Head First (Badfinger album)

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Head First
Studio album by Badfinger
Released	2000
Recorded	1974
Genre	Power pop
Length	?
Label	Snapper
Producer(s)	Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Badfinger chronology
Day After Day: Live (1990)	Head First (2000)

Head First is an album by rock band Badfinger. It was recorded in December of 1974 at Apple Studios and remained unreleased for 25 years. Originally intended to be Badfinger's third album to be released under its six-album contract with Warner Bros. Records, the recordings were shelved when legal difficulties erupted between the band and WB.

Shortly before entering the studio, Joey Molland quit Badfinger due to disagreements regarding management. The remaining members recorded the album with contributions from recently-acquired member Bob Jackson. Although Molland's absence is noticeable on the album, the group's overall sound is consistent with many of their earlier recordings.

Difficult circumstances that surrounded Badfinger at this time contribute to the album's tone.

An investigation by Warner Brothers' publishing division discovered that an escrow account containing US$100,000 had been emptied. Inquiries made by WB as to the whereabouts of the money were reportedly met with silence by Badfinger's U.S. manager, Stan Polley. Suspicions aroused, and fed up with what they deemed a lack of cooperation, WB launched a breach of contract suit against Polley and Badfinger almost simultaneous to the Head First recordings. The lawsuit doomed Head First to the shelf, and also locked up previous and future WB recordings for the band.

Although unaware of the lawsuit at the time, the group had long argued between themselves regarding Polley's honesty and his handling of their money. These sentiments came to the surface in the lyrics for two Head First tracks ("Rock & Roll Contract" and "Mr. Manager"), which are indictments by bassist Tom Evans towards Polley. As financial turmoil mounted for the band and its future became more uncertain, group leader Pete Ham committed suicide only four months after the album was completed. Also due to financial difficulties, Evans followed suit in 1983.

Head First soon became the group's legendary lost album. It appeared for many years that it would never be released, as the master tapes were misplaced and the recording quality of copies were unusable. Although the master tapes were eventually located at WB, the label did not express interest in utilizing them. After several months of negotiations with WB, Bob Jackson salvaged rough mixes of the album and released the recordings on the Snapper label in 2000.

[edit] Track listing

Head First's original tracking order, compiled by Kerner and Wise, was not used on the Snapper release. The following is the Snapper CD order. Tracks 11 through 21 (an added second CD) are demo bonus tracks.

1. "Lay Me Down" (Ham) – 3:35
2. "Hey, Mr. Manager" (Evans) – 3:34
3. "Keep Believing" (Ham) – 4:09
4. "Passed Fast" (Evans, Jackson) – 4:19
5. "Rock 'N' Roll Contract (Evans) – 4:44
6. "Saville Row" (Ham) :36
7. "Moonshine" (Evans, Gibbins, Jackson) – 3:53
8. "Back Again" (Gibbins) – 2:54
9. "Turn Around" (Jackson) – 4:17
10. "Rockin' Machine" (Gibbins) – 1:32
11. "Time Is Mine" (Ham) – 1:45
12. "Smokin' Gun" (Ham) – 1:22
13. "Old Fashioned Notions" (Gibbins) – 4:12
14. "Nothing to Show" (Ham) – 1:03
15. "You Ask Yourself Why" (Gibbins) – 2:17
16. "Keep Your Country Tidy" (Ham) – 2:23
17. "To Say Goodbye" (Jackson) – 3:46
18. "Queen of Darkness" (Evans) – 2:13
19. "I Can't Believe In" (Ham) – 2:10
20. "Thanks to You All" (Gibbins) – 2:41
21. "Lay Me Down" (Ham) – 2:55