Badfinger Genius--Pete Ham's 7 Park Avenue

Pete Ham's 7 Park Avenue is the type of album that the true music fan will salivate over--you might call it a "diamond in the rough". All of the songs on the album are demos recorded by Ham on very primitive equipment in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Although additional musicians were brought in in 1993 or so to do overdubs on some of the tracks, the liner notes give the assurance that all vocal performances and guitar licks are as originally performed by Pete Ham. Because of the original recording methods that Ham employed, the album contains a disclaimer that some tracks may be a little unbalanced musically, but to me that's the whole appeal of a work like this--it's real, genuine and raw. Heck, I wish they would have left off the overdubs--I would prefer a total homemade album, but the record company couldn't resist the opportunity to add a commercial sheen to this collection of tunes.

Pete Ham was the moving force behind the British power pop band Badfinger. Discovered by Paul McCartney and signed immediately to the Apple label, Badfinger delivered several solid albums before tragedy struck the group--Ham committed suicide in 1975, and another member killed himself as well, although I'm not sure when. Although their time was brief, Badfinger had several songs which made the charts, and the songwriting skills of Pete Ham were largely the reason.

Highlights Of This Album

Ham shows a keen affinity for family on Catherine Cares, a song about his mother, Dear Father, dedicated to his father, and Sille Veb, a tune about his wife with her name spelled backwards. All of these songs show Ham's skill at writing a melody, although the simple acoustic accompaniment of Dear Father is touching and very relevant. Coppertone Blues, featuring only Ham and his acoustic guitar, is anything but the blues, and features some fine guitar playing by this talented musician.