Notes

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Badfinger: The Rest of the Story [Live 1984-2008]


notes by elephantsmemory


Following Tom Evans' suicide in 1983, following Pete Ham's suicide in 1975, any further recordings by Badfinger seemed unlikely. The survivors, guitarist Joey Molland and drummer Mike Gibbins were both capable of writing and singing, but neither shared the capacity for coming up with great song after great song the way Ham & Evans did.

Nonetheless, Molland bravely soldiered on. This created enormous controversy among Badfinger fans, who felt as though he should not be using the name for solo work. This controversy is a heated one, and one I choose no sides in nor even one I want to hear about; I really don't care.

Badfinger's legacy is their studio albums; five recorded for Apple (including one as the Iveys) and three for Warner Brothers (including Head First, which wasn't released until 2000). The brief reunion albums featuring Evans' and Molland weren't really "true" Badfinger albums, and obviously Evans' death made any further recordings even less "Badfinger"

That said, one cannot change history, and the fact is that Joey Molland reformed Badfinger in the 1980's as a fairly serious attempt to revive the name and land a recording contract. The attempt failed; aside from some barroom gigs and UHF TV appearances, the band never did manage to release any new material.

However, the version of Badfinger that existed from 1986-1989 with a fairly stable lineup was a good band. Not nearly as good as Badfinger, but better than a very good tribute band, the group played most Badfinger classics in concert, sprinkled with some of Molland's solo songs from "After the Pearl" and a few new songs (which usually wound up on Molland's solo albums).

The 1986-1989 edition of Badfinger also featured at least one other Badfinger member at many shows. Most often, it was drummer Mike Gibbins, who often took an extended drum solo during "Blind Owl". On "I Won't Forget" it is Bob Jackson, who joined the band prior to the ill-fated Head First sessions. The band played long sets, usually at least two hours, and all band members contributed vocals. Pete Ham and Tommy Evans' vocal duties were usually covered by singer/keyboardist Elliot Joffrey (who sings lead on all the 1986 recordings here) until he departed in 1987, in later years Molland usually sang them himself.

By the 1990's, Molland had been pursuaded to re-bill the band as Joey Molland's Badfinger at most gigs. Gibbins' participation ceased, as eventually the two would find themselves at opposing sides in a courtroom over unpaid royalites for the Day After Day live album. However, Molland seemed to give one last extra-hard push to get something happening for "Badfinger" in 1992-1993, with a series of well-played gigs at even smaller bars than in the 80's. Aside from a solo album, The Pilgrim, little came from these efforts.

After that, for all intents and purposes, the band has been washed-up, playing to sparse crowds at dives far removed from civilization, or appearing for free at county fair-type engagements. On this collection, at the Taste of Minnesota show in 2000, Molland had to explain who he and Badfinger were before launching into "Without You".

During the 2001 version of Meanwhile Back at the Ranch/Should I Smoke the PA the PA system blows midsong, as snow flurries fall on the band. Such is life on the rock 'n' roll road when you reach the bottom tier.

Molland's detractors probably snicker at this. However, I have always liked Molland. In a way, he represents the ultimate stoner/slacker. A lifelong underachiever, he achieved a taste of stardom as a teenager, in Gary Walker and the Rain, and was absent while Badfinger toiled under manager/taskmaster Bill Collins, who insisted they live together and write a song a day... He was a good guitarist with a rock 'n' roll heart, but never became a "great" one. His best song is an ode to laziness and staying in your room "I Don't Mind". His lyrics are often vague and fuzzy, but they frequently refer to unattainable happiness; happiness lost, happiness wasted, happiness as something just out of reach. As a solo artists, his scant 3 solo albums over a 26 year span offer glimses into this underachieving musican's soul. Each has some tuneful rockers, some have some epic world-weary melody, some have some uninspired 50's-flavored numbers...

At long last, he is a fixture at oldies shows, one whom people often don't recognize, one whose songs even go unrecognized by many.

But he remains a likable performer; maybe because of his underachievements... A guy who shrugs his shoulders at being a nobody, and just rocks on; not dissimilar to a lot of nobodies, holed up in their rooms...

This collection features examples of Joey Molland's work with Badfinger (as they were billed in the 80's) and his later work as Joey Molland's Badfinger (which contained some of the 80's Badfinger; bassist Mark Healey appears on most tracks, and singer Billy Davis is a sporadic member of both). If you're a fan, this is a useful collection, gathering most of his best concert moments since Evans' death in one place, and is something of a "Best of Molland Live". It's a somewhat depressing listen; the dives get smaller every year, as does the band, which goes from quintet to quartet to trio...

But listen closely, and you'll hear some good playing, some good energy, and a few favorite songs you might not hear so often anymore.

Sure they aren't "Badfinger". But this collection does tell the rest of the story...

TECH INFO: Okay, don't get excited. These are YouTube rips, pure and simple. I simply took every clip that was available (I left out a couple of repetitive ones from the 00's-- how many versions of No Matter What do we need?). Almost every clip is taken from someone's handheld VHS recorder, so the sound quality leaves something to be desired sometimes. I recorded them in WAV to prevent further sound degradation; the results are actually listenable, ranging from "kinda murky and harsh" (a few) to "not bad, once you adjust" (most) to "rather good" (one or two)). I then converted the WAV files to FLAC. Other than adjusting the volume so that everything is at the same level, I did no cleanup job; if anyone wants to try to clean these up a little, feel free to have at it.

If anyone has any complete shows from this era, I'd love to see an upload...


Track Listing (I added musician lineups where I could find them):

"Live 1984" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbons, Bob Jackson, Al Wodtke and Randy Anderso)

1. I Won't Forget You (for Tom Evans) - sung by Bob Jackson

"Live 1986" (Eliot Joffrey on vocals) (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, Mark Healey, and Jeff Ross)

2. Day After Day
3. No Matter What
4. Blind Owl
5. Baby Blue
6. Without You/Mind Games

"Live At NJ Beatlefest 1987" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, Mark Healey, and Jeff Ross)

7. Baby Blue
8. What Happened
9. No Matter What
10. Day After Day

"Bombay Bicycle Club 1987" (Joey Molland, Randy Anderson, Mark Healey, and Jerry Shirley)

11. Passin' Time
12. Angels Like Us
13. Andy Norris

"Nashville Row TV 1988"

14. Sweet Tuesday Morning

"The Cowboy Casino 1989" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, and A.J. Nicholas)

15. The Dreamer

"The Sunset Grill 1989" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, and A.J. Nicholas)

16. Call Me
17. I Got You [soundcheck]

"Coyote Club 1989" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, and A.J. Nicholas)

18. Long Long Way Back Home
19. Dreams of Thunder

"Karen's Rock Club 1992"

20. I Don't Mind
21. Baby Blue
22. Too Late to Cry
23. The Party's Over
24. Long Long Way Back Home
25. Hard Times

"The Strand 1993" (Joey Molland-guitar, Mark Healey-bass, Eric Bretl-drums)

26. Day After Day
27. Hard Times
28. No Matter What
29. No More

"Whitefish, MT 1993" (Joey Molland, Mark Healey, Eric Bretl)

30. Long Long Way Back Home
31. No More

"LA Beatlefest 1996" (Joey Molland solo)

32. Happy

"Sharx 1996"

33. Suitcase

"Tulsa OK 1996" (Joey Molland - guitar and vocals, Mark Healey - bass and vocals, and Brian Jentges - drums)

34. Happy

"A Taste of Minnesota 2000"

35. Without You
36. No Matter What

"Cincinnati 2001" (Joey Molland, Mark Healey, John Richardson, Billy Davis, and Steve Wozney)

37. Shape You're In/Mean Jemima
38. Meanwhile Back at the Ranch/Should I Smoke (vocals on Meanwhile Back at the Ranch - Billy Davis)

"Upbeat TV 2005"

39. No Matter What

"Club 66 2005"

40. Baby Blue

"Moondog Coronation Ball 2006"

41. Come and Get It

"The Cavern Club 2008"

42. Flying



A RADICAL SOUND ARCHIVE RELEASE RSA001 March 18, 2009

This collection features examples of Joey Molland's work with Badfinger (as they were billed in the 80's) and his later work as Joey Molland's Badfinger (which contained some of the 80's Badfinger; bassist Mark Healey appears on most tracks, and singer Billy Davis is a sporadic member of both). If you're a fan, this is a useful collection, gathering most of his best concert moments since Evans' death in one place, and is something of a "Best of Molland Live".

These are YouTube rips.


"Live 1984" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbons, Bob Jackson, Al Wodtke and Randy Anderso)

1. I Won't Forget You (for Tom Evans) - sung by Bob Jackson

"Live 1986" (Eliot Joffrey on vocals) (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, Mark Healey, and Jeff Ross)

2. Day After Day
3. No Matter What
4. Blind Owl
5. Baby Blue
6. Without You/Mind Games

"Live At NJ Beatlefest 1987" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, Mark Healey, and Jeff Ross)

7. Baby Blue
8. What Happened
9. No Matter What
10. Day After Day

"Bombay Bicycle Club 1987" (Joey Molland, Randy Anderson, Mark Healey, and Jerry Shirley)

11. Passin' Time
12. Angels Like Us
13. Andy Norris

"Nashville Row TV 1988"

14. Sweet Tuesday Morning

"The Cowboy Casino 1989" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, and A.J. Nicholas)

15. The Dreamer

"The Sunset Grill 1989" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, and A.J. Nicholas)

16. Call Me
17. I Got You [soundcheck]

"Coyote Club 1989" (Joey Molland, Mike Gibbins, Randy Anderson, and A.J. Nicholas)

18. Long Long Way Back Home
19. Dreams of Thunder

"Karen's Rock Club 1992"

20. I Don't Mind
21. Baby Blue
22. Too Late to Cry
23. The Party's Over
24. Long Long Way Back Home
25. Hard Times

"The Strand 1993" (Joey Molland-guitar, Mark Healey-bass, Eric Bretl-drums)

26. Day After Day
27. Hard Times
28. No Matter What
29. No More

"Whitefish, MT 1993" (Joey Molland, Mark Healey, Eric Bretl)

30. Long Long Way Back Home
31. No More

"LA Beatlefest 1996" (Joey Molland solo)

32. Happy

"Sharx 1996"

33. Suitcase

"Tulsa OK 1996" (Joey Molland - guitar and vocals, Mark Healey - bass and vocals, and Brian Jentges - drums)

34. Happy

"A Taste of Minnesota 2000"

35. Without You
36. No Matter What

"Cincinnati 2001" (Joey Molland, Mark Healey, John Richardson, Billy Davis, and Steve Wozney)

37. Shape You're In/Mean Jemima
38. Meanwhile Back at the Ranch/Should I Smoke (vocals on Meanwhile Back at the Ranch - Billy Davis)

"Upbeat TV 2005"

39. No Matter What

"Club 66 2005"

40. Baby Blue

"Moondog Coronation Ball 2006"

41. Come and Get It

"The Cavern Club 2008"

42. Flying



A RADICAL SOUND ARCHIVE RELEASE RSA001 March 18, 2009