[2018-11-30] Badfinger "Badfinger" and "Wish You Were Here" Expanded Editions (Real Gone)

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Sep 10, 2018 6:50 pm

Badfinger

Description
Most folks point to Badfinger as the greatest power pop band of all time. But, with four accomplished songwriters in Tom Evans, Mike Gibbins, Pete Ham, and Joey Molland, and the creative assistance and imprimatur of The Beatles, Badfinger should have been bigger stars than they were. Their four albums for The Beatles’ Apple label get most of the attention, and understandably so, with hits like “Come and Get It,” “No Matter What,” “Day by Day,” and “Baby Blue.” But their subsequent two albums for Warner Bros. represent their true creative peak, reached even as the band—and the lives of the members of the band—fell apart. Now, Real Gone Music, together with Badfinger biographer Dan Matovina, is taking a fresh look at Badfinger’s brilliant but ill-fated Warner Bros. albums, Badfinger and Wish You Were Here. Everything seemed rosy when, upon conclusion of their contract with Apple, Badfinger signed a new deal with Warner Bros. in 1973 for a big advance, but right away things went south as the label rushed the band into the studio and ended up releasing Badfinger at about the same time as Apple released the band’s last record for the label, Ass. Not to mention Warner Bros. rejected the band’s title for the record, For Love or Money, leaving the record without any title at all. Of course, commercial confusion ensued, and Badfinger sold poorly, even though it boasted such solid tunes as “Lonely You,” “Shine On,” and “Love Is Easy.” Our Expanded Edition features the unreleased song “Love My Lady,” plus nine more outtakes from the album sessions; it’s the first time the original album’s been remastered (by Matovina from the original master tapes) since its maiden release on CD, while Matovina’s notes include fresh quotes from original producer Chris Thomas!

Tracklist
1. I Miss You
2. Shine On
3. Love Is Easy
4. Song For A Lost Friend
5. Why Don't We Talk?
6. Island
7. Matted Spam
8. Where Do We Go From Here?
9. My Heart Goes Out
10. Lonely You
11. Give It Up
12. Andy Norris
13. Love My Lady - unreleased song outtake
14. Shine On - work in progress mix
15. Song For A Lost Friend - work in progress mix
16. Island - work in progress mix
17. Matted Spam - work in progress mix
18. Where Do We Go From Here - work in progress mix
19. My Heart Goes Out - work in progress mix
20. Lonely You - work in progress mix
21. Give It Up - work in progress mix
22. Andy Norris - work in progress mix

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H63PWW1/?tag=imwan-20

Wish You Were Here

Description
Most folks point to Badfinger as the greatest power pop band of all time. But, with four accomplished songwriters in Tom Evans, Mike Gibbins, Pete Ham, and Joey Molland, and the creative assistance and imprimatur of The Beatles, Badfinger should have been bigger stars than they were. Their four albums for The Beatles’ Apple label get most of the attention, and understandably so, with hits like “Come and Get It,” “No Matter What,” “Day by Day,” and “Baby Blue.” But their subsequent two albums for Warner Bros. represent their true creative peak, reached even as the band—and the lives of the members of the band—fell apart. Now, Real Gone Music, together with Badfinger biographer Dan Matovina, is taking a fresh look at Badfinger’s brilliant but ill-fated Warner Bros. albums, Badfinger and Wish You Were Here. Things went from bad to worse for Badfinger as Warner Bros. ended up pulling their second release after seven weeks in the stores due to their manager squirreling away publishing advance money, prompting a lawsuit by the label’s publishing arm. Yet, somehow in the midst of all the chaos, the band delivered its masterpiece. Recorded by Chris Thomas at the Caribou Ranch studio in Colorado and George Martin’s AIR studio in London, 1975’s Wish You Were Here stands as Badfinger’s most cohesive and powerful artistic statement, with stellar contributions by all four of the band’s songwriters. It’s an album without a weak track, so it’s hard to single out any songs, but Ham’s “Dennis,” Molland’s “Love Time,” and Evans’ “King of the Load” might take the honors. For this Expanded Edition (which offers a new remastering of the album for the first time since it was initially released on CD), we’ve unearthed an unreleased song (“Queen of Darkness”), and uncorked eight new remixes that highlight many un-used vocals and novel instrumental arrangements. Matovina’s notes include exclusive quotes from original producer Chris Thomas. The last and best record with the original line-up, now fully unveiled!

Tracklist
1. Just A Chance
2. You're So Fine
3. Got To Get Out Of Here
4. Know One Knows
5. Dennis
6. In The Meantime/Some Other Time
7. Love Time
8. King Of The Load (T)
9. Meanwhile Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke
10. Queen Of Darkness - unreleased song mixed 2018
11. Just A Chance - alternate mix 2018
12. Your So Fine - alternate mix 2018
13. Got To Get Out Of Here - alternate mix 2018
14. Know One Knows - alternate mix 2018
15. Dennis - alternate mix 2018
16. In The Meantime / Some Other Time - alternate mix 2018
17. Love Time - alternate mix 2018
18. Meanwhile Back At The Ranch / Should I Smoke - alternate mix 2018
19. Know One Knows - alternate Single mix 2018

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H5VTHFX/?tag=imwan-20

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Sep 10, 2018 6:53 pm

Dan Matovina's personal remasterings of Badfinger recordings have been stellar even in "YouTube quality", and coupled with all the bonus tracks and the expanded packaging, we can surely expect these two CDs to be among the greatest vault releases of the year.

