Straight Up

"Straight Up" may be one of the most underrated albums in rock. From FM radio classics "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day," to the haunting gem "Name of the Game," this is British power pop at its best. There's not a bad song on the disc, and the production talents of George Harrison and Todd Rundgren bring out the best of the band's sound. Pick up a "greatest hits" package if you must, but "Straight Up" is essential listening for any fan of Badfinger, '70s power pop, or British rock. A masterpiece!

Every track from this rich, warm LP blows you away. Everything from Pete Ham's and George Harrison's slide guitars on "Day After Day" to Ham's hauntingly aching "Take It All." Every rock and pop fan should pick this CD up before it slips out of print. Badfinger initially were on the Beatles' Apple Records label before they moved to Warner Brothers in 1973/74. Every album recorded by this incredibly gifted band is worth it - "Magic Christian Music," "No Dice" (which ties with "Straight Up" as the best LP, "Ass," "Badfinger," "Wish You Were Here" and "Head First." Any fan of the Beatles, The Who, Hendrix, Cream/Clapton and everyone else from the late 1960s/early 1970s should pick up Badfinger's discs. This was the band that Rolling Stone magazine said, in 1970, is the group "to watch for" in the coming years.
It's a shame their manager, S. Polly, was such a thief and robbed the band of royalties and potential fame, which concluded with Ham's suicide in 1975 and bassist Tom Evans' suicide in 1983. Drummer MIke Gibbons, sadly, passed away late last year, leaving only guitarist-vocalist Joey Molland as the band's sole survivor. Rest in peace guys!
P.S. Don't be turned off by The Beatles comparisons - Badfinger had a sound, song structures and style all to their own, which will please both fans of The Beatles and those who don't care for the Fab Four. Power pop-rock was never better than the early 1970s records from Badfinger. (Actually, Badfinger's output was as good as most of the solo Beatles work in the early 1970s.)

By the time Badfinger went into the studio to record Straight Up, the band had its act fully together. There was no attempt to hide the huge Beatles influence - and working with Paul and George, what would one expect? The big hits were Baby Blue and Day After Day, but the album as a whole is excellent and has a fluidity uncommon to the era. I wore out three copies of the vinyl back in the day, yet I'm still picking out clues of how some of these tunes were inspired by (or should that be: "derived from"?) Beatles songs.

This album has aged well. The lively spirit of the music still cuts through. The recording quality is typical of the better Rock recordings of the early '70s (this was released in '72), but don't expect an audiophile masterpiece. By working with McCartney, Harrison and Rundgren, the group couldn't help but to learn how to record mucic that has the ability to sound up front, dynamic and clear without being overly cluttered. I personally like some of the alternate cuts better than the originals and find that programming so that I hear no duplication is most satisfying - but that's probably due to hearing the original LP so many times.

When I became a huge Badfinger fan, I was 15-years-old and it was 1976. My brother had gotten copies of "Magic Christian Music" and "No Dice" at a used record store, and he played the music for me. I had long heard "Come and Get It" and "No Matter What" on the radio, but I had never known who sang those songs. I was amazed when listening to "No Dice" that Harry Nilsson hadn't written "Without You", and instead it was this obscure Apple band instead. I immediately became hooked. Within months, I had copies of the albums as well, along with "Badfinger", "Ass", and "Wish You Were Here". But the Holy Grail of their music, "Straight Up" could not be found. The album was long out of print by this time, and it could not be ordered through any record store I went to. I then spent two years searching through used record bins and discount record bins, hoping that somehow this magical record had slipped unnoticed into the black hole of forgotten artists in one of those bins. When I was 17, I found two copies, priced at $2 each in a record store downtown. I clutched both of these new, still-in-shrink-wrap prizes and ran with them to the cash register, barely able to contain myself. One copy for me, and one for my brother! When I got the record home, I must have played it 1,000 times before putting it back in its sleeve. Years later, I saw a vinyl copy of "Straight Up" on sale at a Beatlesfest for over $100. At this time, 1992, it was still not available on CD. As a teenager, I had 300 or 400 albums. Through the years, they all have either been given away or discarded. Today I am 44-years-old and my Badfinger collection still remains. The music on this album is timeless. "Take it All" is just as worthy for airplay as "Baby Blue", and catches your attention from the beginning. The album reminds me of the Beatles "White Album" as it is the rare album where every track is as good as the next. My person favorites are "Perfection" and "Name of the Game". Pete Ham's vocals are flawless and his lyrics haunting. If I could have only one album in my record collection, this would be it. The CD is a real treat, as it offers up different versions of songs I've loved for over 25 years.

I was 10 years old when I bought this and it was the first new album that I had ever owned. I wanted it because of "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day" just like everyone else but I fell in love with the rest of the songs immediately. They are just as fresh today as they were the day I peeled the cellophane off of the album 35 years ago.
Growing up a Beatles freak I was not disappointed because you can really hear that Beatles influence through out the album. "Sometimes" and "I'd Die Babe" have a great Rubber Soul sound to them and "Perfection" is just a great song. Hell, they are all very good!
This is such a great mix of song writing and influances coming together to record a timeless album.
Every time I see one of those top 100-album lists I cannot believe how after this one is over looked.
A true classic and a must have for your collection.

