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Badfinger — Head First
(Artisan SMADD 829, 1974/2024, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-01-29

Head First Cover art

In the troubled history of the band Badfinger, Head First sits at the center of a well of chaos. Prior to the tour for their previous album, Wish You Were Here, founding member Pete Ham had quit the band, being replaced by Bob Jackson, but on the advice of their record label, Warner Bros, Ham returned. Long-time member Joey Molland left at the end of the tour, and the remaining band members entered the studio in December 1974 to record their next album. Unbeknownst to them, Warner was in dispute with their manager over a large sum of missing money, and not long after the sessions were completed, the label froze their accounts, held onto their royalties, and withdrew distribution for Wish You Were Here. The tapes for Head First ended up on the shelves in Warner’s recording division with no prospect for final mix and release. Matters continued without resolution, and in April on 1975, Ham committed suicide. After member Tom Evans’ suicide in 1983, it seemed the album would never surface, and the legal dispute remained unresolved. A few songs trickled out over the decades, but it wasn’t until 2000 that a version of the album was properly released, though the master tapes were missing and only a rough mix from 1975 was available. Then in 2024 the original multitrack masters were found, given a proper mix, and released. As for the music, this is the last recording featuring both Ham and Evans, the two primary songwriters, and the songs have the catchy melodicism that made Badfinger such a great band. A couple of the tracks hint at the band’s growing awareness of their financial situation — “Hey Mr Manager” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Contract” may be energetic and full of great harmonies, but the lyrics express great dissatisfaction with the music business. It’s probably pointless to say that the band could have had a hit off the album if it had been released in a timely manner. After all, the popularity of Badfinger’s music was never commensurate with its quality. Listening to Head First today, aware of its history, is an exercise in mixed emotions. The music is outstanding, and hearing it brings pleasure, but that pleasure is always tinged with the sadness of knowing that external factors quite literally killed the two men most responsible for its creation, leaving it as an example of what could have been… if only.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases, 1974 recordings

Related artist(s): Badfinger, Pete Ham

 

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