BADFINGER & HEADFIRST
The un-released third Warner Bros. Album

The early 1970's were good to Badfinger. They had a string of top twenty hits within the United
States and across the globe. They had performed with George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton
and a cast of other stars at the hugely successful "Concert For Bangladesh". They had recorded
with all four solo Beatles and provided the bulk of the soundtrack for the 1969 film "The Magic
Christian".

By the end of 1974, Badfinger were a band in trouble. After seven tours of the United States,
the best that Badfinger could do in their homeland was to be a support act for fellow Welsh
band Man.

Business problems and personal conflicts between Joey Molland and fellow band members saw Joey
leave the band. Before Molland left the band, a new member, Bob Jackson, was hired to play
keyboards.

Badfinger had signed a demanding contract with Warner Bros. that stipulated that the band were
to record two albums a year. Badfinger were forced into the studio for two weeks in late 1974,
where they recorded what should of been the third release for Warner Bros.. Producers Ken
Kerner and Richie Wise were hired to oversee the project. Their previous work included the
first album to be released by Kiss.

The new album was intended for a Warner Bros. release, but Warner Bros. had little to do with
the sessions. All tracks were recorded and mixed at Badfinger's original home, Apple studios.

Badfinger's management tried negotiating with Warner Bros. for sometime after the album was
completed. January 19th 1975, saw a second mix-down of the "Head First" multi-tracks at the
Record Plant in Los Angeles. This second mix was overseen by Kerner & Wise. Warner Bros.
refused to release the album because of the bands legal problems. Warner Bros. didn't want to
touch them.

Badfinger were dead in the water.

THE TAPES:
The Warner Bros. Mix & the Original Apple Mix

Two separate and distinct mixes of the "Head First" multi-tracks were made in late 1974 and
early 1975. The first being the Original Apple Studio Mix (Produced by Ken Kerner & Richie
Wise, engineered & mixed by Phil McDonald at Abbey Road Studios) and the second, what later
became known as the Warner Bros. Mix (Produced & mixed by. Ken Kerner & Richie Wise, engineered
by Phil McDonald)

While the Warner Bros. Mix is certainly a mix of the multi-tracks in the true sense (with the
start and ends of tracks being clean and "banded" together, all of the instrumentation being
present and various studio techniques being employed on the vocals and solos), the Original
Apple Mix appears to be more a rough mix meant for the band members and management as a means
to assess the "work in progress".

(It should be noted that when we refer to the Original Apple Mix, we are referring to the rough
mix as it was presented to the band members in December 1974, not to any subsequent (1999
planned) official re-mastered/doctored release.)

The Original Apple Mix does not appear to or attempt to achieve the best sound from the
recordings. For example, at various points in the Original Apple Mix tapes it is quite obvious
that various tracks from the multi-track tapes had not set correctly and were "panned" up
during the dubbing of the recordings. Likewise some "overdub" tracks (in particular the overdub
piano track in "Passed Fast" and "Keep Believing") had been set some 6-8dB too loud. Further,
the vocals are sometimes too low in the mix and in most part lack the standard "production
techniques" which were evident on the previous Badfinger Warner Bros. & Apple albums. This
evidence, along with the "count ins" and studio chatter, point to the fact that at the
scheduled end of the recording sessions at Apple Studios, a rough mix was made of the
recordings and given to the band members. It was not intended as a final mix and should not
have been used as such.

The Original Apple Mix, while in some people's opinion sounds better than the Warner Bros. Mix,
should not be compared with the Warner Bros. Mix. The latter is an attempt at a mid 70's slick
production (for the USA, market), while the former is how the band would first (and in fact
did) hear the tracks after finishing the sessions at Apple Studios.

Tape Sources
For a number of years, copies of the Original Apple Mix have been traded through the tape
trading circles and bootleg collectors. More recently two bootlegs have been released which
contained the Original Apple Mix. These were "Head Start" (no label or serial no.) and "Lost
Treasures" (Bell Bottom 016). Both of these bootlegs used tapes which were extremely poor sound
quality, with the "Lost Treasures" version containing so much digital overload, that it is
almost un-listenable. The level of noise on the tapes used for these two bootlegs indicates
that they were many generations from the master.

