John's Jukebox: Wish You Were Here

Badfinger - Wish You Were Here

Here's a post I started awhile back but forgot to post so here I go. Now in the early 70s there was smaller but still significant music genre born on the radio that has since been dubbed "Power Pop". Combining the melodic pop sensibilites of the 60s and the new heavy guitar driven rock of the 70s, this proved to be brief but influential era. Fronted by bands like The Raspberries, Pilot, Big Star and Badfinger. The strong melodies, thick guitars and pounding drums of Power Pop would be key in influencing a handful of artists later in the decade such as The Cars, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Knack and Cheap Trick along with future artists, bands like Jet and The Raconteurs have frequently pointed out Badfinger as an inspiration and they just happen to be the artist I'm discussing today.

The year was 1974, Badfinger the band known in the past for songs like the radio friendly "Day After Day", the McCartney penned "Come and Get It" and the Pop/Rock classic "No Matter What" were in a hard time. Still being slammed with lawsuits from their former lable Apple and poor management, it was a hard time for the band financially and musically. Coming off of the poor results of their last album for Warner Bros., Badfinger pulled through to make the best album of their career, the 1974 album "Wish You Were Here", not to be confused with the later Pink Floyd album.

Recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado Badfinger once again set to work with producer Chris Thomas (Elton John, The Sex Pistols, The Pretenders) and put together what is thought of by fans to be their most polished, unique and compelling album. Utilizing large string sections, some fantastic melodic songwriting and heavy reverb, "Wish You Were Here" is more or less an epic production. Songs like "Dennis" and the two part "In The Meantime/Some Other Time" are beautiful pieces and some of the best songs ever written by the gang. "Just a Chance" and "Know One Knows" represent the bluesy pop of Badfinger we've come to love while "You're So Fine" and "Love Time" present a softer acoustic side. Though bassist//songwriter Tom Evans, known for singing past Badfinger songs like "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Come and Get It" takes a back seat by only penning one track, the cutesy but mellow "King of the Load" this gives guitarist Joey Molland and Mike Gibbins a better chance to try out their vocal/songwriting abilities which are actually quite proficient.

Unfortunately, management pulled this record off of the shelves after only a few weeks back in 1974. Initial reviews were very positive but this album didn't truly make any impact until the rise of the internet. I actually got my copy on iTunes and have occasionally seen it in select stores like "Silver Platters", all I can say is it's a lot of fun and worth checking out if you ahve any interest in the band, it's one of my favorite albums.

Favorite Tracks: "Dennis", "In The Meantime/Some Other Time", "Meanwhile Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke"