Badfinger - Straight Up

While No Dice will forever be remembered for the sublime ballad "Without You," (the ballad is actually remembered more in its Nilsson form, without which the Mariah Carey form never exists) Straight Up doesn't have any such hits with massive crossover potential. All it has is sublime power pop from the opening chord to the closing fadeout. I guess that's a good thing.

The standout track on Straight Up is Pete Ham's "Baby Blue," which features some of the best sounding guitar work in the Badfinger catalogue. This album was partially produced by George Harrison, who quit the project halfway through, leaving the other half for Todd Rundgren. There is evidence of both producers on the album, which makes things a bit more fun with repeated listens. What really shines through on this album is Badfinger's ability to just lay down pure power pop regardless of who is producing, who is still in the band, and whoever happens to be stealing the band's money. Give them credit for a lot of things, but don't forget their resilience.

Baleeted? No. I'm still not done with this album.