Today they are seen as early purveyors of power pop along with the Raspberries and Big Star, but in 1970 I loved them because they sounded a lot like the Beatles circa Rubber Soul or Help! It would be generous to call them derivative.
But the Beatles wern't doing this anymore, so why shouldn't Badfinger do it?
With three solid songwriters and four fine voices, the harmonies are glorious, the guitars are rocking, and almost every song is a winner.
No Matter What, a great single that the Apple execs thought wouldn't work, I Can't Take It's swagger, Love Me Do rocking like the Beatles on the rooftop, the mid-tempo stomper Better Days, and Believe Me all rock with great guitar and vocals, and drummer Mike Gibbins stands out consistently.
And there are several fine ballads as well in I Don't Mind and We're For The Dark, not to mention Without You, which Harry Nilsson turned to gold in 1972 with pretty much the same arrangemnet heard here.
So there are a few I didn't mention, and it isn't quite perfect. Side one comes awfully close.
Great band, great material, top rate cover art. Their tale includes too many managers and being caught up in the whole Apple records leadership boondoggle. If only they'd signed with another record company they could have been stars. Probably, I mean, you just never know.
