Badfinger

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Forty Years Ago Today – Jan/Feb/Mar 1974 Album Releases

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on April 5, 2014
Posted in: Artists That Time Forgot, Be Amazed!, Canada Music Celebration, Forty Years Ago Today, Groups That Time Forgot, Rock History, The Southern California Sound, Tragic Rock Stories, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Big Star

In 1974 I was 21, a full time college student, working three jobs, and somehow having the time of my life.  Music was a major factor in my life and, fortunately for me, there was an amazing amount of wonderful new music every month.  Let’s take a quick look at some of the key album releases during the first three months of 1974.   By the way, if you are interested, the picture above is Big Star (more about them below).

So get ready, set aside some quality time, and head back to the first quarter of 1974 with me.  Enjoy…….

January 1974 Album Releases

The Way We Were-Barbara Streisand

I’m a rocker at heart and it probably surprises many of you that I bought this album when it was released but ……great music is great music!  The only comments I have about the album are: What a voice and what an album.  It would have been easy to play the title track but here’s one that I like even better……I think you will like it……

What are you doing for this rest of your like?  I ask myself that question a lot more now that I’m older…..

Court and Spark-Joni Mitchell

Joni, part of my holy trinity of Canadian music (Neil, Joni, and Gordon), was continuing to evolve her musical style.  Court and Spark started to add in some jazz elements but lost none of it’s introspection which is what drew me to her in the first place.  I’ve learned a lot of lessons in my years and in 1974 Joni choose to write about one of them in a song…..It’s Down To You……

Everything comes and goes
Pleasure moves on too early
And trouble leaves too slow
Just when you’re thinking
You’ve finally got it made
Bad news comes knocking
At your garden gate
Knocking for you
Constant stranger
You’re a brute you’re an angel
You can crawl you can fly too
It’s down to you
It all comes down to you

Energized-Foghat

Foghat was an amazing boogie band from the 70’s and has gotten the respect that they deserve in my humble opinion.    Here is one of Foghat’s masterpieces that doesn’t get the respect it deserves……Home In My Hand.  If you were lucky enough to see them play it live back in the 70’s, as I was, I guarantee that you were entertained…….

Grevious Angel-Gram Parsons

I’ve written about the sad story of Gram Parsons as part of my Southern California Sound series.  Grevious Angel was released after Gram’s untimely death in the fall of 1973.  Brass Buttons is a classic (Poco did an amazing cover version that you might want to checkout) and you need to hear it straight from the mouth of the writer…..sing it Gram……

Sundown-Gordon Lightfoot

January 1974 was a great month for Canadian music releases with Gordon joining Joni in releasing a new album.  The title track was one of Gordon’s biggest sellers but you dig a little deeper in the album to find the real treasure……Seven Island Suite…….

Look around at the morning, guess you’re doing the best you can
Surely you know that when you go nobody gives you a hand
Think of the air you’re breathing in, think of the time you waste
Think of the right and wrong and consider the frown on your face

February 1974 Album Releases

Kiss-Kiss

Forty years after the release of their debut album, Kiss is finally going to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame….it’s about time!  This album wasn’t a hit, the band wouldn’t really take off until their release of their double live album, but I’ve got to give it to the boys….they had ambition.  Listen to its Kissin’ Time and you will see exactly what I mean……

Badfinger-Badfinger

If you are a reader of this blog you already know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Badfinger and their incredibly sad story.  This was the group’s first album after leaving Apple records and unfortunately the end was a lot nearer than anyone foresaw.  The song I have for you today from this album was written by Pete Ham, I Miss You………

Damn it Pete….I Miss You!  RIP buddy!

Radio City-Big Star

Looking  back it seems ironic that Big Star released their second album the same month as the Badfinger release discussed above.  September Gurls was maybe the best pop song of the 70’s and to this day very few people have even heard of Big Star…..it’s a fucking tragedy ……

Of course the entire Big Star history is pretty much one big tragedy.  I’m reading a biography of Alex Chilton, the band’s lead singer, right now and I’m planning a post dedicated to Big Star’s sad story.  Stay tuned for that…..