Jay · 12 Jul 2006

I am most certainly in for these.

joemusic1958 · **Joined:** 31 Mar 2008 **Posts:** 134

Could not agree more ! YES !

eelkiller · **Joined:** 10 Dec 2006 **Posts:** 1681

Looks like some remixes are brand new, please no fake snare drum like the live album.

I will get these for sure, Wish You Were Here is better than some of the Apple albums IMO.

Jay · 12 Jul 2006

Don’t think Dan would go down the Ryko live album road, but I do wish they were vintage mixes.

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:00 pm

No, re-read the descriptions and tracklists. Dan remastered the original album tracks. The "new mixes" are all bonuses, in addition to the tracks that were on the original albums, not replacing them.

eelkiller · **Joined:** 10 Dec 2006 **Posts:** 1681

I realize that, I was referring to the tracks listed as "alternate mix 2018". Dan did the Head First reissue and it was pretty good. Hope these are the same quality.

David Baker · 31 Oct 2006

Instant purchases; I am thrilled to see these. I suspect I will be on a Badfinger kick for the next several weeks in anticipation.

joemusic1958 · **Joined:** 31 Mar 2008 **Posts:** 134

Pre ordered ! I am psyched !

Linda · **Posted:** Sat Oct 27, 2018 8:04 pm

A vintage print ad for the Wish You Were Here album:

Dr. Chris Evil · 26 Jul 2006

Wish You Were Here...good album title.

And yes, I know Badfinger used it first.

joemusic1958 · **Joined:** 31 Mar 2008 **Posts:** 134

Boo hiss ! It has been bumped ( both of them ) to November 30

eelkiller · **Joined:** 10 Dec 2006 **Posts:** 1681

Advance copies are circulating and so far the reviews are not good for sound. Too bad if true, I am cancelling for now until more reviews trickle in. I have the Japan WB, Edsel and the Collectors Choice which will suffice.

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Nov 14, 2018 7:07 pm

Hard to believe with Dan Matovina doing the remastering.

tom r · **Joined:** 20 Nov 2011 **Posts:** 33

Received these two today. The mastering is horrible. Wish you were here should sound lush. This thing sounds shrill and crunchy. The bonus tracks are great though. They don’t seem to be as compressed and harsh. Very disappointing.

tom r · **Joined:** 20 Nov 2011 **Posts:** 33

Looks like a solution is to the badly mastered CDs is here. I received this reply to my post on Facebook from Real Gone Music

Here at last is our official announcement:Dear Friend:

Some people have complained about the mastering on our two recent Badfinger releases, Badfinger and Wish You Were Here. Put simply, the masters utilized for manufacturing on the first run of the CDs were earlier iterations picked up by accident and not the final masters intended for release (which is ironic because some of the bonus tracks on these releases feature in-progress mixes). Because we did not receive our promo copies in a timely fashion—we are having to work with a new manufacturer, which is obviously causing all sorts of problems—we did not become aware of the issue until the first pressing of CDs had gone out to stores and consumers. However, we have submitted the final master for subsequent repressings, and we have finally received copies that used the updated master, as will all subsequent pressings.

Audio remastering/mixing is by its nature subjective; there are many people who were fully satisfied with the sound on the first version, and there will no doubt be some folks who are unsatisfied with the sound on this new, final version. Nevertheless, if you bought your copy directly from Real Gone Music before December 11, 2018, we are sending you a new CD featuring the final master for free. No need to contact us. Also, if you bought either of our Badfinger titles from another source and are unsatisfied with the sound, just send us a picture of the back cover of the CD in question and your address to orders@realgonemusic.com and we will send you a replacement disc. CDs with the final master started to filter out around mid-December, so if you bought your copy prior to that, you have the incorrect version and not the final one.

We at Real Gone Music really appreciate the business and support you have given us over the years, and we’re proud of the work that went into these Badfinger releases. We hope you agree that they are well worth the (extra) effort.

Jay · 12 Jul 2006

I will be on the lookout. I ordered directly from them, and my order was delivered on November 13th, so I ought to be line for the automatic replacements.

eelkiller · **Joined:** 10 Dec 2006 **Posts:** 1681

The initial reports are they still sound bad. Do not get rid of the Collectors Choice CDs yet.

Jay · 12 Jul 2006

Still have my old Warner Germany and CCM versions. Definitely will be keeping them regardless.

eelkiller · **Joined:** 10 Dec 2006 **Posts:** 1681

Jay wrote:

Still have my old Warner Germany and CCM versions. Definitely will be keeping them regardless.

Definitely not a good idea to clean house.

Invisible Pedestrian · **Joined:** 24 Sep 2006 **Posts:** 26163

How would anyone even know what the new copies are?

I stayed away from these due to the price and the reviews.

Sounds like the whole thing was botched badly.

But how would anyone differentiate which version they were buying?

[2018-11-30] Badfinger "Badfinger" and "Wish You Were Here" Expanded Editions (Real Gone)

Who is WANline