Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence - ROBERT FRIPP.
Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music;
MUSIC IS THE BEST - FRANK ZAPPA.
I think we're a little happier when we have a little music in our lives - STEVE JOBS.
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - LAO TZU.
Rock and Roll is fire, man. FIRE. - DAVID BRIGGS.
Music grips you, gets into your soul -
GEORGE MARTIN
Gear costume: This Must Be Love(this sounds so much like a track on a Ringo Starr album that I had to check - nope. But it sounds perfect for Ringo!)
Active compensatory factors: The terrible cover likely turned off a lot of potential buyers. If they could find it that is, as it was independently released.
That's a shame, as it's really pretty good - I can definitely justify the four star rating. Not Badfinger clearly - he's much older and experienced now, but at times it's close.
Whatever, it's great to hear those distinctive Molland vocals over classy pop material. I can warmly recommend this one.
Where do they all belong? For some reason, maybe he felt he'd outlived the youthful Joey moniker, he adopted Joe for this one.
A worthwhile addition to the Badfinger group of albums.
Pete Ham7 Park Avenue(CD, Ryko, 1997) *** Pete HamGolders Green(CD, Ryko, 1999) ***
Genre:Apple Records/Dark Horse/ Ring O Records Places I remember: Real Groovy Records Auckland Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Catherine Cares (a song for his mother - sounds pretty finished to me)
Gear costume:No Matter What, Island (on 7 Park Avenue); Shine On, Makes Me Feel Good (both versions on Golders Green)
Active compensatory factors: Pete Ham's story is ultimately a tragic one (he took his own life in 1975), but he left a body of work with Badfinger and in these demos that will live on and he certainly lives on in my heart. There are a smattering of demos here that did see the light of day with Badfinger versions, but the vast majority didn't, and there are a number of songs on these two CDs that would have made terrific Badfinger songs. Regardless of that, these demos were well recorded and they contain Pete's beautiful vocals and guitar, and are well worth hearing if you are at all interested in quality pop music. Rest in peace Pete.
Where do they all belong? That's it, unless you have the Japanese versions of these CD's in which case you have some bonus material.
Various 20 Solid Gold Hits Vol II (Vinyl - Music For Leisure, 1971) *** Genre: Compilations, but really it is its own genre in New Zealand Places I remember: Back in 1971 - I think I got this from Woolworths in Three Kings - it was a store next to the new foodmarket; 2019 copy from Hastings second hand record shop for $15. Finding a cleanish copy has been difficult over the last few months, as it was a party album in 1971 and so was manhandled mercilessly. This is the best copy I've been able to find (so it needs a clean, but is otherwise in very good shape). Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Imagine - John Lennon
Gear costume:Meet Me On The Corner - Lindisfarne; Theme From "Shaft" - Isaac Hayes; Day After Day - Badfinger; Good Morning Mr Rock n' Roll - Headband. Active compensatory factors: This is the album that really kick started and confirmed my love for John Lennon, the solo artist. I'd seen him on The Ed Sullivan Show in the mid sixties, I'd gazed at his photo on the cover of Hey Jude in 1970 and I had loved this song and its affect on me beyond any other song I'd heard up to 1971. From here it was buying a copy of the Imagine album and then anything else he'd done. The pleasure of this compilation was that it contained some other brilliant pop songs (see the 'Gear costume' section above), as well as a couple of good kiwi tracks from Headband and Suzanne (but also a Craig Scott song for balance). Being a hits compilation and being the early seventies it has some bizarre people on it: for every John Lennon there is a Tom Jones, for every Badfinger and T Rex there is a Dawn and for every Isaac Hayes there is an Al Martino. Where do they all belong? Remarkably, I didn't buy any other 20 Solid Gold Hits packages like this back in the early seventies - this volume came along at the exact right time - before I thought it was really uncool to own it and just as I needed a compilation that had on it all the songs I was listening to on the radio.