What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits-Doobie Brothers

The Doobies were going through some significant personnel changes in 1974, and more were on the way, but they managed to put out another great album in 1974.  The song that I have for you today makes me want to be floating down a little southern river in a canoe…..laid back without a care in the world….

If you listen closely, you can appreciate some amazing steel guitar added by Skunk Baxter.  He would be an official member of the group by 1975 as the band’s sound started to change.  More about that next……

A New Life-Marshall Tucker Band

This was Marshall Tucker’s second release and it confirmed that they were  not just a one trick pony.   The title track from this album highlights everything that makes Marshall Tucker Band one of the best bands from the 70 (great vocals, amazing musicianship, and great songwriting)…..listen and be amazed……

March 1974 Album Releases

Kansas-Kansas

I’m a sucker for bands named after the states that they’re from and Kansas is one of the best examples of such a band.  This was the debut album for Kansas and if you listen to the lead off song and it immediately let’s you know that you should expect great things from this band……

Bridge Of Sighs-Robin Trower

Jimi Hendrix was gone but we still had Robin to blow our minds.  You can’t go wrong with the title track from this album….absolutely Epic……..

On The Border-Eagles

1974 found the Eagles, one of my favorite Southern California Sound bands, starting to move towards a more rock oriented sound.  You wouldn’t know it from the song I have for you today, Ol’ 55, one of the few songs on the album not written by the group.  The amazing Tom Waits wrote the song and the Eagles performance of it is something to be treasured. It brings back some amazing memories of driving back home from various girlfriends houses as the sun was coming up in my rear view mirror……

Get Your Wings-Aerosmith

On their sophomore album Aerosmith fully hit their stride.  It was an amazing album and the start of a string of releases that would make Aerosmith one of my all time favorites.  Let’s listen to Track 5 from the album, SOS (Too Bad)……in case you are wondering SOS stands for Same Old Shit…….

Somethin’s Happening-Peter Frampton

In 1974 something was at least on the verge of happening for Peter.  The release of Frampton Comes Alive in 1976 would make him a superstar but you could see it coming by listening to this 1974 release.   Let’s listen to the title song from the album, Somethin’s Happening……

The Crises Are Over (For Now)

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on October 17, 2013
Posted in: Taking A Break. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Its-over

The Republican’s blinked and the shutdown/debt limit crises are over. The whole affair is conservatively estimated to have cost over 24 Billion dollars.  What a waste!

I need a break……… so this blog is over (for at least a few days) as well,  I should be back online sometime next week and will have a lot more to say about the whole shutdown fiasco at that time.  After getting that off my chest, I look forward to putting the focus of the blog back on music.

In the meantime, let me leave you with one of my favorite Badfinger songs, It’s Over.

 

And The Answer Is….

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on November 7, 2012
Posted in: Rock History, Who Is Sitting In. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

George Harrison!

As usual, my online friend Gerard was the first to chime in with the right answer.  Here is what Gerard said in his comment:

There are three well known musicians sitting in the making of this record/LP; Al Kooper, Todd Rindgren and last but not least George Harrison. If you listen to this number you can hear the guitar of George playing and strumming in Day After Day.

While Gerard was correct, Wikipedia identifies a few more musicians that participated and provides a few more details about George’s role in the following excerpt from its Badfinger article:

In 1971, the group rented Clearwell Castle, in Gloucestershire; living and recording there. They finished recording their third album, again with Emerick as producer, but the tapes were rejected by Apple. Harrison took over as producer in spring of 1971, but later pulled out of the project because of his Bangladesh commitments; the album was then completed by Todd Rundgren.  Straight Up was released in the US in December 1971, and spawned two successful singles: “Day After Day” (Billboard number four), which sold over a million worldwide, and “Baby Blue” (US number 14). The album reached number 31 on the US charts. It included uncredited special guest appearances from Harrison, Leon Russell, and Klaus Voormann.  Commenting on the recording of the dual slide guitars on “Day After Day”, Molland remembered: “Pete and I had done the backing track, and George came in the studio and asked if we’d mind if he played … It took hours, and hours, and hours, to get those two guitars in sync”.

