Badfinger: "No Matter What" you should "Come And Get It"
Written: Jul 13 '03 (Updated Jul 29 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: Hits:"Come And Get It,""Day After Day,""No Matter What,""Baby Blue"...
Cons: No discography or lyrics in an otherwise fine CD booklet.
The Bottom Line: This enjoyable collection of Badfinger music is made better by the 19 tracks having been 24-bit digitally remastered for extraordinary sound quality.
Don_Krider's Full Review: The Very Best of Badfinger by Badfinger
For a time in the early 1970s, when teenagers like myself were searching for bands that would recapture the intelligent sound and feeling of fun that The Beatles seemed to represent in the prior decade, there were a couple of standout bands from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean who seemed to fit the bill as being "the new Beatles."
One of the bands, the American-born and bred Raspberries, scored a string of American Top 40 hits ("Go All The Way" and "I Wanna Be With You"), but their lead singer, a young fellow named Eric Carmen, was a huge fan of that other standout act: the British-born and raised Badfinger.
In fact, Carmen once said in an interview that Badfinger was "the best rock 'n' roll band I've ever heard."
Badfinger:
Badfinger evolved from the 1960's band The Iveys, who hit the Billboard magazine charts in the United States in 1969 with "Maybe Tomorrow," which peaked at # 67, released on The Beatles' personal label, Apple Records (distributed by Capitol Records). The tune was not a hit in their native England, but did reach # 1 in Holland.
The Badfinger lineup became (following the early departure of bassist Ron Griffiths): guitarist/keyboardist Pete Ham (songsmith/lead vocalist of such major Badfinger hits as "No Matter What," "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day"), bassist/guitarist Tom Evans (lead vocalist on "Come And Get It"), guitarist/keyboardist Joey Molland and drummer Mike Gibbins.
The fab foursome managed four Hot 100 hits in 1970-72 as Badfinger, all of which went Top 20 on the Billboard charts: "Come And Get It" (produced and written by former Beatle Paul McCartney, it hit # 7 in 1970), "No Matter What" (produced by former Beatles' road manager Mal Evans, it reached # 8 in 1970), "Day After Day" (produced by former Beatle George Harrison, it became their only million-selling single as a band, which went to # 4 in 1971-72 on its way to earning a Gold Record Award) and "Baby Blue" (produced by Todd Rundgren, it peaked at # 14 in 1972).
Badfinger scored two additional Hot 100 hits in 1979-81, but these were without Pete Ham, primary lead singer/songwriter of the band.
On the album charts, the group scored with the albums "Magic Christian Music" (# 55 in 1970), "No Dice" (# 28 in 1970), "Straight Up" (# 31 in 1971-72, with 32 weeks in the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart), "Badfinger" (# 161 in 1974), "Wish You Were Here" (# 148 in 1974), "Airwaves" (without Ham and Gibbins, # 125 in 1979) and "Say No More" (without Ham and Gibbins, # 155 in 1981).
They also charted in 1973 with an album that featured a three-letter word as its title (the word refers to one's rear-end, but my dear publisher at Epinions.Com won't let me use the title in a review). That album reached # 122 in Billboard magazine (I remember a disc jockey at WLRS-FM in Louisville who seemed to enjoy saying the "forbidden word" on radio back then).
Being recorded by Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey:
The public at large knows the band for the Grammy-winning "Without You," a tune recorded by Badfinger but never released as a single by them.
"Without You" became the winner of the Ivor Novello Award as Song Of The Year after Harry Nilsson released the song as a single (Nilsson's version reached # 1 for four weeks in 1971-72 in the U. S.). Mariah Carey also covered the tune for a million-selling Top 10 hit in 1994.
The song, which features the line "...can't live, if living means without you...," is especially ironic since the Badfinger members who wrote the tune, Pete Ham and Tom Evans, both committed suicide by hanging themselves (in 1975 and 1983 respectively).
The suicides were at least partially the result of the band's management having, according to the band, stolen their money and their second record label (they left Apple Records for Warner Brothers in 1974) was suing the band over missing money (freezing Badfinger's assets for years) at the time of Ham's 1975 suicide. The money battle still was unresolved eight years after Ham's death when Evans also took his own life.
Beatle connections:
Badfinger got their name at the suggestion of Beatle John Lennon, so the story goes, thinking the name was a better attention-getter than The Iveys moniker.
