Badfinger - Head First

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Music reviews of Head First

Music Review: This Is a Must for Die Hard Fans
Rating: 4 Stars

The ten tracks that make up disc one clocks in at 33:38; the demo disc is a mere 26:53. But for any serious Badfinger fan, you need this if only to confirm what Badfinger was still capable of doing musically.

The four strongest tracks on disc one are the four that Rhino was able to get from Warner Brothers when they released Badfinger's Best Of, Vol. II in 1990 featuring their WB catalog. [That album is still worth getting if only to hear the master tape versions of these songs, instead of Mike Gibbins' tape copy.]

"Lay Me Down" - This is Pete Ham at his power pop best. This could have been a huge single for them. [The solo demo at the end of disc two is a very early version where Ham hasn't worked out all the lyrics yet.]

"Keep Believing" - This is Ham's message to recently departed bandmate Joey Molland and shows the cynicism that was creeping into Ham's lyrics. Ham had tried to maintain his optimism, but certainly was realizing how the band had been manipulated.

"Passed Fast" - Co-written by Tom Evans and new member Bob Jackson. A mid-tempo rocker that features a nice guitar part by Ham on the coda.

"Moonshine" - A lovely ballad sung by Tom and Bob (who co-wrote the song with Mike Gibbins). Again, nice guitar work by Ham.

These four songs serve as a reminder of just what a terrific band Badfinger was. The only other tracks that really meet the high standards set by the band's previous work are a couple of numbers by Gibbins--the acoustic guitar ballad "Back Again" features Mike's slightly raspy vocal to nice effect, and "Rockin' Machine," which despite its title is a country/honky-tonk ditty that runs a brief minute and thirty seconds. The two Tom Evans' songs, "Hey, Mr. Manager" and "Rock'n'Roll Contract," may have been therapeutic, but they are both a bit pedestrian and the constant grumbling about how management jerked them around wears thin. [If ever a band had a right to be angry, it was Badfinger. But how many times do you want to hear about it?] "Saville Row" is a 30-second synthesizer snippet by Pete Ham. I'm not sure why this made it onto the first disc--or at all, for that matter. It's nothing memorable. The final track is Bob Jackson's "Turn Around" and it's the least Badfinger-sounding track on either disc. It's a weak attempt at a hard rock sound.

Disc two is a mixed bag. These are all demos featuring only acoustic guitar accompaniment or piano in the case of the Gibbins' demo "Old Fashioned Notions." Of special interest are the six Pete Ham demos. "Time Is Mine" doesn't even have lyrics yet, so Pete just doo-doo-doos the vocal part. "Smoking Gun" features a rather bizzaro "Rocky Racoon"-style lyric. "Nothing To Show" is a rocker that shows Pete's optimism giving in to hopelessness. (All three clock in at under two minutes each.) "I Can't Believe In" is equally pessimistic. (Listen close to this one and you hear a dog bark in the background.) "Keep Your Country Tidy" is an upbeat ballad with a lovely melody. Gibbins' trio of "Old Fashioned Notions," "You Ask Yourself Why" and "Thanks To You All" show him to be the band's least appreciated songwriter. Evans' "Queen of Darkness" contains another bitter lyric, but Jackson's "To Say Goodbye" has a pretty melody.

In the end you get sixty minutes of rough mixes and demos from a band that under different circumstances would have built on its early commercial success and vaulted into superstar status. Instead, it serves as an epitaph for one of the best bands in pop history. This is not for the casual fan. But if you already own their other albums, you'll need this one too. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Description of Head First

Classic Rock CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock