The BADFINGER Album-By-Album Thread

A nice photo Tribute for Pete Ham

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Only 1 CD of Tom's demos have been released to date. In 1993, a compilation of recordings made in the early 1980s by Evans and musician friend Rod Roach was posthumously released in the UK on Gipsy Records under the title Over You (The Final Tracks).

 

Just wondering. Is this an actual proven fact, or could it possibly be the other way around? After all, George nicked the first part of "Something" from James Taylor. Who knows when Tom wrote BM. Could Paul have heard it before it was recorded, and before he wrote OD. Just throwing that out there. I like both songs.

 

Anything's possible, but I've never heard anyone allege that Paul nicked this from Badfinger, so I've always gone on the reasonable assumption that since Abbey Road came out a year earlier, that it was a subconscious lift from that.

 

Right, that is a reasonable assumption that I have always thought to be true also, but recording dates that close together don't really mean anything. It's just that hard conclusions have been drawn here, when none of us really knows for sure. Paul was working closely with them around that time, and it's reasonable that he heard every song they had written. Whether or not BM was one of those, we'll never know. It's just a possibility that occurred to me this morning.

 

No Dice era BBC Live
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Straight Up era BBC Live

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My six favorite songs from Straight Up are the five Pete wrote, and I'll Be The One. Whoops...

The album is a little overproduced. Wears on me after a while, the constant flourishes. The version of Suitcase here blows, like the studio version of I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick.

The secret weapon is the lead track, the confessional Take It All. Outstanding lyric.

 

Cheapest copy on ebay is $170.

 

Excellent!

 

vintage Japan p/s

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Badfinger relaxing after a gig.
[Super 8 silent film by opening band]
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That performance doesn't sound familiar. Is that available in better quality and what else was recorded at the same time? Maybe it has been so long that I just forgot if it was on some boot CD.

 

(thanks botfinger!)


Badfinger Top Of The Pops radio broadcasts by Tom Brennan
(thanks Tom Brennan Badfinger Library)
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Thanks. I'll try to De-Click "I Can't Take It."

 

Already had Believe Me and had De-Clicked it (it wasn't as noisy). Just finished I Can't Take It and balanced it better and boosted the song to not be so much below the announcer's level in the intro. Only listened on the PC, but I like it.

 

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Getting back to Without You for a minute, I did listen to the demo version, and that is better than the album version... the transition between the verse and the chorus is a lot better.

This is one band where the alternate/unreleased stuff is really worth digging into, because the band apparently was not that good at knowing it themselves!

 

1972 painted show billboard
outside Whiskey A Go Go

[thanks botfinger!]​

 

Venezuela promo postcard "Straight Up"

rough translation

The Group Of The Year
Badfinger
and the exciting
Day After Day
Is Ready To Sell!
(LP - SAPCOR 19)
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Badfinger ~ ''Baby Blue'' Apple Records U.S. Test Pressing 45









Badfinger ~ "Apple Of My Eye" .. Apple Records U.S. Promotional 45 Mono/Stereo


These two Badfinger 45's are currently available from Perry Cox on eBay.

 

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(©Karen Dyson) Feb. 20, 1972
Community Concourse, San Diego. CA

 

Ass
Produced by Chris Thomas, Badfinger, Todd Rundgren
Apple Records
Released November 1973 (US)
Released March 1974 (UK)



Side 1:

Apple Of My Eye
Get Away
Icicles
The Winner
Blind Owl

Side 2:

Constitution
When I Say
Cowboy
I Can Love You
Timeless

1992 CD Bonus Track:

Do You Mind

2010 CD Bonus Tracks:

Do You Mind (Alternate Version)
Apple Of My Eye (Early Mix)
Blind Owl (Alternate Version)
Regular
Timeless (Alternate Version)

2010 Digital Bonus Tracks:

Get Away (Alternate Version)
When I Say (Alternate Version)
The Winner (Alternate Version)
I Can Love You (Alternate Version)
Piano Red



The fourth Badfinger album, Ass, finds the band at a crossroads. With Warner Brothers offering them a lucrative new deal, they set about recording what would be their final album for Apple Records in 1972. Much has been said about the significance of the cover art -- the dangling carrot seemingly referring to the Warner Brothers contract -- and the lyrics to the single, Pete Ham's "Apple Of My Eye", which indicates mixed emotions about leaving the label.

As had by then become the norm, the album they initially submitted (two songs produced by Todd Rundgren, who left the project early on, and the rest produced by the band) was rejected by Apple. Chris Thomas was brought in to finish the record, but even after all these delays, Apple sat on the completed record for many months due to a disagreement over publishing (more mismanagement by Polley here). As a result, by the time Ass came out, two years had passed since the release of Straight Up, killing momentum, and with the imminent release of the Warner Brothers debut, there were two new Badfinger albums on the shelves within weeks of each other, surely harming sales of both.

Ass is notable for the fact that Joey Molland's songs dominate half the album, while there are only two from Pete, two from Tommy and one from Mike. Having said that, Joey's material on the album is stellar. "Get Away", "Icicles" and "Constitution", are particular favorites of mine. Pete's two songs are also excellent, but as they open and close the record, he seems almost like a special guest. "Apple Of My Eye" is absolutely majestic, and is one of the only tracks on Ass that really conjures up the feel of Straight Up. Tommy's "When I Say" is great musically and vocally, though the banal lyrics ("When I say I love you / What I mean is I really do") kind of knock that one down a peg. Overall, partly due to Joey's high profile on it, the album leans noticeably toward heavier rock, and less toward Beatlesque pop. This album tends to be overlooked and/or underappreciated -- I think it's excellent. Although there's nothing as incredible as "No Matter What" or "I Don't Mind" here, I actually think it hangs together as an album better than No Dice.

 

It's not Badfinger's weakest, but it's nowhere near their strongest. The highlights are the phenomenal Pete tracks "Apple of My Eye" and "Timeless", two of the best Badfinger songs. "Constitution" is also pretty good.

 

Japanese release w/ Inner sleeve
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