REVIEWS

BADFINGER

NO MATTER WHAT: REVISITING THE HITS

Cleopatra (CD) **

First off, this is not Badfinger: For all intents and purposes, Badfinger ceased to exist when singer/songwriter/vocalist Tom Evans took his own life in 1983. Prior to that, the band’s other main singer/songwriter/vocalist, Pete Ham, met his demise in the same unfortunate manner in 1975. Drummer Mike Gibbins’ death in 2005 left guitarist Joey Molland as the lone surviving member of the most successful iteration of the quartet.

So by rights, this new collection of remakes of Badfinger tunes—despite the title, not all of them qualified as “hits”— should have been credited to Molland or, if one is feeling generous, Joey Molland’s Badfinger. In any event, Molland is joined on this misleadingly titled, wildly uneven and completely unnecessary clutch of rerecordings by a slightly bizarre group of 10 classic rock “guest stars,” each of whom takes a stab at helping Molland revisit his musical past.

Things fall flat right out of the chute with Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge handling lead vocals on one of Badfinger’s signature songs, 1970’s power pop classic “No Matter What.” Stein’s vocals are hammy and overwrought, and the addition of an organ part to the tune is an unwelcome intrusion. Next up is Molland (poorly) tackling the lead vocals on the Paul McCartney-penned “Come and Get It” with Rick Wakeman (why?) on keys; the results here are clumsy at best. A version of the band’s biggest chart success, 1971’s elegant “Day After Day,”