Natural GasNatural Gas(Vinyl - Private Stock Records, 1976) *** Genre:Apple/ Dark Horse Records (of course Private Stock is neither of those but I group Badfinger related albums all together) Places I remember: Real Groovy Records Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Christmas Song
Gear costume:Little Darlin' Active compensatory factors: Of course, Joey Molland's voice is very familiar from those Badfinger songs, but hardly anyone remembers this band. The band is obscure enough that there is not even a wikipedia article on them! On the surface it's a supergroup of sorts. Some of the bands the membership of Natural Gas have been part of: Badfinger, Humble Pie, Colosseum, Uriah Heep, Rare Bird, Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. It's a nice collection of largely undistinguished songs from various band members. Naturally, I'm more partial to Joey's tunes, but even his contribution doesn't come anywhere near his Badfinger output. Where do they all belong? Natural Gas was a brief interlude before Joey went back to the Badfinger name with Tom Evans.
Genre:Apple/ Dark Horse Records Places I remember: Respectively - Marbecks Records; Real Groovy Records; Fives (Leigh-on-sea, UK) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Love Is gonna Come At Last (from Airwaves)
Gear costume:The Dreamer (another Joey Molland song from Airwaves)
Active compensatory factors: Airwaves could have been called 'And Then There Two' as only Joey Molland and Tom Evans appear on it. When I got a glimpse of the album while working at Marbecks Records in the late seventies, my expectations were low as my favourite Badfinger songs mostly came from Pete Ham. Depending on your point of view, the album stands as either a brave attempt to move the Badfinger story on or to cash in. Tom and Joey were both strong vocalists in the original band, so it does have enough of the classic Badfinger sound to make it a brave attempt for my money.
Whatever, given Tom Evans' suicide in 1983, it ends up as another sad chapter in the end (as is, I suspect, Say No More, a follow up by the duo under the Badfinger name which I have yet to find anywhere). Apple Daze is an interesting interview disc with Tom Evans about Apple, Beatles, Badfinger related content. One for obsessives though. As is Head First, recorded at Apple Studios. It was supposed to be the follow up to Wish You Were Here but was put on hold. It's no surprise to find that it's a miserable slog of an album - songs about the dire situation with management (Hey, Mr Manager, Rock'n'Roll Contract) don't help the situation one bit. Where do they all belong? Next up is a brace of live albums by the original band.
BadfingerWish You Were Here(Vinyl - Warner Bros, 1974) ****
Genre:Apple/ Dark Horse Records (yes, I know it's not on either of those labels, but I group all the related stuff under that umbrella 'genre'). Places I remember:Real Groovy Records (Auckland) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Know One Knows (yes - that's how it's spelt on the album)
Gear costume:Dennis (another Pete Ham classic) Active compensatory factors: Maybe their best album, and pretty much know one knows it (sic). Their second album of 1974 was withdrawn soon after being released and its appearance on CD is severely limited. Blame naff lawsuits for this travesty. My copy was a great find at a second hand shop in Auckland way back at the end of the seventies. It has a 'Promotional Copy: Not For Sale' pink sticker and originally came from the USA. The album stands as Pete Ham's last contributions to the much loved, but badly treated Badfinger. His vocals alone are worth your time. Like The Beatles, the band had a number of song writers and so variety of approach (and quality) can be an issue on their albums. All contributions here are strong and stand the test of time. Where do they all belong? Wish You Were Here was a peak; afterwards - heart breaking suicides, patchy records with various combinations of old and new band members, live and lost recordings. A sad slow winding pathway for a once magnificent band.
Badfinger Badfinger (Vinyl - Warner Brothers, 1974) *** Genre: Apple/Dark Horse records Places I remember:Real Groovy, Auckland. It cost me $2.50. I know this because some plonker wrote that figure on the cover! Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:My Heart Goes Out
Gear costume:Lonely You and Shine On. Active compensatory factors: In a parallel universe Pete Ham is a huge star and his band, Badfinger, are second only to The Beatles in popularity (whatever Universe you pick the Fabs ROCK IT). I've said it before, and there - I've said it again! This album was the first one for Warner Brothers after leaving Apple Records, reluctantly, behind. Badfinger was the accidental title - not having a proper one, this is what it's come to be known as over the years. It's patchy. Love is Easy was the first single lifted from the album. A Joey Molland song. Sadly it's not one of his best and it's no surprise it failed to chart. One of his best is the FAB selection for this entry. An amazingly deep song with some killer mandolin work. Again, though, it's the Pete Ham songs that impress the most. I love his voice and his songs are always a cut above the rest. What a waste of huge talent! For you now, my heart goes out, once again.