The Beatles' members took a huge interest in Badfinger: the band backed Ringo Starr, George Harrison and John Lennon (the classic "Imagine" album) on record. Harrison and Paul McCartney produced tracks for the band. McCartney even wrote their first Top 10 American hit, "Come And Get It," released in 1970.
Badfinger joined Harrison on stage for "The Concert For Bangla Desh" (a benefit concert that also became a motion picture). They also did the soundtrack for "The Magic Christian," a film starring Peter Sellers and former Beatle Ringo Starr.
Besides McCartney and Harrison, their record producers included such talents as Todd Rundgren (Meat Loaf, Grand Funk), Geoff Emerick (who worked on numerous Beatles albums, winning a Grammy Award for his work as engineer of "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"), Tony Visconti (T. Rex, David Bowie, Luscious Jackson) and Chris Thomas (Pink Floyd, Procul Harum, Roxy Music).
This album:
Released in 2000 to coincide with a VH-1 cable television channel "Behind The Music" episode, the sound on the recording is crystal clear and without any defects. The tracks have all been 24-bit digitally remastered from the original master tapes by Ron McMaster at Capitol Mastering.
The single CD features 19 tracks (track 19 is from Badfinger's brilliant 1974 album "Wish You Were Here" and is a medley of two songs, "Meanwhile Back At The Ranch"/"Should I Smoke"). The tracks span the band's career (including tracks by The Iveys) on Apple Records and Warner Brothers.
Following the death of Ham in 1975, the band split, but later regrouped with Evans (after a brief stint in a group called The Dodgers) and Molland (after a stint in Natural Gas) in 1979.
The new Badfinger scored Hot 100 hits in 1979 ("Love Is Gonna Come At Last" on Elektra Records and in 1981 ("Hold On" on Radio Records), but these later efforts without Pete Ham are not represented at all on "The Very Best Of Badfinger," which means this isn't the "ultimate" Badfinger collection. Still, it is the best collection available and contains the songs most sought after by fans.
The CD booklet's lack of a discography is a weakness. A second weakness is the lack of lyrics in the booklet.
However, the booklet does feature some wonderful color (and a few black and white) photos of the band. The biographical information is another plus in the booklet, informative and thorough.
The tracks:
"No Matter What," "Day After Day," "Baby Blue," "Name Of The Game," "Maybe Tomorrow," "Come And Get It," "Rock Of All Ages," "Carry On 'Til Tomorrow," "Midnight Caller," "We're For The Dark," "I'll Be The One" and "Without You."
Also, "I'd Die Babe," "It's Over," "When I Say," "Dennis," "Lonely You," "Love Time" and the medley "Meanwhile Back At The Ranch"/"Should I Smoke."
The best tracks:
"Come And Get It":
Written by Paul McCartney while he was still in The Beatles (McCartney's version appeared in 1996 on The Beatles' "Anthology 3" CD), McCartney had been signed to score the movie "The Magic Christian," but he was involved in The Beatles' "Abbey Road" sessions, so he asked Badfinger to record the tune (imagine the pressure of McCartney saying to Badfinger, "If your version isn't as good as mine, I'll put my own out").
Badfinger's version, which sounds almost exactly like McCartney's demo, is catchy, uptempo, almost bubblegum pop. According to the CD booklet, McCartney auditioned each member of the band for the lead vocal chore before deciding that Tom Evans should sing lead.
McCartney recorded "Come And Get It" in three hours (for the Beatle and the members of Badfinger, spending months in the studio on one track was just not done in those cost-efficient recording days).
With Evans singing lead, Badfinger's "Come And Get It" was released in early 1970. With its strong placement in the movie "The Magic Christian," the single took off, eventually reaching # 7 on the U. S. charts:
"If you want it, here it is / come and get it / make your mind up fast / if you want it anytime, I can give it / but you better hurry 'cause it may not last..."
"No Matter What":
The tune that established the band as "Godfathers Of Power Pop" in the mind of critics and fans alike, Pete Ham's "No Matter What" features some wild, jangly guitar counter-point technique, some angelic background harmonies and remains one of my favorite pop tunes of the decade. In 2005, Def Leppard covered the tune.
This uptempo, rocking version is much different from the equally enjoyable version on Pete Ham's solo album, "7 Park Avenue" (released in 1997, 22 years after Pete's death; a fine review of that album by Epinions' member Sparkospunky appears at: http://www.epinions.com/content_28528119428#ow ).
