BADFINGER
Head First (Snapper)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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Right after Badfinger had done the Wish You Were Here album, their manager dragged them back into the studio to do another one. They didn't understand that one at all. Who would? The one they'd just made had barely got off the launching pad? Something was rotten in Denmark. Truth was their manager was ripping them off, and it was the beginning of the end for the band. They were forced to write songs and record them in a situation that went against their contract. The mess that followed has been reported so many times in so many ways that it's impossible to say what really happened and why. A few certain facts are known:

* Head First never saw the light of day.
* Head First featured a song, "Hey, Mr. Manager," where Tom Evans made it clear he felt he was onto the whole scam.
* The band was sued by their label and all promotion on their current album ceased.
* They weren't able to BE Badfinger anymore for legal reasons and it went on for years.
* Guitarist Pete Hamm hanged himself in a fit of depression over the situation.
* Eventually Tom Evans did the same thing, eight and a half years later.

So what is this double CD? Disc one is the rough mix of the Head First album, which is the album they were working on, partially under protest, at their manager's insistence. Is it good? It's certainly not bad. There are some songs that aren't going to be anybody's favorite Badfinger songs, but Pete Hamm's "Lay Me Down" is right up there with the best of their output, as is "Moonshine." Songs like "Back Again" had a shot at being very good if guitarist Joey Molland had remained with the band, but keyboardist Bob Jackson really buried a lot of the track in schlocky synth. One wonders if this would have been reduced to a hint in a real mixdown. Jackson faired much better behind the Hammond B3 on the excellent rocker "Turn Around," which features some classic Badfinger vocal harmonies and one of their toughest dual guitar riffs.

Badfinger fans are already sold. They don't need any extra prompting, so I'm surprised that the label didn't save Disc 2 for a separate release. These are demos of the roughest kind, often just an open microphone and one band member with acoustic guitar or piano and his voice. The songs are from near the same period as the Head First recordings, but just Hamm's "Lay Me Down" is repeated. The other songs are "Time Is Mine," "Smokin' Gun," "Old Fashioned Notions," "Nothing To Show," "You Ask Yourself Why," "Keep Your Country Tidy," "To Say Goodbye," "Queen Of Darkness," "I Can't Believe In" and "Thanks To You All." Is it listenable? Sure it is, just as much as any performance of "unplugged" is listenable, and sometimes even transcendent. It's a well known fact among songwriters that a truly good rock and roll song will be a good song with one guitar and a vocalist, and that's proven here.

The bottom line is this: if you have no Badfinger and you just heard "No Matter What" on the radio, and you realized you need a CD, don't get this yet. Decide on this later, if you become a complete Badfinger fan who wants it all. If you ARE a serious fan, however, and you want an important piece of their history, with liner notes written by their biographer, Dan Matovina, then this is essential.

© 2001 - DJ Johnson