Friday, November 6, 2020

"Ham Solo": THE WEEKEND MIX

 


 

I've been wanting to do this for ages.

Back in the 90's, Rykodisc released two collections of Pete Ham demos. Just in case that name doesn't ring a bell, Pete Ham was the leader of Badfinger, a band with a sad and tragic history that released too few records. But I am not here to relive that tale.

Like most collections that feature rare and unreleased material, both "Golders Green" and "7 Park Avenue" have highs and lows. I've sequenced my favorite tracks from both, creating a solid 35 minute record that is very playable. 

Badfinger's output is uneven, at best. At least that's how I feel. The best material belongs to Pete Ham, who also possesses the best voice. The tracks here need a little spit and polish, but aside from a few flubbed lyrics, or some "da-da-da-ing" in place of lyrics, I wouldn't do much in the way of producing. The songs shine on their own.


TRACKLIST
Catherine Cares
A Lonely Day
Dear Father
Dawn
Would You Deny
Keyhole Street
It Doesn't Really Matter
Makes Me Feel Good
Hand In Hand
Midnight Caller
No Matter What
Live Love All Of Your Days
I'll Kiss You Goodnight
Sille Veb

zip

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you Sal, this will be great!!!

Captain Al

A Walk In The Woods said...

Looking forward to this!

I had a cool experience working at a record store called Record Bar in 1986 here in Atlanta, Georgia. A customer named Sandy Lane came in and we got to talking about the Beatles, and then about Badfinger. She said she had dated Pete Ham! She later brought in lots of photos of the two of them, and also made cassette tapes of all their albums, which at the time were hard to find in any form.

kodak ghost said...

Nice one. Should be a good listen. An underrated band. Thanks

FD13NYC said...

Good stuff! I have all of it that I haven't listened to in a long while. Keeping your mix to quickly go to. Thanks Sal!

hpunch said...

Badfinger never quite made that classic all-time great album ( Wish You Were Here comes closest), because Pete Ham was too sweet a guy and made sure the whole band had their own songs on the records. He was a far superior writer and singer, but he loved his band. So much so that the guilt he felt for steering them into criminal management did him in. The most tragic band of all time ( two suicides!!). But Pete's songs have truly stood the test of time.

A Walk In The Woods said...

Great, short summary of the Badfinger story, hpunch.

heartsofstone said...

Tragic doesn't begin to describe the story. Thanks so much.

Steven said...

as with many rock artists who left too early, those who were and are Badfinger fans are left to contemplate what this incredible band might have done if Pete Ham and Tom Evans had survived their demons...
BTW...Joe Molland is still around, and is performing and making music...his just released record is a good one, well worth checking out...

dogbreath said...

Never hurts to fly the flag for Badfinger & Pete Ham, some rock classics & haunting tunes. Thanks for the mix (I was going to call it a Ham platter but thought better of it). Enjoy the weekend. Cheers!