Ham's lead vocal is strong here, urgent and pure. The power-chorded guitars drive the tune's intro (I could be tired as hell driving the car and this tune on a car stereo's speakers fills me with the energy of a 16-year-old to this day). "No Matter What" became Badfinger's second of what would be three Top 10 hits in a row, peaking at # 8 in 1970, powered by three-part harmonies, handclaps and Joey Molland playing lap steel guitar (using George Harrison's personal "Let It Be" model).
I've always loved the lyrics to "No Matter What":
"No matter what you are / I will always be with you / doesn't matter what you do girl, oh girl with you / no matter what you do / I will always be around / won't you tell me what you found girl, oh girl won't you / knock down the old grey wall, be a part of it all / nothing to say, nothing to see, nothing to do..."
"Day After Day":
When producer George Harrison heard Pete Ham's "Day After Day," he loved the tune so much that he asked if he could play slide guitar on it. Imagine, a Beatle asking, "Do you mind if I play on this?"
Badfinger, after no doubt long and careful consideration, did indeed allow Harrison to play on the tune (Harrison's guitar-work is something of a dueling duet with Ham's guitar-work on the song's solo).
One of the greatest piano-based romantic rockers of the 1970's, "Day After Day" is gorgeous, full of rich harmony and packed with lots of heart-worn-on-the-sleeve lyrics.
Badfinger entered the U. S. Billboard charts the first week of December in 1971 with "Day After Day," eventually hitting the # 4 spot in the U. S. and selling more than a million copies to earn a Gold Record Award. Pete Ham's lyrics reveal a deeply romantic heart:
"I remember finding out about you / everyday my mind is all around you / looking out from my lonely room, day after day / bring it home, baby, make it soon, I give my love to you / I remember holding you while you sleep / everyday I feel the tears that you weep / looking out from lonely room, day after day / bring me hope, baby, make it soon, I give my love to you..."
"Baby Blue":
Pete Ham was that rare celebrity who always seems to have thought of others first. A relationship with a girl from Kansas during the band's 1971 U. S. tour (their relationship lasted for the remainder of the tour until the band returned to England, but he promised to write) is the basis of "Baby Blue."
According to the CD booklet, Ham realized he hadn't written the girl for months, so he wrote her a letter in a song:
"Guess I got what I deserved / kept you waiting there too long my love / all that time without a word / didn't know you'd think that I'd forget, or I'd regret, that special love I have for you / my baby blue / all the days became so long / did you really think I'd do you wrong? / Dixie, when I let you go / thought you'd realize that I would know, I would show, the special love I have for you / my baby blue..."
This hard rocking tune, featuring some fine power chording, throbbing bass and some hard hit drum skins, was produced by Todd Rundgren and rose to # 14 on the U. S. charts in 1972, the band's last Top 20 hit.
"Without You":
Badfinger's version of "Without You" was done as an acoustic guitar/piano number. There's none of the heavily orchestrated pop, string-drowned melodrama of the Top 10 Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey covers of the tune.
Badfinger's version has more heart than the other versions. Listen to the vocals as the singer's throat cries out from loneliness:
"Well, I can't forget this evening / and your face when you were leaving / but I guess that's just the way the story goes / you always smile, but in your eyes your sorrow shows / yes, it shows / well, I can't forget tomorrow / when I think of all my sorrow / I had you there, but then I let you go / and now it's only fair that I should let you know / what you should know / I can't live, if living is without you / I can't live, I can't give anymore..."
"We're For The Dark":
I've always adored the uptempo, positive vibe of Pete Ham's "We're For The Dark," with its gorgeous acoustic guitar work and understated string arrangement:
"...show me the clouds and I'll give you sky if you want me to / show me the crowds and I'll make you sigh if you take me through / well, it's not enough to be / if you're gonna look, then you have to see / we're for the dark, mm-baby, you and I..."
"Rock Of All Ages":
Written by Evans, Gibbins and Ham as a Little Richard-styled raver, the tune originally was to have been a duet between Tom Evans and Paul McCartney. McCartney, who produced the track (which appears in the movie "The Magic Christian"), wound up double-tracking Evans lead vocal (the second Evans vocal track was then used to replace McCartney's duet track, so Evans does a wild vocal duet with himself in the released version).
McCartney does perform on the tune, however, playing keyboards as Badfinger rocks out. It's an amazing work --- not great songwriting, just a great slice of rock 'n' roll on which McCartney, as producer, urged the band to seek "simplicity and rawness." Badfinger succeeds very well in achieving the producer's dream.
"Midnight Caller":
Pete Ham can break your heart. His piano-based tale of a lonely girl getting older is as haunting as The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" in spirit:
"...you never hear her holler / the tears no longer come / she reads her daily book of the past / that shows of everyone / grey years that show in her hair / can't be, but don't seem to care / she unlocks the door and there's no one there / she sees the daytime stroller / walk from the night before / and though she paints a smile on her face / he won't be back no more / she's got no saint to follow / she's got no place to go / too proud to ask an old friend for help / too proud to let him know..."
"Dennis":
Pete Ham exhibited sheer brilliance less than a year before his death on this track. The tune, full of wonderful lyrics, evokes mental images as it tells of the joys of being a parent. Ham based the tune on the activities of his girlfriend's son and on the cartoon character "Dennis The Menace." He also also tells of the his girlfriend's son emptying his "mother's purse" for change for a bubblegum machine in the song's lyrics.
Starting slowly with voice and piano, the drums, guitars and bass gradually kick in before exploding into a glorious, harmony-filled, uptempo chorus, as Ham sings of a young boy experiencing the adventures of life for the first time:
"...you won't stand up, you won't sit down / your head's a mile above the ground / and though we tend to scold you now / I couldn't start to tell you how / we couldn't start to tell you how / there's just no way to say how much we love you / you, little Dennis, you / you're full of new surprise / love you / you, little Dennis with the rascal in your eyes / you're a prize..."
"Lonely You":
Also from 1974, Ham's piano ballad "Lonely You" spoke to me when I was 17 --- it seemed as though Pete knew what I was going through in life. To say I adore this song is an understatement:
"When I look into your tearful eyes / I don't know what to do / and though you say that I don't realize / I sympathize with you / lonely you, only you / .... / we really need a friend / and friends are hard to find / and harder still to keep..."
Recommendation:
Badfinger remains one of the great musical gems of the 1970s. Lost and misunderstood in their time, with tragic losses along the way, their fame has grown over the years.
If you love bright, intelligent, Beatle-ish rock-pop, then Badfinger's "The Very Best Of Badfinger" is a good place to start. The tunes all feature melodic rock with intelligent lyrics, my personal cup of tea.
My only musical complaint is the absence of "Just A Chance" and "Know One Knows," a couple of standout Pete Ham tracks from 1974. With so much great music to choose from, it would be hard to satisfy this die-hard fan totally, but this album should satisfy fans of 1970's Top 40 radio quite nicely (hopefully encouraging new listeners to seek out Badfinger studio albums in the process).
Badfinger today:
The surviving members of the classic foursome, Joey Molland and Mike Gibbins, continue to play on.
In 1993, I saw Joey Molland's Badfinger (he was the only member of the classic Badfinger recording lineup in this version of the group, which was a trio when I saw them featuring Molland on guitar with two equally fine musicians as drummer and bass player) in Indiana.
At that show, Joey did a capable job of singing lead on songs made famous by the late Pete Ham and the late Tom Evans. He was even better on his own band tunes and on songs from his solo career ("Vampire Wedding" from Joey Molland's "The Pilgrim" solo album is wonderful).
After the show, Joey came out, talked to fans and signed autographs. From personal experience, buying the artist a drink at the bar leads to a longer conversation --- Joey was kind, courteous and a gentleman in every way with this and other fans. If you get a chance to see Joey Molland on tour, I recommend doing it.
Both surviving members of that classic lineup, Joey Molland and Mike Gibbins (you can hear his drumming on Bonnie Tyler's hit, "It's A Heartache"), have each released fine solo albums. Their official websites (listed in the "on the web" section of this article) have complete ordering details.
On the web:
Official Joey Molland website: http://www.joeymolland.com
Official Mike Gibbins website: http://www.mikegibbins.com
My review of Badfinger's "Head First" album (a 1975 album that was not released at the time --- now finally available as a 2-CD set featuring Pete Ham's final recordings with the band): http://www.epinions.com/content_22347288196
My review of the CD "The Sittin' Ducks" by The Sittin' Ducks, featuring Raspberries' Wally Bryson and Choir members Dan Klawon and Kenny Margolis: http://www.epinions.com/content_239152434820
Badfinger fans will probably enjoy Capitol/EMI's 24-bit digitally remastered CD "Greatest" by Raspberries which was released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe. Raspberries original lineup (Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti) reunited in 2004 and played before sell-out crowds on tour in 2004 and 2005. "Greatest" by Raspberries features all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860
Unofficial Badfinger site (neat photo of the guitar George Harrison gave to Pete Ham which Pete played on Badfinger's hits): http://www.mindspring.com/~crimson3/main.html
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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