Badfinger Songs Ranked
Badfinger was a Welsh/English rock band formed in Swansea that was active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland. They are recognized for their influence on the 1970s power pop genre.
The band evolved from an earlier group calledThe Iveys, formed in 1961, which became the first group signed by the Beatles’ Apple label in 1968. The band renamed themselves Badfinger, after the working title for the Beatles’ 1967 song “With a Little Help from My Friends” (“Bad Finger Boogie”). From 1968 to 1973, Badfinger recorded five albums for Apple and toured extensively, before they became embroiled in the chaos of Apple Records’ dissolution.
Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: “Come and Get It” (written and produced by Paul McCartney, 1970), “No Matter What” (produced by Mal Evans, 1970), “Day After Day” (produced by George Harrison, 1971), and “Baby Blue” (produced by Todd Rundgren, 1972). Their song “Without You” (1970) has been recorded many times, and became a US number-one hit for Harry Nilsson and, decades later, a UK number-one for Mariah Carey. Here are all of Badfinger’s songs ranked.
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20. We’re for the Dark (No Dice, 1970)
“Pete Ham’s voice, luscious strings, haunting melody…one of the great hidden gems of all music, packed away on side two of NO DICE”
19. Sweet Tuesday Morning (Straight Up, 1971)
“The lyrics are dark and although couched in very simple rhymes, “room – gloom”, “sleep – weep”, this helps to convey more clearly and directly the singer’s sense of melancholy. I’ve used a lot of superlatives here, but perhaps the most fitting description of this song is majestic.”
18. Lay Me Down (Head First, 2000)
“This is classic Pete Ham, catchy, warm, optimistic and McCartney-esque in melody. Pete also does “Lay Me Down”, his attempt at a monster power-pop single; its three parts are, respectively: catchy but a little forced, clichéd but pretty, and plain great.”
17. Rock ‘N’ Roll Contract (Say No More, 1981)
“Brilliantly made song, the guitar interlude and the solo give me the chills. Very nice atmospheric rock song that has a very heavy outro. This is definitely my favorite song by them. I love what this song is talking about.”
See more: Badfinger Albums Ranked
16. Love Is Easy (Badfinger, 1974)
“I’ve never rated his writing for the band as highly as I do that of Evans and particularly, Ham but here, with both his bandmates still alive, he turns out an interesting song, far from the group’s highly produced records of recent years. It boogies along on guitars and drums with a recessed vocal all combining to give it an almost alternative feel. It’s Badfinger, Jim, but not as we know them.”
15. Dear Angie (Magic Christian Music, 1970)
“Badfinger may not have been the pioneers or standard barriers of their decade (1970) and their sense of arrangement still was far from being as slick, skilled perfection is laden and multifaceted as say Electric Light Orchestra but Badfinger compensated this only one flaw if you must by remaining committed, to their own cause and in doing their own thing, no matter what was going on around them.”
14. Lost Inside Your Love (Airwaves, 1979)
“Beautiful words, his voice is full of pain and longing, just sincere and strong, brings me on my knees while listening. Amazing song! Rhythm is something else, you’ll never find another song like this.”
13. Take It All (Straight Up, 1971)
“Fabulous song. Nice voice and great drummer. Hearing the song first thing in the morn set my day off wonderfully. Touch you through killer rhythm and stir your soul.”
12. Knocking Down Our Home (Magic Christian Music, 1970)
“Not entirely sure what the lyrics are about, but the music on this song is more emotional than any of their other songs. No crazy solos needed.”
11. I Can Love You (Ass, 1973)
“Badfinger are yet another one of those bands that slipped through my net for one reason or another. I can remember seeing the albums in second hand record shops in the early eighties and thinking the covers looked interesting. I just never got around to buying any. I guess there was just too much other stuff from the early seventies around that I knew I wanted so they just never got a look in.”
10. Timeless (Ass, 1973)
“Timeless” is an effort to create as “heavy” a sound as possible a la “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, and it pretty much succeeds, though not as completely as Joey’s emotive mid-tempo songs do. In other words, Joey does Pete’s signature style here better than Pete does Joey’s.”
9. Lonely You (Badfinger, 1974)
“Only Ham’s “Lonely You” stands out as a real highlight, and even that doesn’t rank up as one of his best compositions. That was the problem with Badfinger; without a Paul McCartney or a George Harrison present to stand as a kind of quality control, the band lacked any sense of creative direction.”
8. Come and Get It (Magic Christian Music, 1970)
“Surprising that Paul McCartney would give a song of this high quality away, especially when it’s better than a lot of songs on Let It Be… nevertheless, a solid performance by the band, arguably their catchiest song (in a line of many catchy tunes).”
7. Perfection (Straight Up, 1971)
“So many great aspects…Pete Ham’s voice, guitars, great percussion, message. From one of the best LP’s ever, STRAIGHT UP. “Perfection” is a goofy-ass set of lyrics married to a simple percussive track, kind of like Dennis Wilson’s “Companion,” released later in the decade. Damn fine disc, no doubt.”
See more: Harry Nilsson Albums Ranked
6. Name of the Game (Straight Up, 1971)
“The name of the game really is straight up perfection with these two top tracks from Badfinger’s brilliant parent album. Both songs are written by Pete Ham and quite superb in their different ways, “Name Of The Game” a soaring, piano-based world-weary masterpiece”
5. Dennis (Wish You Were Here, 1974)
” Pete Ham’s “Dennis” is dedicated to his stepson. Still, despite the song’s warm lyrical sentiments, Ham doesn’t stop his melancholy seeping through into the music- the extended coda is particularly affecting.”
4. Without You (No Dice, 1970)
“Without You is alright and pretty well known by this point, yet the flipside is simply put the best song ever recorded by Badfinger, complete with sleepy, dusky harmonies and ringing guitars. A sly charmer that one.”
3. No Matter What (Poetic Justice, 1992)
“This melody is needed. I don’t know how to explain, but it is simple and catchy and necessary to be here. I mean, melodies such as Yesterday, Smoke on the Water’s riff, Brown Sugar, Another Brick in the Wall AND No Matter What, after done can’t ever be taken back anymore. GREAT SONG, HUGE inspiration product. Love it.”
2. Day After Day (Straight Up, 1971)
“Sumptuous single, beautifully produced by George Harrison who also furnishes the gorgeous lead guitar lines throughout, including one of his best solos. Don’t let that fool you this is an ex-Beatles vanity project, Badfinger are all present and correct with a superb Pete Ham vocal, soaring backing vocals and sympathetic instrumental backing, with Leon Russell contributing pretty piano.”
1. Baby Blue (Straight Up, 1971)
“Nice to see this at number one, even it is affected by a certain T.V. show finale. I honestly love this song. My favorite thing about it is the chord progression in the bridge and guitar solo. I thought it was kinda clever.”