More recently, a tape source of the Original Apple Mix came into our possession, which was
decidedly "cleaner" than those that had been previously available. While the sound quality
cannot be compared to a first or second generation tape, it was obvious from the first
listening, that it was a dramatic step up from the versions currently available.

After transferring the tape (a consumer quality "EMI brand audio cassette, circa 1976) to
digital format, several months of computer time were used digitally "cleaning" the tape and
repairing tape "drop outs" and tape break repairs.

While not being a believer in synchronicity, during this period while the newly located
version of the Original Apple Mix was being "cleaned", a business trip by one of our colleagues
to the West Coast of the USA, produced a tape find, even we could not predict.

In a casual conversion with some parties in the same line of business, she mentioned the newly
acquired tape of the Original Apple Mix of "Head First". In less than 10 minutes, her host had
thrust two 7" reel to reel tapes into her hand, stating "... I have had these for years, sounds
like crap and is no better than what is already out there... But if you want them you can have
them..."

Three and a half weeks later, with the two reel to reel tapes in our possession, we assumed
that this tape contained just one more version of the Original Apple Mix. However given that it
was from a reel to reel tape source it was certainly worth a listen.

Within 5 minutes of the first tape being played a number of points were obvious. (i) this was
not the Original Apple Mix version of "Head First". (ii) although the tape did sound "..like
crap.." , there was very little noise evident and what noise there was could he cleaned
successfully (that is the noise was consistent through out the tape). (iii) there was not the
"tape crumple" evident at the start of "Lay Me Down", which had plagued the official 1990 Rhino
release "Best of Volume II", or the distortion of all the versions of "Head First" available on
bootleg. (iv) because of the quality of the reel to reel tapes, after some work in the studio,
we were sure this tape could sound "alive". (v) after a comparison with the tracks available on
the 1990 Rhino release, it was obvious from the mix, that the tapes were in fact the Warner
Bros. Mix (or an earlier version of that mix)

It took another four and a half months to complete the "cleaning", equalizing and level
adjustments.

(Note: following the completion of the cleaning and EQ'ing of the Warner Bros. Mix, is was
obvious that the compilation of these mixes had been conducted in a rushed and sloppy manner.
The relative levels of each track to one another, were not consistent. Quiet tracks such as
"Back Again", "Moonshine" and "Rockin' Machine" boomed out of the speakers, while heavier
tracks like "Turn Around" and "Passed Fast" were 5-10dB lower than they should have been and
sounded ineffectual. Thus the relative levels of each track also needed adjustment)

Speed Correction
Once both the Original Apple and Warner Bros. Mixes were completed, we came across a major
concern. We did not know what the correct "speed" of these recordings were!

Unfortunately, the Warner Bros. Mix reel to reel tape did not contain any calibration tones
that could be used to determine the correct speed of the tracks. This left us with numerous
versions of the Original Apple Mix from various sources (all running at different speeds),
the 1990 Rhino releases and the recently discovered Warner Bros. Mix, all of which were at
different pitches.

Fortunately, the 1997 book written by Dan Matovina entitled "Without You - The tragic story
of Badfinger" contains a copy of the Apple Studio running order sheet for the rough Original
Apple Mix, which could be used to determine the correct speed of the tracks.

However, when comparing the length of tracks from the various sources, with the track timings
on the Apple Studio running order sheet, variations of up to 10 & 12 seconds per track were
noted. This amount of variation could not be accounted for by purely tape machines running fast
or slow during dubbing. The only explanation for the Apple Studio running sheet having track
times of the length they are is that the timings included the count in and studio chatter.
When this factor is taken into account, the running sheet timings are extremely close.

Ultimately the 1990 Rhino mixes (taken from Warner Bros.) were used as the basis for the
determination of the correct speed of these tapes. It has been assumed (rightly or wrongly)
that the mix which Warner Bros. had (and passed to Rhino in 1990) used standard studio
procedures, having calibration tones and  standard recording/dubbing speeds.

