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Avg: 3.5 (46 ratings)
- Date Released: November 14, 2000
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Classic Rock, Rock
- Label: Forbidden Records
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We Say...
Signed to the Beatles' Apple Records, Welsh pop-rock quartet Badfinger scored four smash singles, wrote "Without You" (a hit for Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey) and cut two more LPs for Warner Brothers before singer-guitarist Pete Ham hung himself — after recording this album — in 1975. (Bandmate Tom Evans did the same in '83.) It's a reel-life horror story of mismanagement and missing monies and this disc — originally rejected with the session tapes mysteriously disappearing — is a heartbreaking chapter. (Keyboardist Bob Jackson, who'd replaced original member Joey Molland, unearthed the rough mixes, which comprise this 2000 release.) While several songs address the group's dire situation, the crunching/soaring "Lay Me Down" is a true lost classic, with the wistful "Keep Believing" and the riff-heavy "Turn Around" taking the place and show positions. Aficionados take note: the disc is augmented by 11 demos — and only one of 'em made the finished LP.
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They Say...
Badfinger completed their best album in 1975, then had it pulled from the shelves in a haze of managerial misdeals and contractual screw-ups. They were good soldiers, at least for a while, heading into the studio (without Joey Molland, who bailed at the last minute) to bash out another album for Warner, completing it in two weeks. Warner rejected the effort, lead songwriter Pete Ham committed suicide not long afterward, and the album sat in the vaults until late 2000, when Artisan/Snapper released Head First as a double-disc set (the second disc consisting of demos and outtakes). Head First confirms that Badfinger had settled into a groove with Wish You Were Here, finding an effective middle ground between their pop gifts and hard rock inclinations, with both Ham and Tom Evans contributing equally strong works. That they're equally embittered to the music industry (three of the songs deal directly with their business troubles) is no surprise, yet they manage to make it tough, melodic, and remarkably sympathetic. There are no songs that shine as brilliantly, when isolated, as those on its immediate predecessors, but Head First works as a cohesive album, holding together better than any Badfinger record outside of Wish You Were Here. It's not likely that it would have changed their destiny any if it had been released in 1975, yet it certainly wouldn't have been an embarrassment, and it's now a welcome addition to their catalog; it provides a sense of closure.
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| 01. |  |
Lay Me Down |
3:36 |
|
| 02. | |
Hey, Mr Manager |
3:35 |
|
| 03. | |
Keep Believing |
4:09 |
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| 04. | |
Passed Fast |
4:18 |
|
| 05. | |
Rock 'n' Roll Contract |
4:42 |
|
| 06. |
Savile Row |
0:37 |
|
|
| 07. | |
Moonshine |
3:52 |
|
| 08. | |
Back Again |
2:53 |
|
| 09. | |
Turn Around |
4:17 |
|
| 10. | |
Rockin' Machine |
1:37 |
|
| 11. | |
Time is Mine (demo) |
1:44 |
|
| 12. | |
Smokin' Gun (demo) |
1:23 |
|
| 13. | |
Old Fashioned Notions (demo) |
4:08 |
|
| 14. | |
Nothing to Show (demo) |
1:04 |
|
| 15. | |
You Ask Yourself Why (demo) |
2:17 |
|
| 16. | |
Keep Your Country Tidy (demo) |
2:24 |
|
| 17. | |
To Say Goodbye (demo) |
3:50 |
|
| 18. | |
Queen of Darkness (demo) |
2:14 |
|
| 19. | |
I Can't Beleive In (demo) |
2:11 |
|
| 20. | |
Thanks to You All (demo) |
2:42 |
|
| 21. | |
Lay Me Down (demo) |
2:56 |
|
21 Total Tracks, 60:29 Total Length
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Credits
- Badfinger - Main Performer // Pete Ham - Synthesizer // Pete Ham - Guitar // Pete Ham - Vocals // Kenny Kerner - Producer // Phil McDonald - Engineer // Chris Von Sneidern - Digital Editing // Richie Wise - Producer // Dan Matovina - Liner Notes // Dan Matovina - Digital Mastering // Michael Romanowski - Digital Editing // Michael Romanowski - Digital Mastering // Andrew Pearce - Digital Mastering // Tom Hanley - Photography // Glen Williams - Assistant Engineer
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