I picked this album up at the base exchange at Torrejon AB, in Spain after hearing that Magic Christian song on the radio (don't remember the title). I must say, I loved this album though that cut from the Magic Christian was not on it. Sure, it is pop, but their guitar playing and harmonies just can't be ignored. And the quality of the songs still holds up some thirty years later.

I still get a rush when I hear Day After Day and Baby Blue. I had the privilege of seeing Joey Molland a while back with the Rock and Roll All Stars and he still has it, just like the old days.

Highly recommended.

By the end of 1971 Badfinger had actually recorded two albums since the release of "No Dice". The first remains unreleased to this date!. The second was released in February 1972 ( a bit earlier in the USA ), and was titled "Straight Up". Apple did not like the sound of the original album - they wanted a more polished sound. The rejected album had been produced by Geoff Emerick, and in spring 1971 George Harrison expressed wish to produce the band. Of course this was an offer that could not be rejected. George finished 4 tracks before he had to pull out to work on the Bangla Desh concert . To finish the album Todd Rundgren was recruited. Rundgren went through the recordings done with Emerick and Harrison and did some remixing on some of the tracks. Furthermore 7 new recordings were done for the album, which ended up to be Badfinger's most "produced" album - maybe along with "Wish You Were Here" - and it's indisputably among their finest. This album is one of their best loved, and it ranks among the greatest albums to come out of the seventies.

Pete Ham is the main contributor of songs to the album. His 5 songs on the album are all among his greatest. The two hits, "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue" are well-known ,and "Take it All", "Name of The Game" and "Perfection" are all stand out tracks. Tom Evans wrote "Money" and "It's Over" - the latter considered by many to be one of his greatest with Badfinger. Molland wrote the acoustic ballad "Sweet Tuesday Morning""I'd Die Babe" ( an optimistic country styled George Harrison production ) and the two rockers "Suitcase" and "Sometimes" - both became part of Badfinger's standard concert repetoire. The album is very well produced by Rundgren/Harrison - a bit overproduced at times, some might say. The bonus-tracks are all excellent - Name of The Game and Perfection even better than the album-versions.

My favourites: Take it All, Baby Blue, Name of The Game (both versions), Day After Day, Perfection and It's Over

A masterpiece, timeless even at inception. And considering the history of Badfinger, it's even more precious; listening to it transports me to a time and place like no other music.

Song after song, expertly-crafted, gorgeous power pop at its finest. Yet as a total work, it is so much more...there always was this odd, old-soul patina about it, like a dream in an abandoned ballroom with the faint, shimmery strains of some orchestra long past..a tinge of almost prescient sadness for what would soon befall the band.

Whenever I hear "The Name of the Game", it makes me cry. Every time. I am among those who know this is a crown jewel of its genre. Pete, Tommy, and now Mike...you left too soon, never realizing how you touched us all. Thank you for what you left behind.

Beautiful pop sounds, which Badfinger was quite capable of, even without the fantastic assistance of producers George Harrison and Todd Rundgren. "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day" are two of the best singles of the 70s, but the album cuts are not to be taken lightly, either. Like the opening track says, "Take It All". (PLG)

This was one of the first albums I ever purchased, and it remains one of my all-time favorites even today. Badfinger consisted of Tom Evans on bass guitar and vocals, Pete Ham on guitar, piano, and vocals, Joey Molland on guitar and vocals, and Mike Gibbins on drums. Reportedly taking its name from a John Lennon finger injury, the band worked with Lennon and McCartney on the Apple label to create a sound similar to the Beatles, which is evident on hit singles such as McCartney's "Come and Get It" (1969), "No Matter What" (1970), "Day After Day" (1971), and "Baby Blue" (1971). Before recording Straight Up, Badfinger played on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, Ringo Starr's single "It Don't Come Easy," John Lennon's Imagine, and as backup musicians at Harrison's 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. Badfinger is not only an example of rock and roll at its brightest moment, but also at its darkest depths. After a successful career start, the Badfinger story eventually ended in bankruptcy, drugs, depression, and two suicides.

One of the things that makes Straight Up such a great album is that it was co-produced by Harrison and studio wizard Todd Rundgren (A Wizard, A True Star). Rundgren's engineering genius is quite obvious on the album. Another thing that makes this a great album is that Harrison provided an occasional Beatlesque guitar solo here and there, including the track "Day After Day." Leon Russell also played piano on the album. Album tracks include:

1. Take It All
2. Baby Blue
3. Money
4. Flying
5. I'd Die Babe
6. Name Of The Game
7. Suitcase
8. Sweet Tuesday Morning
9. Day After Day
10. Sometimes
11. Perfection
12. It's Over
13. Money (Original Version)
14. Flying (Original Version)
15. Name Of The Game (Original Version)
16. Suitcase (Original Version)
17. Perfection (Original Version)
18. Baby Blue (Original Version)

From the opening chords of "Take It All," to the stunning vocal harmonies, to the philosophical lyrics, to the melancholia of "Sweet Tuesday Morning" and psychedelia of "Flying," to the now-familiar guitar hooks, Straight Up is a mesmerizing classic. Thanks to Rundgren's perfectionism in the studio, the album sounds as good now as it did in 1971.

G. Merritt