THE TRACKS
Lay Me Down (Ham)
Pete: Guitars, lead and backing vocals
Bob: Keyboards and backing vocals
Mike: Drum Kit
Tom: Bass and backing vocals

"Lay Me Down" is a rocker written by Pete Ham. It ranks as classic a pop tune as "No Matter
What". Had the song been released as a single there can be little doubt that the song would of
been a hit. Later released (with a tape fault during the introduction) on the "Best of
Badfinger Vol.2" disc in 1990.

This song was written by Pete within the studio confines when the band were short of tracks.
Pete Ham was a good writer under pressure.

The two available mixes of this track initially sound almost identical. However, where as the
Original Apple Mix has some stereo separation, the Warner Bros. Mix is almost totally a mono
mix. Essentially all the channels of the multi-track have been panned to the centre (or almost
centred) for the Warner Bros. Mix, which results in the power and impact of the individual
instruments being lost. It is only when the Original Apple Mix is played that the separate
guitar tracks and keyboard/organ tracks give "Lay Me Down" its true dimension. Some slight
variation can be noted between the two mixes in that the organ fills, just before the chorus,
are far more prominent in the Original Apple Mix. This mix also contains a couple of extra
seconds of fade out and the obligatory count in.

The tape fault during the introduction evident in the 1990 Rhino release of "Lay Me Down", does
not appear in this version of the Warner Bros. Mix.

Turn Around (Jackson)
Pete: Guitar and backing vocals
Bob: Organ, lead and backing vocals
Mike: Drum Kit
Tom: Bass and backing vocals

"Turn Around" was chosen as the second track on the Apple Studios running sheet, to follow
Pete's "Lay Me Down" Kerner & Wise kept with the same running order when they compiled their
Warner Bros. Mix in early 1975.

"Turn Around" is a perfect foil for "Lay Me Down". It is (and should always be) the only track
that follows "Lay Me Down". Where "Lay Me Down" is bright and up lifting, "Turn Around" is
moody, uncertain & bluesy. Where the former is a simple pop song with a memorable hook (as all
classic pop songs are), the latter changes beat and tempo, being far more a complex structured
song.

Although Bob Jackson had only just joined Badfinger, he had presented the band a song which was
equal to any the other members were writing or had written for the previous couple of albums.
"Turn Around" takes the band further down the path started with "Dennis" or "In The Mean Time".

(If only Chris Thomas had been in the production booth for those sessions...)

With the opening chords, the song dramatic impact is evident. Bob's organ and Mike Gibbin's
drumming set the scene, like never before. Bob handles the vocals solo and here there is a
departure from the usual Badfinger sound. Bob's vocal style is in the same vein as Steve
Winwood, but this fits perfectly in with the feel of "Turn Around". The Badfinger vocal sound
re-emerges during the chorus, when Bob is joined by Pete and Tom Evans, firstly as harmony and
then as all three singing the lead.

After the departure of Joey Molland from the band prior to the sessions for "Head First", Pete
needed to provide both the rhythm and solo guitar work. In this track alone, he has excelled
and shown the true class of his ability. (One could be forgiven for asking, whether Joey was
missed). The solo he provides is cutting and to the point, as is his rhythm work.

What makes this song something special are the guitar licks & fills by Pete during the verses
and middle eight. "Turn Around" may have been written and sung by Bob but it IS Pete's track.

The mix used by Kerner & Wise for the Warner Bros. Mix has a wide stereo picture, especially
given the fact that this song follows "Lay Me Down" which (in the Warner Bros. Mix) is almost
a totally mono mix. Pete's guitar fills are placed hard left of centre, counter balancing with
Bob's organ in the far right channel. Pete's other guitar track is placed in the centre of the
stereo picture.

In contrast the Original Apple Mix has the organ more centred which in turn seems to dominate
during the verses Pete's guitar tracks are located effectively one in each channel.

