation for Forbidden Fruit label before he issued his first Solo CD!

It's definitely not Badfinger, but Mike seemed to be in a totally different mindset when he considered recording music again since mid-late 70's with his buddies in the MAN band.

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I really enjoy his drumming and still feel he is overlooked in the drummers category who rocked in the 70's. Met him him several times, he and his family where always kind and approachable to fans. God bless Mike Gibbins!

 

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Takeaways from this thread:
- Pete recording in his garage on a crappy cassette is much better product than the other three could come up with.

 

Tom’s album with Rod Roach isn’t bad. Some of the tracks could be great with better production. “The Rain” is very catchy, in my opinion. “Baby You” has a similar rock n’ roll feel as the Say No More album, though more gritty than slick.

 

Well, they're apples and oranges comparisons. Pete's stuff was written/recorded during the years of The Iveys/Badfinger, while Tom, Joey, and Mike were recording years after the fact in different eras of music, recording techniques, etc. Sometimes going for drastically different styles. But of course, Pete was always the most talented and most accomplished songwriter of all of them. Who knows if he'd have written great stuff in his 30s or 40s. Or beyond. He could've fallen into the same goofy production choices or song styles too.

I do think some stuff from Airwaves, Say No More, and After The Pearl stands up quite well -- as at least second-tier Badfinger -- in the company of many of the original band's Apple & WB album tracks. I also think Joey made a really good album later on down the road with This Way Up. The way I see it, there's not a heck of a lot of the magic left in any of those guys when they're not standing next to Pete Ham, but there's still some great music to be heard, and once in a while something hits all the right points to make it...not Badfinger...but you hear some elements of what they brought to the band. And I take what I can get with those guys.

 

Mike seemed like a super cool guy and definitely deserves more attention than he gets. I just wish I liked his solo albums...I've given them a fair chance and I just thought they were lame.

 

In 2002, I ordered 3 CDs from Mike's site. After a while, the CDs plus a T-shirt arrived.
I was surprised at the unexpected gift.

DBA-BFR CD, Dream Harder CD Single, More Annoying Songs CD,
with our Compliments
No Dice/Straight Up/ Ass T-shirt

 

I have the DBA-BFR CD as well. Rough sound but a good piece of Badfinger history to have and hear. Regarding live Badfinger albums, I’ve always really enjoyed the 1972-3 BBC album. Some of those tracks, especially the versions of “Suitcase” and “Matted Spam,” really smoke.

 

Yeah the band is so different Live from records, smoking on all four cylinders!

 

A nice feature on Airwaves album
Fab Four FAQ 2.0 ​

 

Three tracks off Mike's second Solo album

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Three off Mike's third Solo album


Dead Ratz features guitar from Paul Chapman of UFO & Michael Schenker



In a Zappa mood?

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A re-recording of the 2001 benefit track
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Ron Griffiths featured on vocals & Bass.




Ron & Mike back in The Iveys​

 

This is alright. In the cases where I have recordings decades after an artist's heyday, they will make an effort to sound contemporary.

 

I passed on DBA-BFR. At the time it came out, I had just spent good money on a 3-CD bootleg called Will The Real Badfinger Please Stand Up, which included shows from the 1982 lineup with Mike/Tommy/Bob. I am not sure if they're the same shows, but the sound quality is extremely disappointing. I didn't make it a priority to grab a CD from Mike, and unfortunately it came and went pretty quickly.

 

A hard rock version of Come and Get It. Not a bad idea in itself, but its execution leaves a lot to be desired. Wonder what it would sound like if Def Leppard did it. Nah...

 

Airwaves: I love Look Out California and Come Down Hard. My biggest problem with the album is the production, which made it bland, and it didn't have enough rock songs. "Sympathy" is one of their worst.

 

DBA-BFR was a project approved by Mike from a rough cassette recorded at Bluebird Lounge in Indiana, the sound was restored as best as possible and cleaned up. The band was surprisingly strong with Tom, Mike, Bob, Reed Kailling, and Donnie Dacus (Chicago).

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I'll check tonight to see if the Bluebird Lounge is one of the shows included on that set I have. There's a really nice sounding recording of Tommy's Badfinger (without Mike) in Sunderland, MA, 9/23/83 that was issued unofficially as Tommy's Last Stand. Unfortunately, the CD was mastered at an incorrect speed, but with some digital manipulation, it sounds great.

 

That website has a lot of mouth watering Apple items, Badfinger in particular. Fun to look and imagine.