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Summary: Record Collector's #2 Rock Book of 1998
Review: If you're considering a life in music, then read this book first. It answers the unanswerable question: how could two men who wrote some of the most successful songs of the early 70's, including one all-time standard, end up broke, helpless, abandoned and finally, sufficiently self-destructive to take their own lives? ... A riveting scare-story about the power of the music business to wreck lives...
Rating:
Summary: Best rock biogrpahy I've read
Review: Matovina has written the best rock biography of our time. This book is a testament to a band that lived to create beautiful music, but died while doing so, leaving behind a legacy that will inspire others. This book should be given as a gift to all struggling musicians. Beg, borrow, and steal in order to secure a copy for yourself.
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Summary: Without You (BADFINGER)
Review: Matovina hits a grand slam with this one. I am greatful that an author/critic has published what millions of us fans have been trying to tell the world for over thirty years. Badfinger was the perfect "fix" for us 60's and 70's kids who to this day still dote on clean, melodic British pop. I remember well the day I found out about Pete Ham's death as well as Tom Evan's passing eight years later. It's a crying shame that these extremely talented musicians are just recently being recognized for their accomplishments but, without the advent of CD this would have never been possible. Dan Matovina's clean, easy to follow chronology makes for a "can't-put-it-down" kind of text.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ANY ROCK/POP MUSIC BUFF!
Well worth the wait, the money, and definitely a keeper for my permanent library collection.
Rating:
Summary: Top-notched book
Review: Maybe you already knew that the entertainment industry was one the wretched live within. That doesn't make reading this story any easier. If anyone's been born under a bad sign, it's the members of this group. Dan Matovina traces the band's roots back to Swansea, Wales and continues through the dispute surrounding the 1995 ASCAP ceremonies that honored all five "writers" of a song (Without You) actually only written by two people, Pete Ham and Tom Evans -- who couldn't protest this discrepancy themselves because they'd each committed suicide by this time.
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Summary: A HUGE BADFINGER FAN
Review: My 1st review ever. Saw them in 1974 & loved them. Had most of the albums on vinyl & everything on cd. Yes, I would even like to see "ASS" re-issued. Badfinger is still my absolute all-time favorite band. I agree with everyone except Jeanine. Knowing that the two writers of "Without You", a haunting, unbelievably beautiful yet tremendously sad song, both committed suicide, makes listening to any version terribly difficult and disturbing. This book is clear evidence of perhaps, the worst example of what occurred time and time again in the music industry, to artists who only wanted to write, play, get some fame and attention, and make a little money. I am so grateful that the advent of cd's & the ability to record in and on tremendously less expensive equipment has allowed musicians to avoid this sleaze-balls. Unfortunately, The Beatles themselves even deserve some of the blame since they allowed their label to be so poorly run and chose to ignore the needs of the artists they had signed. I would also like to say, "Shame on you, Joey Molland" and perhaps more so, his wife, who's name eludes me as I write this.
Rating:
Summary: A HUGE BADFINGER FAN
Review: My 1st review ever. Saw them in 1974 & loved them. Had most of the albums on vinyl & everything on cd. Yes, I would even like to see "ASS" re-issued. Badfinger is still my absolute all-time favorite band. I agree with everyone except Jeanine. Knowing that the two writers of "Without You", a haunting, unbelievably beautiful yet tremendously sad song, both committed suicide, makes listening to any version terribly difficult and disturbing. This book is clear evidence of perhaps, the worst example of what occurred time and time again in the music industry, to artists who only wanted to write, play, get some fame and attention, and make a little money. I am so grateful that the advent of cd's & the ability to record in and on tremendously less expensive equipment has allowed musicians to avoid this sleaze-balls. Unfortunately, The Beatles themselves even deserve some of the blame since they allowed their label to be so poorly run and chose to ignore the needs of the artists they had signed. I would also like to say, "Shame on you, Joey Molland" and perhaps more so, his wife, who's name eludes me as I write this.
Rating:
Summary: ATribute And A Warning
Review: My overwhelming reaction after reading this marvellously researched book,is one of anger.Anger at the torments,both emotional and financial,that all the band members,especially Peter and Tom,must have gone through.It really shows that for all the idealism of the decade that the group came from,the music business,like all others,is filled with unscrupulous individuals with no decency whatsoever when they can smell money.However,against this awful background the group produced much truly marvellous music.Music that varies from the melancholic to the totally uplifting,and that is the bands true legacy and that is what they are remembered for.I have to say though,that the story of Badfinger should serve as a warning to any band entering the music business.Unfortunately,you have to be careful and you have to be clued up.We should be grateful that the full story of the band is available,both as a celebration and as a warning.
Finally,as someone from the same town as the four original Ivey's,my admiration for them has only gone up after reading this book.My beautiful home town of Swansea was not the most affluent place on earth in the sixties,and the part of it that Peter Ham came from was one of the poorer,at least economically,of that town.That a guy from that background wrote such marvellous songs,and even a classic or two,I find fantastic.Read this book,then enjoy the marvellous music of a band that were ahead of their time,and were probably in the wrong place at the wrong time.Ladies and gentlemen...Badfinger.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect book in every way
Review: Not only is this book extremely well written, the graphic design must also be praised. The black-and-white pictures appear next to the relevant passages, so it feels like you're watching a documentary. And the story is quite touching. It's impossible not to sympathize with Peter Ham, a well-meaning guy whose only wishes were to have his talent recognized and share his triumphs with the people he loved. He was ambitious, but by no means selfish or greedy. There is no happy ending, though. Only the music lives on.
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Summary: MOJO Magazine's review by Wayne Pernu
Review: The Badfinger story is a grim reminder how inextricably linked rock music is to the money handlers and how dire consequences can be if both aren't tended to in equal measure... As memorable and moving as the best Badfinger music was, the story behind it is no less poignant and instructive.
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Summary: The most detailed account of a band that's been written
Review: The Modern Dance ... Never mind Badfinger, it should have been Badluck... this book is perhaps one of the biggest and best, and I daresay the most detailed account of a band that's been written... a very intense read...Plenty of piccies, but above all, if you just get down to some serious reading, you won't be disappointed.
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