A point of criticism can be leveled at the Original Apple Mix here, that Bob's vocals are
almost drowned during the verses, where as the Warner Bros. Mix. being so wide. I leaves plenty
of space for all vocal and instrument tracks.

The three part lead vocals on the Warner Bros. Mix sound far more "produced" than that on the
Original Apple Mix.

The final chord fade is two seconds longer on the Original Apple Mix.

Also of (very) minor interest is during the "count in" (only available on the Original Apple
Mix), different levels of "noise" can be heard with associated clicks, which more than I likely
corresponds to the overdubs being "punched in" following the main session.

Keep Believing (Ham)
Pete: Slide guitar, acoustic guitar, lead and backing vocals
Bob: Keyboard and backing vocals
Mike: Drum Kit
Tom: Bass and backing vocals

Following the moody "Turn Around", "Keep Believing", written by Pete, is a message to Joey
about keeping faith in his career. "If you want to blame somebody, you can blame it all on me"
shows that Pete felt he was partly to blame for what was going down and the current situation
the band was in. One could also argue that, given the very soul wrenching Pete Ham demos from
the same era, which have surfaced in the 1998 official release 7 Park Avenue", part of the
message of this track is Pete telling himself that things must eventually get better and that
he himself must keep the faith.

The studio chatter, at the start of the Original Apple Mix of "Keep Believing", tells us that
take no. 14 was used as the final backing track, onto which overdubs where then recorded.

There are considerable variations between the two mixes, which are even apparent during the
introduction. The Original Apple Mix has the backing/harmony vocals (more than likely Pete &
Tom) panned to the left and right channels, with Pete's lead vocal track centred within the
stereo picture. The Warner Bros. Mix however has the harmony vocal tracks along side Pete's
lead vocals in the centre.

The bass is centred in both mixes, as are the drums, except there is a extremely wide stereo
effect on the tom toms. (the Warner Bros. Mix has the widest and best example of this)

The rhythm guitar, lead guitar and guitar fills are almost identical between mixes, although
the quality of the sound and feel in the Warner Bros. Mix is a far better counter point to
Pete's lead vocals. The Original Apple Mix has the (or one of the) keyboard tracks far to high
in the mix, which causes it to dominate at times.

The main difference between the two mixes is the percussion track evident in the left hand
channel of the Warner Bros. Mix. This percussion tracks adds rhythm on the half beat and some
light and shade to the song, which does not exist in the Original Apple Mix. If the percussion
track is there in the Original Apple Mix, it is over shadowed by everything else and is not
perceivable.

The fade is slightly longer on the Warner Bros. Mix.

Rockin' Machine (Gibbins)
Pete: Slide guitar and backing vocals
Bob: Piano and backing vocals
Mike: Drum Kit, acoustic rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Tom: Bass and backing vocals

"Rockin' Machine" is another one of Mike's countryesque songs. One could wonder whether he was
watching TV with the sound turn down, when he wrote this one as well (reference to "Cowboy"
from "Ass"). Although regarded by Mike as something which he just threw together. "Rockin'
Machine" has a melody and a hook which lingers. So much so, that when the track finishes after
approximately a minute and a half, one feels almost cheated that there isn't more of the song
to listen to.

Given the country feel (or should that be Welsh-country feel) to the track, the rest of the
band help out appropriately. Pete plays some nice slide guitar and Bob's almost (slow) honky
tonk piano tracks add to the songs "down south" disposition.

Again, there is considerable variations between the Warner Bros. and Original Apple Mixes of
"Rockin' Machine". These differences are primarily in the panning of the various tracks
creating the stereo picture. Basically the Original Apple Mix has everything almost centred,
producing effectively a mono mix. Where as the Warner Bros. Mix has Mike's lead vocals centred
and the backing vocals panned far right and left, which brings life and space to the song.

The studio chatter at the start of the track is far louder in the Original Apple Mix and this
mix also has a longer fade. This longer fade maybe for the fact that some one in the band
starts making "dog" noises at the end of the fade. The K9 backing vocals are not evident in the
Warner Bros Mix.

Passed Fast (Evans-Jackson)
Pete: Guitars lead and backing vocals
Bob: Piano and lead vocals
Mike: Drum Kit
Tom: Bass and lead vocals

"Passed Fast", written by Tom and Bob, along with "Turn Around", written by Bob, are the two
tracks from "Head First" sessions which could have quite mistaken for outtakes or un-released
tracks from the "Wish You Were Here" sessions.

Opening with a simple slow piano based riff, which is then repeated as Tom sings the almost
fatalistic first line "Your eyes have seen the glory of the future that is past...", its
simplicity belies the power of the imminent dramatic crash of instrumentation, as the whole
band joins in, as the next line of lyric is sung.

This light and shade, a simple piano, followed by the full band playing with amps set on
eleven, along with the powerful and emotional lyrics, would have fitted perfectly into the
previous album's running sheet. "Passed Fast" invokes the same reaction of the listener as "In
The Meantime"/"Some Other Time" (from "Wish You Were Here") and "Give It Up" (from the self
titled album). And, just like "Give It Up", it has a superb (twin) guitar solo coda, something
too often faded out on Badfinger
studio recordings.

It is noteworthy that, given that Tom had not played a large role in the writing for "Wish You
Were Here" and at the time of that album. Bob was not even in the band, the two were taking a
major role musically as well as contributing original songs for the new album.

The heavier (some would say dramatic) sound of this track, can be attributed to the natural
progression from the sound of the previous album, as well a keyboard player as a member of the
group.

The differences between the two mixes are obvious, even from the start of the piano
introduction. As well as the fact the Original Apple Mix has the studio chatter with the
engineer announcing that it is the 2nd take of the intro (confirming that the piano intro was
part of the piano over dub), we have Bob's count in. The difference in the level of the piano
between the two mixes is considerable, with the Warner Bros. Mix being almost 12dB lower.
However, this lower level of piano also produces are far more dramatic effect when the whole
band comes in.

In the Original Apple Mix , just prior to Tom's opening lyric, we hear again Bob's count in.
This time the count in is from the actual session in which the track itself was recorded. It is
interesting to note that the two "count ins" (for the piano introduction overdub and for the
main track) do not match, with the second being almost a single beat too early. More evidence
that the piano intro was an over-dub.

Pete's guitar chords sound a little more edgy and "staccato" like, on the Original Apple Mix,
where as the Warner Bros. Mix has them smoother and mixing in with Bob's piano work. The same
can be said about Tom's vocals. There is definitely an edge to them on the Original Apple Mix.

The overall sound of Mike's Drum Kit is best on the Warner Bros. Mix, with his snare drum and
cymbals being much more to the fore on this version.

During the middle 8 of the Original Apple Mix, it appears that Bob and Tom are fighting a
loosing battle with Pete's lead guitar licks. Where as at the same point in the Warner Bros.
Mix. Pete's guitar licks are panned slightly more to the outside of the stereo picture and
dropped down somewhat in the mix, not to far to loose them, but far enough to not detract from
the vocals.

There appears to be an ample use of echo in the drums in various areas of the Warner Bros. Mix
(remember the US version of the "Baby Blue" single has an exceptional amount of echo used). For
example the echo can be heard after the whole band comes back in for the one and a half bars
(6 beats) in the middle of Bob's piano near the end of the track.

The final guitar solo coda varies between the two mixes, with the Original Apple Mix being
almost 10 seconds longer and essentially being everything that was recorded, (the band can just
be heard stopping at the end of the Original Apple Mix solo) The Original Apple Mix tends to
slightly favour the guitar solo located in the left channel, when compared to the Warner Bros.
Mix, but this is a minor variation only. What is far more distinct in the Warner Bros. Mix is
Mike's drum work and superb drumming it is!!

Savile Row (Ham)
Pete: Synthesizer, String synthesizer
Bob: Synthesizer (?)

