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Re: Tell me everything about Badfinger. Hey, J-P Mat come on down...

Posted by J-PMatt@Comcast.Net on October 25, 2006 at 09:53:42

In Reply to: Tell me everything about Badfinger. Hey, J-P Mat come on down... posted by dave c on October 24, 2006 at 22:15:58:

"... Badfinger.
I am becoming quite fascinated by them.
I too have a taste for skillfully arranged pop, although I am at the more baroque end of that range. Sort of George Beatles even.
Have you heard The Earlies?"

I was 13 years old at the time I first consciously became aware of them. It had been 4 or 5 years since my oldest sister had left the roost. She always listened to the most popular AM Pop station, and I vivdly remember laying in bed on school nights in 1st and 2nd grade hearing "Come and Get It", "No Matter What", "Without You", "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue".

This elder sis was a Beatles fan, and her new husband was a sheer Beatle Maniac. I was engulfed, and I loved what I heard. But being so young, focused and limited on all things Beatles, few artists had a chance to appeal to me. I did break up my listening with the occasional Simon & Garfunkle, Beach Boys and Jim Croce, but again, the Beatles were really the only band that existed.

One night on our way in Philly to see "Let It Be"" as a birthday present from my Brother In Law, he slipped in an 8-Track of "No Dice". He told me to have an open mind and just give it a chance instead of dismissing it out of hand. Obviously, he had met resistance before.

The first song I heard was "Love Me Do". A familar title, no doubt. But the resemblance ends there. This song rocked......I don't know why....but it grabbed the crap out of me and I paid attention. The rest was history. I found a band that wrote as well as the Beatles, sang as well as the Beatles and played better than the Beatles. (Excepting Sir Paul on Bass, I mean-c'mon!)

The Guitar crunched when it was suppose to, the drums were fast and powerful and the vocals were incredible. Melodically, Tom, Joey and even Mike were excellent, but Pete Ham isn't one of the 7 Pillars of Pop for nothing. The mantle of "God-Father of Power Pop" is also well deserved.

You're older than me, so I'll assume you're more than aware of the critisims of 70's rock. It was often times considered indulgent, pretentious, or corporate. When the most popular rockers were saying "These go to 11" and engaging in musical masturbation, there was Badfinger, apprentice craftsmen and like their mastors....playing and singing pretty, always serving the song first.

Sure, live, they could jam with anybody until the fuses blew. Pete's guitar playing was too outstanding to hide. Slide, folk-acoustic, jazz, blues and Rock Virtuoso.......he did it all effortlessly, and he was no slouch on the pie-ano either.

Vocally, Joey and Tom, the groups' Liverpudlians, were incredible together. Joey's voice was brittle, fragile and capable of conveying great emotion. Tom's voice is the one you always pick up on when you hear that soaring quality so prominent in the their backing vocals. As my niece puts it, "Tom had MAD-RANGE". He did, too. He sang like a wounded angel. Tom and Joey singing together on "I Don't Mind" (from No Dice) is what's best about British Pop.

Mike, the groups drummer, is probably the most under-rated singing and songwriting drummer in history. His writing wasn't as prolific as the others, but he chose his battles well and always made sure that he made a great account of himself. He too, served the song.

The band wasn't just democratic, they were real hippies. Joey almost always played lead on Pete's songs, including all of the hits. Pete always played lead on Joeys' songs, as well as half of Tom's. Joey got the other half. All played piano. Mike would play guitar and piano sometimes too.

If I had to name the worst Brit on Brit crime in musical history, I would say the introduction of the band by their mentor, Bill Collins to the American manager, Stan Polley (May he rot in hell). Polley robbed them of everything. This band made millions of dollars, and Polley stole most of it. They were young, naive and true hippies.

They were believers. They were starstruck by the band that discovered them and who was their heroes. They played on Imagine and All Things Must Pass. They backed up George for the Concert for the people of Bangla Desh. Paul produced their first hit. They played back up for Ringo. They were in the studio when Paul asked them to hear a song he was working on called "Hey Jude". John Lennon changed a chord progression in one of his songs because Joey played it better than he did.

Five years after their first hit, in a fit of depression, Pete Ham would hang himself in the garage of the home that was going to be repossessed while Stan Polley lived lavishly on stolen money back here in the States. 8 years later, still unable to cope with the death of his best friend, Tom Evans would kill himself in similar fashion in the back yard of his home, less than half a football field away from Pete's old house. Tom was found by his son.

Mike recently died in Florida. Joey is the only one left, and he still tours, keeping the Badfinger name alive. Joey was the one folks said looked like McCartney.......

Do yourself a favor and get the following:

No Dice
Straight Up
Ass
Wish You Were Here

Listen to them in that order, and listen to them from the 1st track to the last. There is no filler on these records. You won't love all of it. But what you don't love now will grow on you.

Their ending is as tragic as their beginning was glorious. Forget the ending....remember the music.

Best Regards,

Patrick

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