Badfinger - Badfinger [Expanded & Remastered] (1974/2018)

Most folks point to Badfinger as the greatest power pop band of all time. But, with four accomplished songwriters in Tom Evans, Mike Gibbins, Pete Ham, and Joey Molland, and the creative assistance and imprimatur of The Beatles, Badfinger should have been bigger stars than they were. Their four albums for The Beatles’ Apple label get most of the attention, and understandably so, with hits like “Come and Get It,” “No Matter What,” “Day after Day,” and “Baby Blue.” But their subsequent two albums for Warner Bros. represent their true creative peak, reached even as the band—and the lives of the members of the band—fell apart. Now, Real Gone Music, together with Badfinger biographer Dan Matovina, is taking a fresh look at Badfinger’s brilliant but ill-fated Warner Bros. albums, Badfinger and Wish You Were Here. Everything seemed rosy when, upon conclusion of their contract with Apple, Badfinger signed a new deal with Warner Bros. in 1973 for a big advance, but right away things went south as the label rushed the band into the studio and ended up releasing Badfinger at about the same time as Apple released the band’s last record for the label, Ass. Not to mention Warner Bros. rejected the band’s title for the record, For Love or Money, leaving the record without any title at all. Of course, commercial confusion ensued, and Badfinger sold poorly, even though it boasted such solid tunes as “Lonely You,” “Shine On,” and “Love Is Easy.” Our Expanded Edition features the unreleased song “Love My Lady,” plus nine more outtakes from the album sessions; it’s the first time the original album’s been remastered (by Matovina from the original master tapes) since its maiden release on CD, while Matovina’s notes include fresh quotes from original producer Chris Thomas!