Where do they all belong? Next up, a clear post-Apple Badfinger peak, the mighty one - Wish You Were Here.
Genre: Apple/ Dark Horse Records Places I remember: Marbecks Records Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: So many wonderful songs on the classic five star Straight Up. Picking one stand out is grossly unfair but Day After Day was my first ever taste of Badfinger power pop on the radio (and Solid Gold Hits) so... Ass' best moment is Pete Ham's heartfelt Apple Of My Eye natch.
Active compensatory factors:Straight Up is peak Badfinger on Apple Records. Not that it's clear cut. No Dice is a wonderful record but, for me, the songs/ production/ playing/ harmonies on Straight Up are beyond great! From the classic Beatle's style cover, to the classic Beatle pop inspired sound, to Beatle George's involvement, Straight Up is all class! Sadly, though, Ass was the final Badfinger album on their beloved Apple Records. Although patchy (only a few Pete Ham songs), as a band, they got their shot and they took it and their legacy lives on! Where do they all belong? Leaving Apple, Badfinger were given a home of sorts on Warner Brothers and the greatness (and sadness) was not done yet! Rest in peace Tom, Mike and Pete.
Genre: Apple/ Dark Horse Places I remember: The vinyl came from Marbecks in the seventies, during my searches for Apple Records product in the company of Greg Knowles. The CD reissues are from Real Groovy in the nineties.
Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:No Dice has an embarrassment of riches. But even among great company, two Pete Ham songs - Without You, No Matter What still stand out.
Gear costume:We're For The Dark, Midnight Caller.
Active compensatory factors: Badfinger - four young badass guys oozing pop smarts, desire, belief, and not shy about their love of Beatles and Apple: I love Badfinger!! Don't believe me? Who else would have the balls to call a song Love Me Do and make it a guitar/drums fueled rocker on the Beatles' Apple label? I love Badfinger!! Magic Christian Music is the big brother record to The Iveys' Maybe Tomorrow (they have six songs in common). The Magic Christianmovie of 1969 (starring Ringo and Peter Sellers) throws a lifeline and Paul McCartney donates the hit single Come and Get It and yet...it's still just a first step. The variety of styles on offer don't help the cause much as the next record would show. No Dice is much more fully formed statement. Churning power pop guitars, amazing harmonies, terrific songs are all to the fore. And it's on Apple! Mmmm mmm...I love Badfinger.
Where do they all belong? Badfinger were yet to peak. Extraordinary!
IveysMaybe Tomorrow(CD - Apple, 1969/1992) *** Genre: Apple (naturally my Apple Records collection follows on from the Beatles genre) Places I remember: Auckland, late 1990s, Real Groovy Records in Queen Street. Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Beautiful and Blue was one of several tracks re-recorded for the first Badfinger album (we'll get to it eventually).
Gear costume:Fisherman has some great harmonies. The video is the redone version though. Active compensatory factors:I love Badfinger. I love everything about them (apart from the tragedy): Pete Ham; the songs; the music; the Apple connection. I. Love. Badfinger.
This is very early Badfinger, before McCartney gave them Come And Get It, recording as the Iveys (after a place name in Swansea, Poison Ivy and The Hollies - Iveys - get it?). There are some strong songs on this, their first and only album before the name change, which only got a very limited release back in 1969 and became a real collectors' item. Probably, one for collectors, but it's still a snazzy little time capsule from a more innocent age.
Where do they all belong?: These were important baby steps that lead to Magic Christian Music (i.e. we're not quite at the 'giants of power pop' status yet but hang in there, it's right around the bend).
BadfingerLove Is Easy/ My Heart Goes Out (Warner Brothers, B 16323 1973)
The eagle eyed will note that the last Badfinger single on Apple records (featured in my last posting) came out in 1974 but they had moved to Warner Brothers before Apple issued Apple Of My Eye, so this song, issued as a single prior to their first Warners Bros album (called Badfinger), came out in 1973.
Life at Warners was not peachy keen for the band. As a fatal consequence Pete Ham ultimately committed suicide.
The actual Badfinger album is okayish but not a patch on their Apple albums or their final album as original Badfinger - the wonderful Wish You Were Here.
This single is pretty dire though. the A side is sluggish and dull with a terrible mix. It probably goes without saying that it failed to chart. Neither side is by Pete Ham, but the B side is a...
Hidden Gem: It's sweet song written by Mike Gibbons, the drummer! That was the thing with Badfinger - everybody wrote songs but they became recognisably Badfinger songs. This one was included on the album so no rarity value but it is a worthy album track all the same.
BadfingerNo Matter What/ Better Days (Apple, Apple 31 1970)
BadfingerDay After Day/ Sweet Tuesday Morning (Apple, Apple 40 1972)
BadfingerBaby Blue/ Flying (Apple, Apple 42 1972)
BadfingerApple Of My Eye/ Blindowl sic(Apple, Apple 60 1974)
These four singles have a lot of things in common. They are all on Apple, all by Badfinger, and all the A side hits were written by their rhythm guitarist Pete Ham.
I love Pete Ham and I am still extremely sad that he is no longer with us to share his gifts.
Tragically he killed himself in 1975 at the age of 27 (yes - another of the 27 club although not as well known as some other members).
Although Pete is best known for co-writing Without You, that song was never released by Badfinger as a single.
These four singles in the list above are the goods though. Each one a classic slice of pop.
I remember when I first heard Day After Day in particular because it was a song on Solid Gold Hits Vol 2, released in 1972. I bought that album and listened to it a lot in 1972.
Especially the Badfinger song. It had a creamy pop sheen that drew me in. It was like nothing I'd heard up to that point (even though it is Beatlesque thanks in part to George Harrison's guitar, it's still an original Badfinger sound).
Day After Day was the highest charting song of the four.
Baby Blue (like Day After Day, it's featured on their 1972 Straight Up album) is another great song. It has a harder rock edge to it but a soft centre - it's about his then girlfriend Dixie.
Apple Of My Eye was his love song (and farewell) to Apple Records. Badfinger were the last band to leave the label and they were reluctant to go. All things to their credit.
Pete sings lead on all of the A sides and his vocals are brilliant; exactly right for the songs. The Joey Mollard guitar sound is another fantastic feature of these four songs, and the production, the soundscape, is timeless.
Hidden Gems: All the B sides are album tracks so there's nothing rare on offer. My favourite of these B sides is Sweet Tuesday Morning: a great soft rock ballad. There is a bathos at work that isn't easy to achieve (I wouldn't think).
BadfingerCome and Get It/ Rock Of All Ages (Apple, Apple 20 1969)
I love Badfinger. I love everything about them - but I especially love Pete Ham's songwriting and voice, the Beatles connection via Apple, and their love of Apple (Apple Of My Eye will be coming up in this count down).
However, this single contains very little of Pete Ham's input as it is pretty much a Paul McCartney solo single (the A side sounds identical to his demo as we can hear on Anthology 3; they even clock in with the same time) and the B side is a co-write with fellow Badfingers. We'll have to wait until the next post to sample his particular genius.
Still it was my first taste of Apple back in the day. I bought the first Badfinger album Magic Christian Music from Marbecks in the Queen's Arcade and Come and Get It is track one side one.
Hidden gem: Rock of All Ages is a pretty good rocker but it's on the album so not so much a hidden gem as a different look.
Keeping with the theme of the musician taking centre stage; we move onto group shots now. First up - the close up head shots.
This kind of cover is definitely gone burger. I can't think of any group who would now do close up mug shots for a CD cover. Sends too many messages that they don't want out there in 2011. Even rampant egotists like Bono wouldn't dare, even though they want your love.
No apologies for the fab four dominance of this category - they set and maintained the standard!
24 Badfinger, ‘Without You’; 25 The Raspberries, ‘I Can Remember’
Although powerpop is a commercial construct, it does evoke a certain kind of song. As a sub-genre, it’s often linked to its parent - the Beatles. In reality powerpop’s only one facet of the Beatles and that’s the Paul McCartney Back In The USSR pop song facet. Macca, and The Beatles, were/are always much more than that. Nevertheless, I love the bands and songs that are often market under the ‘powerpop’ tag, even though there are often some weird groups shoehorned onto powerpop compilations – The Kinks? The Proclaimers? Buzzcocks? Joe Jackson? That would be – no, no, no, and no. But The Motors? The Cars? Electric Light Orchestra? The Records? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. What makes the difference – songs with beefy guitars, McCartney hooks, fuzzed up guitars, harmony vocals, scuzzed up multi-tracked guitars, a Ringo like drummer, riffy chords, they last about 3 minutes, no longer, and, oh, there are lots of guitars. Think Wings circa Band On The Run as the template.
All kidding aside, it is probably true that without McCartney a lot of these bands would have gone in very different directions and I wouldn’t be writing about Badfinger and The Raspberries right now. The Beatle comparisons don’t end there though.
The Beatles, Badfinger and The Raspberries were four piece bands whose resident genius was their rhythm guitarist (John Lennon, Pete Ham and Eric Carmen respectively). Both Badfinger/Raspberries recorded for Beatle related labels (The Raspberries for Capitol, but Badfinger win this battle as they were on Apple Records).
Even aside from Apple, Badfinger continue the Beatles comparison through McCartney’s (and later – Harrison’s) direct involvement. Badfinger started life as The Iveys (chosen to echo The Hollies). They were signed to Apple by Beatle roadie, Mal Evans, and were allowed to grow slowly. This was handy coz their Maybe Tomorrow album doesn’t give many hints of the greatness to come. Nor is it powerpop.
But then, along came Macca. He donated Come And Get It as a sure-fire single and Badfinger copied his lead note for note . Unfortunately, the rest of Magic Christian Music is only slightly better than The Iveys album, mainly because they rework many of the Ivey’s songs.
No Dice, however, is another thing altogether, and the first real Badfinger album on which Pete Ham shines. It contains his classics, No Matter What, Midnight Caller, We’re For The Dark and the great Without You.
In contrast, The Raspberries were one of those bands like Coldplay, Led Zeppelin and The Doors who arrived, album 1, fully formed. Who or what were they before they put out their first album? I’ve no idea. But their respective first albums –The Raspberries, Parachute, Led Zeppelin, The Doors – hit the ground running with a trademark sound. There are no awkward first albums to get the sound right as many have done, such as David Gray, Deep Purple, and Jefferson Airplane. Amazingly, The Raspberries even included an eight minutes long opus on their debut – I Can Remember.
I’ve linked these classic powerpop songs, Without You and I Can Remember, for this post because both songs deal with love withdrawn, denied or goneburger; a common theme within the powerpop world. They are great for when you want to wallow in self-pity. I even made a self-pity mix tape many moons ago and these were automatic choices. Eric Carmen has seldom done better. All By Myself is a great weepie but I Can Remember is CINERAMA in comparison.
Without You begins with I’m- resigned-to-this news that she’s left him and now he can’t live if he has to live without her. We know nothing else – apart from he let her go and she’s sad to go. It’s a little less fleshed out than Romeo and Juliet then. But this lack of information isn’t an issue in the song, because the music is so damned good. I just listen for those guitar bits that go ‘jerhuumm’ and who cares if the lyric is basically meaningless. I know, I know – I told you earlier that I’m a lyric man but Without You is a great example of the ‘less is more’ principle in the lyric department.
I Can Remember is much more expressive in comparison and things are more strung out time wise. Eric remembers the fun they had in summer, going into autumn (when she said goodbye and took off with another guy) and he’s looking forward to spring and a possible rebirth with the reappearance of the sun. But in the meantime the protagonist hurts so much he thinks he’ll die. Things get worse – he hurts more and more each day. It's still not Shakespeare though is it. No, stupid, it’s powerpop. Classic powerpop. If I wanted Shakespeare I’d listen to Aimee Mann.