If Mike's "Rockin' Machine" could be considered a rehearsal or a something thrown together,
then this Synthesizer based track, written by Pete, is definitely a working piece in progress.
Clocking in at approximately one minute, it is in reality no more than a doodle on the
keyboards, maybe an introduction to some other piece Pete had on his mind at the time. In any
other situation, the producers and recording engineers would not have spent more than five
seconds listening to Savile Row then passed onto the next track. However, given that the band
had not been allocated much studio time, completed tracks were not in abundance, so apparently
everything was considered for the L.P. running order.

There are some light variations in the mixes (mainly locations of one or two of the Synthesizer
in the stereo picture), however given the nature of the piece that are not really of that much
concern.

The introduction of the track with what sounds like a cymbal being hit (did Mike play on this
track as well?) is louder and longer on the Original Apple Mix  The Warner Bros Mix contains
approximately 15 seconds more of fade out. Which begs the question, how much more of this track
is still in the can?

Moonshine (Gibbins-Jackson-Evans)
Pete: Slide guitar
Bob: Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, guitar, lead vocals
Mike: Drum Kit
Tom: Bass, acoustic guitar and lead vocals

Although "Moonshine" is credited to Mike, Bob & Tom, it has all the haul marks of a Mike
Gibbins inspired track. "Moonshine" has all the Badfinger trademarks: delightful guitar fills,
acoustic rhythm guitars, vocal harmonies, a superb melody and lyrics that come from the heart.

This is a beautiful lilting song co-sung by Tom and Bob. Pete supplies gorgeous lead guitar
fills. Bob's Fender Rhodes keyboard work is three years of its time (Billy Joel would use the
same feel on "Just The Way You Are"). The drum work from Mike uses the axiom less is more and
produces the perfect drumming feel for his co-written piece.

The real tragedy is that it took fifteen years for this song to be officially released (see
Best of Badfinger Vol 2).

It is Badfinger legend that not much effort on the Warner Bros Mix. Well maybe "Moonshine"
dispels that piece of so called official history. The Original Apple Mix, although with some
nice touches (which were carried through into the Warner Bros. Mix) is basically very rough.

The twin lead guitar fill tracks are placed in each channel for both mixes. However the Warner
Bros. Mix, then combines them during the middle eight and guitar solo sections of the song.
Acoustic and rhythm guitars appear in each channel, slightly left and right of centre. Both
mixes have the backing/harmony vocals in the centre channel, along with the main lead vocal
tracks.

What makes the Warner Bros. Mix, such a superior mix over the Original Apple Mix is the
placement and level of Mike's Drum kit. Cymbals are more distinctive and the tom toms in the
far left-hand channel almost punctuate the track. Also in the Warner Bros. Mix, the second
middle eight "answering" backing vocals are placed first into the far left hand channel and
then next time around into the far right hand channel, allowing these "answering" backing
vocals as well as the main lead vocals to be heard clearly. The corresponding section of the
Original Apple Mix of "Moonshine" is just has an unintelligible mess.

The Original Apple Mix has the count in, not present in the Warner Bros. Mix.

Rock N Roll Contract (Evans)
Pete: Guitar and backing vocals
Bob: Synthesizer, piano and backing vocals
Mike: Drum Kit
Tom: Bass and lead vocals

Writing "Rock N Roll Contract" appeared to be the only way that Tom could get back at Stan
Polley (their manager, who basically had ripped the band off for many hundreds of thousands
perhaps millions of dollars). He wrote about his frustrations with their manager in this song.

After reading the lyrics of "Rock N Roll Contract", one is left with no doubt as to the state
of Tom's hatred for Polley or the way he felt he (and the rest of the band) had been used.

This song was again recorded for the 1980 "Say No More" L.P.

There is very little difference between the Original Apple Mix and the Warner Bros. Mix. The
track is full on rock n roll with heavy guitar emphasis and a pulsating bass line and drum
pattern that has so much energy it could sustain a small community in power for years.

Rhythm guitar tracks are placed slightly left and right of centre in both mixes, with the lead
guitar and guitar fill tracks being centred for the Warner Bros. Mix and slightly right of
centre for the Original Apple Mix. The keyboard tracks are almost identical in both versions,
except for some dramatic Grand Piano chords just after the line "..You took to the grave, now
it's gone.. Yeah, it's gone.." which are far more prominent in the Original Apple Mix.

