Very Best Of Badfinger CD

Includes Material Recorded For Apple And Warner Brothers.

Badfinger: Pete Ham, Joey Molland (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Tom Evans (vocals, guitar, bass); Ron Griffiths (vocals, bass); Mike Gibbins (drums, percussion).
Producers include: Mal Evans, George Harrison, Todd Rundgren, Paul McCartney, Chris Thomas.
Recorded between 1970 & 1974. Originally released on Apple & Warner Brothers. Includes liner notes by Andy Davis.
Digitally remastered by Rom McMaster (Capitol Mastering).
Personnel: Joey Molland, Pete Ham (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Tom Evans (vocals, guitar).
Liner Note Author: Andy Davis .
Recording information: 1968-1974.
Easily one of pop music's greatest would-be success stories and most well-known tragedies, Beatles proteges Badfinger wrote some of the definitive tunes of the power-pop era. There is considerably more to the story of Badfinger than the 18 tracks on this concise best-of would have it, yet as a primer on this most bittersweet of bands, it certainly does its job. Included here is the Paul McCartney-penned hit single "Come and Get It," the power-pop gem "No Matter What," the pensive "Day After Day," and "Without You," arguably the band's biggest hit, as it would prove to be a smash for both Harry Nilsson and, decades later, Mariah Carey. That such wonderful music didn't prevent the band members from ending up destitute and miserable only adds to the songs' emotional impact. THE VERY BEST is an excellent introduction to Badfinger, but once a taste has been had, a deeper investigation is essential.
The difference between 2000's The Very Best of Badfinger and 1995's Come and Get It: The Best of Badfinger is a simple one -- the 1995 collection concentrated on the group's Apple recordings, where the 2000 collection runs all the way until 1974's Wish You Were Here, the band's final album with Pete Ham. Not only does the collection benefit from the expanded timeline, but it has a sharp selection of songs from the classic Apple years -- yes, "Flying" is absent and Ass is bypassed (perhaps understandably so), but "We're for the Dark" is a more than welcome addition. The 19 tracks may not be in chronological order, but the sequencing packs a real punch and, in this context, the best of the Warner material more than holds its own with the Apple cuts. Inevitably, there are some fan favorites missing, but apart from "Flying," all the classics are here and this compilation is unquestionably the most thorough (and arguably the best) overview of Badfinger's entire career yet assembled. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine