Badfinger was one of the most commercially and critically successful acts that were part of the early days of Apple Records in the late ’60s/early ’70s. The group’s Beatle-esque pure pop was a staple of FM radio at a time that saw the release of such classic albums as No Dice (1970) and Straight Up (1971) with the lineup of Pete Ham, Tom Evans, Mike Gibbins, and Joey Molland. Ass, released in 1973, was the last album from the group on Apple Records, the record label started by The Beatles.
The group that was the earliest incarnation of Badfinger was The Iveys, which included Ron Griffiths but not Joey Molland. Badfinger began with its contribution to the soundtrack albums of the film The Magic Christian (1970), starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with the Paul McCartney-penned “Come and Get It,” which was a big hit.
Unfortunately, bad management, record company squabbles, changing musical tastes, and for some of the members of the band, personal problems, ended the group’s creative and commercial peak shortly after they left Apple. They then made a handful of albums for Warner Bros. Now, by some miracle, a long-lost album has recently been released and adds another welcome musical chapter to the group’s abbreviated musical career, along with an anthology of demos from The Iveys.
The music on this new Badfinger release would have come out in 1974, with a lineup that included Ham, Evans, Gibbins, and Bob Jackson. While it has come out on CD in the past in demo form, the music on this album is taken directly from the final master tapes. After the album was completed, Warner Bros. rejected it. The group’s manager ran off with their advance and the label dropped them.
The album didn’t come out even after many tries by the surviving members of the group to get Warner Bros. to release the music. A rough mix was released in 2000, but Warner Bros. sued. Warner Bros. eventually did relinquish any rights to the music. Ultimately, the original master tapes, believed to have been lost, were found.
The album was recorded at Apples Studios, owned by The Beatles. It’s such a shame this music never came out in 1974 because if it had, it would have fit in perfectly with the music of the day and was a logical extension of the group’s sound. The album would have been their third Warner Bros. release. They did two albums on Elektra, Airwaves in 1979 and the prophetically-titled Say No More in 1981, that only included Evans and Molland from the previous lineups, after being dropped by Warner Bros.
The lineup here is the same lineup that made the group’s classic albums, except for Bob Jackson replacing Joey Molland. The band was always good at making bracing pop, but here the music has a more power pop sound that would reflect the heyday of the music represented by groups such as the Raspberries, the Dwight Twilley Band, and The Records, to name a few.
There is one “new” track named after the block where Apple Studios was located, a short instrumental entitled “Savile Row.” The vinyl edition is a gatefold package and includes a 12-page booklet. In keeping with previous albums from the group, it has a striking cover.
If this new Badfinger album isn’t enough good news, the folks who released it have also recently released an anthology from The Iveys. Given that The Iveys only released one album, this collection of demos is a nice surprise and an excellent addition to their output from their short time together.
While the sound is a bit rough due to the fact that these are demos, the quality of the songs shines through and the vocal harmonies are exceptional. The Iveys CD comes with a 16-page booklet. For fans of Badfinger, the Iveys and collectors of music related to the Beatles and Apple Records, these releases are a must.
While there has been reissues on CD of the music of Badfinger, both of their official releases and archival recordings, there have not been any reissues of the classic Badfinger lineup’s albums since 1992 or the Iveys’ only album Maybe Tomorrow (1969). This would be a great time to reissue these albums on vinyl.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Badfinger, Head First
B
The Iveys, Anthology 4
B