As mentioned in the article above, George turned over production responsibilities to Todd Rundgren in order to plan his benefit concert for Bangladesh.  Badfinger ended up as the backing band for the concert.

As a bonus, here is a great clip from that concert with George singing Here Comes The Sun backed by Pete Ham from Badfinger.  

I never get tired of this performance!

Who Is Sitting In #7 – Day After Day

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on November 5, 2012
Posted in: Rock History, Who Is Sitting In. Tagged: . 1 Comment

This is the seventh in a series of posts that highlight classic rock songs featuring someone interesting sitting in on the recording session.  For this series I post the song on one day and identify who is sitting in the following day.  I hope you enjoy the concept and maybe learn some interesting music history in the process.

My selection for this post is Day After Day by Badfinger, from their album Straight Up.  If you have been reading this blog you know that Badfinger is a favorite of mine.  Listen to the song and see if you can tell who is sitting in.  I will give you a couple of hints, his specific work on this song is uncredited but he played a major role on this album.

The answer will be posted tomorrow along with some additional background information.

Send in your guesses and I will identify the the first person who gives the correct answer in tomorrow’s post.

Album Of The Week #12 – Wish You Were Here

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on August 3, 2012
Posted in: Album Of The Week. Tagged: . Leave a comment

As promised, our album of the week is Badfinger’s last album, Wish You Were Here.  I am featuring it, not because it is their best album but because it is their last album with Pete.

As you listen, I want to you think about the fact that this is the third album that they cranked out in less than a year.  The boys were being driven to constantly work by their management and record company commitments.  All during this time, they were living in near poverty while everyone else was getting rich based on their blood, sweat, and tears.   By this time, it was finally becoming clear to the boys that they were being screwed and the band was starting to come apart at the seams.

With that in mind it is amazing that the album, although not their best is actually very good and certainly worth a listen.  My favorite songs are Just A Chance, Got To Get Out Of Here, and Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke.  Let me know what you think.

Just A Chance

You’re So Fine

Got To Get Out Of Here

No One Knows

Dennis

In The Meantime/Some Other Time

Love Time

King of the Load

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke

So….the moral to this story, and so many others, is that greed destroys the deserving while rewarding the financial vampires of the world.  In this case, it drove two of the most talented musicians of their generations to commit suicide and destroyed one of my favorite bands of all time.  I don’t know if it will ever happen, but I hope that one day Badfinger will make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I can’t think of a better tribute to Pete and Tom.

So…while we are talking about greed, let me point out that it is alive and well here in the United States.  Just take a look at the tax proposals being made by Mitt Romney and the Republicans in Congress which can be summarized is cut the taxes of the rich and pay for those cuts by milking those that work for a living.  Checkout the video below for the details and vote.

Long Song Tuesday #26 – Timeless

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on July 31, 2012
Posted in: Long Song Tuesday. Tagged: . Leave a comment

I feel guilty making this Badfinger post when I don’t really have the time to do the song or the band justice.  Everyone probably knows the incredible tragedies associated with the band so I will not repeat them in this post.  Just thinking about it breaks my heart all over again.  Maybe I will be up to saying more in a post later this week. Moving on….

Today’s long song post features Timeless, the last song on the second side of the band’s last album for Apple called Ass.  The song was written by Pete Ham and he is featured on lead vocals and on an incredible lead guitar.  Let’s listen…

To top things off today I have a live performance of the song from a 1974 concert in Vancouver, Canada.  Good stuff…..

RIP – Pete