Album 10, Badfinger "Straight Up"

This album comes from the suggestion of my friend Alex Johnson who tweeted his love for the band. Like so much music from the 70s, this was a band I knew of but knew nothing about and so, on to the list they went.

Badfinger
Straight Up
1971



Let's do a mini-review on this one first. I dig the album, the music, and the band in general. I was jamming along to the songs as they played and was enjoying it. I especially loved the alternating lead singers. Is there a modern band that does this with any regularity or is this truly an artifact of a bygone age? Send me your counter-factuals. Anyway, it was all good and enjoyable and I was writing the review in my head when track 9 started, Day After Day. Hmmm, I know this song, I thought. It is very familiar. That intro is unmistakable. And then the singing. And then, wait...this is...surely it's not...this can't be...Badfinger? Oh dear readers, I must confess, and I swear as god as my witness, I thought this was a Beatles song. Like for the last 40 years, if this came on the radio, I thought it was the Beatles (editor's note: Phil's musical collection contains none of the following: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Who, Led Zeppelin. It does contain multiple Spandau Ballet albums. This is mentioned for no reason at all.) Look, the Beatles' influence is obvious and clear in a lot of Badfinger's work but really, this doesn't sound like John, Paul, George, and, certainly not, Ringo singing. What the hell was I thinking? I am embarrassed but still sort of convinced this is actually the Beatles.

Well, it is never too late to correct ignorance (*cough* *cough* GOP). So I am glad to have learned the right of it and am ready to move on, a little more humble, a little wiser. The song is still really good. And so is the album. (Alex, I had no idea you liked early 70s rock. I feel like a bad friend.) Hard to pick out favorite tracks. Maybe nothing here is a five star song but nothing is less than a three either. Just solid rock and roll. It's Over is quite good and so is Baby Blue. Seriously, it's all good!

I wish I had more to say about this album but really it is just good musicianship, good songwriting, good performance, lush harmonies. I would love to get deeper than this but in some cases, that is just overkill. I just appreciate the music for what it is: an album of good rock songs, perfectly executed.

And the hair. Let's absolutely appreciate all that hair.

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