Besides The Beatles' solo careers, I'm pretty confident in saying that Badfinger was one of the best things going for Apple Records. In many ways, after The Fab Four unceremoniously split in April of 1970, Badfinger had been poised to carry the torch, complete with a hit penned by Paul McCartney no less. Their first two albums, Magic Christian Music and No Dice, had put them at a pretty good position in the rock world, with the latter yielding hits like "No Matter What" and "Without You." By 1971, work had begun on their third album - the ensuing nine month process was a bit of a nightmare, including a series of sessions produced by Geoff Emerick that was shelved by Apple themselves. George Harrison briefly stepped in to produce before the Concert for Bangladesh took over his priorities, leaving American producer and musician Todd Rundgren to finish production for eight of the 12 songs on the album. The end result is all worth it, though, as Straight Up is the epitome of Badfinger's power pop energy, with driving rhythm, pounding guitar riffs, and an unimpaired sense of melody through and through. Three albums in, and they've made something truly great.
One may, at first, see few differences between this album and the still very good No Dice from the year prior - after all, that album was a driving rock record that was filled with great hooks and a few hits. However, Straight Up is a decisively softer album, with quite a bit of emphasis on piano-driven tracks in comparison to the mostly guitar-centered No Dice. You can hear this shift straight out the gate with the great opener "Take It All," where all the elements of Badfinger come together in a more big, soaring style. There's still pure rockers on this album, like the bluesy "Suitcase" or the hit "Baby Blue" (with the latter made even more iconic thanks to Breaking Bad), but they're often meshed with this more pop-leaning, softer sound - prime example is the highlight "Day After Day," complete with a great slide guitar solo from George Harrison. This mix of sound ends up suiting the group incredibly well throughout, and creates a more pristine, cleaner sound than in comparison to their previous albums.
Three of the four members of Badfinger contribute material here, and boy is the stuff strong - you have resident power pop genius Pete Ham who gives us the opener, "Baby Blue," "Day After Day," the excellent penultimate song "Perfection," and my personal favorite track "Name of the Game," which also serves as a big, powerful ending to the first half. Bassist Tom Evans is no slouch either, penning the pseudo-medley of "Money" and "Flying," with the latter having contributions from Joey Molland. Evans also gives us the excellent closing track "It's Over," which is a soaring way to end such a great rock record. Molland contributes the second most on the album, including the bouncy "I'd Die, Babe," the stomping blues-rocker "Suitcase," and the folk leaning "Sweet Tuesday Morning," all of which give some much welcome texture to the album.
Straight Up is, with the exception of one other Badfinger record, the one I return to the most. It is the band at their most clean, punching, power-pop apex, stacked full of hits and some excellent deeper cuts. Every member comes together, giving their all to create what is a truly excellent rock record where the group pens some of their finest work to date. If there's anywhere to dive into the lush, sometimes heartbreaking career of Badfinger, Straight Up is the way to go.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Straight Up.
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