During the recording for this track, Mike may have used twin kick drums, as it appears that
there is a kick drum track in each channel. In fact the whole drum kit is spread across the
entire stereo picture and sounds as if it was mike'd up close during the recording process.
The Warner Bros. Mix has the better of the two drum sounds.

The vocal tracks are centred as per usual and the only difference between the two mixes is that
the Warner Bros. Mix has a more "produced" sound to them.

One point of note is the maniacal laugh tracks, just after the line "..man told me not to worry
'bout the business..". The Original Apple Mix has the two laugh tracks combined and panned
from left to right, where as the Warner Bros. Mix has one laugh track in each channel.

The talking during the chorus (apparently Tom's abuse at Polley) is higher up in the mix in the
Warner Bros. version. The Original Apple Mix has some studio chatter at the start of the track
and what appears to be Tom saying "..you are the bastard..", just as someone, slightly off
mike, gives a chuckle at this comment.

The Original Apple Mix has almost a two second longer fade than the Warner Bros. Mix.

Back Again (Gibbins)
Pete: Guitars and harmonica
Bob: String synthesizer, Arp Odyssey synthesizer
Mike: Drum Kit, acoustic guitar and lead vocals

One of the strengths of Badfinger was the fact that it had four excellent song writers, (five
if you include Bob Jackson). When one of the band appeared to have writers block, one of the
others would come up with a classic song to record. Mike had contributed two brilliant tracks
for the "Wish You Were Here" album, and for "Head First" project he had three tracks. "Back
Again" was one of them.

Yet again Mike's acoustic tendencies come to the fore, with this lovely up tempo ballad for a
loved one. The use of acoustic instrumentation and poignant melody produce one of the
highlights of "Head First".

This is one track where there are considerable variations between the two available mixes.
The Original Apple Mix is essentially an almost mono mix, with most of the multi tracks panned
towards the centre of the stereo picture. It is only at approximately 50 seconds into the
track, when the synthesizers and guitar tracks (emulating a pedal steel) come in that any
channel separation is apparent.

Every thing else, including vocals, percussion, acoustic guitars, keyboards, harmonica and
bass are all lumped into the centre.

However in comparison, the Warner Bros. Mix has almost a Beatlesque feel about it. The acoustic
guitar tracks are placed in the left-hand channel and the vocals are centred. Nothing apart
from the vocals (and associated echo) can be heard in the right hand channel until the
synthesizers and guitars come in at approximately 50 seconds into the track.

It may be due to the fact that the acoustic guitars are placed hard left of centre or maybe
they have been "produced" to achieve a smoother and purer sound, along with a "ringing" echo in
the opposite channel (this could also be due to mike leakage during the recording process), but
the Warner Bros. Mix have them sounding as good as any thing Badfinger had previously recorded.

The fade out on the Warner Bros Mix is approximately one second longer than the Original Apple
Mix.

Mr Manager (Evans)
Pete: Guitar and backing vocals
Bob: Organ and backing vocals
Mike: Drum Kit
Tom: bass and lead vocals

If the first attempt at telling Stan Polley that he wasn't welcome anymore at the Badfinger
inner sanctum wasn't subtle enough (see "Rock N Roll Contract"), Tom's "Mr Manager" left
nothing to the imagination.

The weird thing about "Mr Manager" is that for all the anger in the lyrics, the melody itself
has a great hook and one is still humming it long after then track has finished, (an iron fist
in a velvet glove... maybe..)

Of the two, the Warner Bros. version is the better mix. The Original Apple Mix causes the song
to have a "plodding" feel, where as the Warner Bros. Mix has "space" between the
instrumentation tracks and along with variations in the placement of the backing vocals,
produce a far more enjoyable end result.

Both mixes start off in a similar fashion with the entire band kicking in, but dominated by the
"Jew's harp" sound of Bob's keyboard (very similar in fact to the sound achieved in the song
"Up On Cripple Creek" by The Band). The Warner Bros. Mix have these two keyboard tracks located
far left and far right of centre, where as in the Original Apple Mix they are only part the way
left and right of centre.

The drum kit in both mixes is almost entirely mono, located flat dead centre, as is the bass
track. Other rhythm tracks (guitars and keyboards) are located just left and right of centre.

The main variations between the two mixes are the placement of the backing vocals and the lead
guitar fills / solo tracks.

The lead guitar fills / solo track is in the far left channel for the Original Apple Mix and
centred for the Warner Bros. Mix.

What produces the subtle (and enjoyable) variations in the Warner Bros. Mix is the location of
the backing vocals. Where as in the Original Apple Mix all vocal tracks (lead and backing) are
centred, it is only the lead vocals that are centred in the Warner Bros. Mix.

In the Warner Bros. Mix, the backing vocals for the first verse are located far right of
centre. During the chorus there are separate backing vocal tracks located in the far right and
the far left of the stereo picture. Then for the second verse the backing vocals have moved to
the far left of centre. The apparent movement within the stereo picture produces a far wider
aural sensation what really exists.

Again, Badfinger folklore says that the Warner Bros. Mixes were rushed, however some thought
certainly went into the mix for "Mr Manager".

The song ends with Tom's classic final line, if ever there was one to end an album*: "..waiting
for the phone to tell me you and I are through..". This final line of vocals appears to have
been recorded on a separate vocal track from Tom's lead vocal track (maybe during the over
dubbing of one of the backing vocal tracks). Although it isn't as apparent in the Original
Apple Mix, the Warner Bros. Mix has an entirely different "feel" about it from the rest of
Tom's lead vocals.

[*Take note Dan Matovina, track running orders should not be fiddled with, even by you]

FINAL COMMENTS

Depending on one's circumstances, the sound quality of the recordings or even in which decade
you first heard the two mixes of Badfinger's un-released third Warner Bros. album, "Head
First", one's choice of which mix is the better of the two cannot be predicted.

Comments have been made that the Original Apple Mix has a heavier sound than that of the Warner
Bros. Mix. This may certainly be the case when comparing the original versions given to the
band members. However it is our opinion that the problem was not with the actual Warner Bros.
Mix, but rather the way the tracks were presented to the band. That is, as previously stated,
on the tape we obtained access to, the equalization and comparative levels of the ten tracks
of the Warner Bros. Mix did not appear to have been done correctly. More than likely, it was in
the dubbing of the evaluation tape for the band from the master tapes, that can be considered
rushed and problematic. Not the mixes themselves.

We hope you enjoy the Warner Bros. & the Original Apple Mix of Badfinger's "Head First" album.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the following people for their input:

Eileen & Malcolm for various bits and pieces, Lorraine of Big L Productions for being there at
the right time to source the reel to reel tones of the Warner Bros. Mix (and I enjoyed our game
of squash last week even if you did win), Kevin & Michael for the California rolls, Phil
McCracken, the dB Brothers, the amazing Jjedi family (what do you mean I need a passport to get
to where you live?) Carl & Pain for the PC techno-babble, Carmen & Graeme for the digital-audio
work, the silver backed one. Wakao san (...how you say?...) & not forgetting Chantelle C., our
red-headed beauty, who finally escaped from the Evil-V empire.

Further the following Badfinger web sites were used without permission for information
pertaining to this project. Check them out:

http://www.znet.com/~nutopia/
http://members.aol.com/WASC/bfinger/features.htm
http://sonnet.com/webworld/badmem.htm
http://www.csrlink.net/users/brando/
http://www.nex.net.au/users/denglish/boots.htm
http://home.earthlink.net/~tomjbr/Tom/BadfingerIveys/Badfinger.html
http://www4.osk.3web.ne.jp/~badiveys/index.html
http://www.joeymolland.com/

Lastly we must thank Pete, Tom, Mike & Bob for their music which was created in a time of
turmoil for all concerned, but which twenty five years later still shines on through as
testament to their musical abilities and the gift they gave us all. The chance to look into
each of their souls.

Thanks guys.

Stay cool.