Badfinger: No Matter What - Revisiting The Hits

I can’t claim to be a dyed in the wool Badfinger fan and yet, even a quick flick through this nostalgia-fest of hits and special guest stars leaves little doubt of the impact the band has had over the years. I’d guess that nearly everyone out there will know at least one of these songs (even if when covered by another act) while most of us will know if not every track here, certainly most.

To be clear, while there may well be two versions of Badfinger doing the rounds these days, that this one contains the band’s one remaining founder member, Joey Molland, means that for all intents and purposes this IS Badfinger and no mistake. Or more accurately, this is Badfinger augmented - everyone from Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and Rick Wakeman of Yes fame, to Todd Rundgren and, amongst others, Matthew Sweet showing up to help in Revisiting The Hits. And great fun it is too as Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge helps start the party with “No Matter What�, while Wakeman adds a little piano tinkle to “Come And Get It�, even if he could do with being more prominent in the mix. A suitably spacey “I Don’t Mind� meanders agreeably with Carl Giammarese helping out, although it’s the aforementioned Ian Anderson who provides an early highlight with his flute contributions on “Day After Day�, which also benefits from the introduction of Terry Reid and the Manchester String Quartet.

In truth, for the large part, the main issue is that the guests don’t really receive a moment in the sun on these tracks, although the ever marvellous Rick Springfield does make “Love Is Gonna Come At Last� his own, but it would have been quite something to have had Todd Rundgren really let fly on “Without You�, instead of keeping it as straight up as he does. The Pink Dots do manage to add some impetus to “Midnight Caller� but “Sweet Tuesday Morning� featuring Albert Lee and “Suitcase� with Sonny Landreth never really catch fire. Still, No Matter What does the job it’s meant to, highlighting the depth of songs long at Badfinger’s disposal and the respected artists influenced enough by them to want to be a part of an album that has the air of gentle celebration about it.

Track Listing
1. No Matter What feat. Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge)
2. Come And Get It feat. Rick Wakeman
3. I Don’t Mind feat. Carl Giammarese (The Buckinghams)
4. Day After Day feat. Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Terry Reid & Manchester String Quartet
5. Love Is Gonna Come At Last feat. Rick Springfield
6. Baby Blue feat. Matthew Sweet
7. Midnight Caller feat. The Legendary Pink Dots
8. Suitcase feat. Sonny Landreth
9. Sweet Tuesday Morning feat. Albert Lee
10. Without You feat. Todd Rundgren

Added: June 16th 2021
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: No Matter What - Revisiting The Hits @ Cleopat
Hits: 752
Language: english

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