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Magic Christian Music

Badfinger - Magic Christian Music Audio CD

A fair review of the Badfinger "Magic Christian Music" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Badfinger reviews here, or go back to the Badfinger tabs.

Band: Badfinger
Title: Magic Christian Music
Rating:

Release Date: 1991-11-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Come and Get It 2: Crimson Ship 3: Dear Angie 4: Fisherman 5: Midnight Sun 6: Beautiful and Blue 7: Rock of All Ages 8: Carry on Till Tomorrow 9: I'm in Love 10: Walk Out in the Rain 11: Angelique 12: Knocking Down Our Home 13: Give It a Try 14: Maybe Tomorrow 15: Storm in a Teacup [*] 16: Arthur [#][*]

Badfinger's debut
Yet, MAGIC CHRISTIAN MUSIC was just putting their toe in the water. A pretty good debut for the band, but not among their best releases. Songs like CRIMSON SHIP, MIDNIGHT SUN, and possibly BEAUTIFUL AND BLUE have the Badfinger sound. Let's not forget the great COME AND GET IT penned by Paul McCartney, as well as tunes such as MAYBE TOMORROW, ROCK OF ALL AGES, and CARRY ON TILL TOMORROW. .

Badfinger Boogie, Mal Evans discovery
Actually this is a compilation of the Iveys album and the then current soundtrack to the Peter Sellers film of the same name. Good debut from Mal Evan's (Beatles roadie's) discovery. Good stuff for any rock fan.

Variable Bubblegum
I'll have nothing to say about these four additional tracks. This is a review of the original American vinyl LP, which includes everything here except "Angelique", "Give It a Try", "Storm in a Teacup", and "Arthur". I've never heard them, in fact.

It may be natural to suppose this the soundtrack to "The Magic Christian" movie; it is nevertheless not so. I watched the movie for the very first time a month or so ago. It's dreadful--but, more to the point, only one of its three songs found here is heard there in its entirety, and there is a lot of other music in the film that isn't included here.

Since the Ivey's LP was never released either in the United States or in the United Kingdom, I don't consider it particularly relevant whether or not some of their songs made it to this record.

"Magic Christian Music" is essentially a period bubblegum record, by which I don't mean to disparage it, only to point out that it would be very foolish to take any of it at all seriously. The best thing about it is its ensemble singing, particularly on its two best tracks by far, "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Carry On", and also on the refrain of "Fisherman". (Unfortunately, the very ending of "Maybe Tomorrow" is corny, and the singing falters here as well. ) These vocal arrangements are elaborate enough and significantly more sophisticated enough than the core group's fairly crude instrumental performances, that I'm inclined to wonder whether a professional outside vocal arranger had been brought in. The solo singing tends to be a bit weak and occasionally just slightly out of tune--"Maybe Tomorrow" is an exception. Although there is some fine drumming in "Maybe Tomorrow", in general there is also a great contrast in musicianship between the core group and the outside studio musicians--who deserve to have been credited, especially the solo violin player in "Maybe Tomorrow" and the obbligato trumpet player in "They're Tearing Down Our House".

.

A Good Album!
Some of the recordings were done with Paul McCartney, and he obviously helped the band create their characteristic sound. Magic Christian Music was the first album to bear the Badfinger name, though 6 of the songs on the album are in fact old Iveys recordings that had already been released on the Maybe Tomorrow album. Great tracks like "Midnight Sun", "Crimson Ship" and "Come and Get it" point clearly in the direction of the classic follow-up album "No Dice". "Walk Out in the Rain" is another stand-out track. "Rock of All Ages" is probably the wildest rocker the band ever recorded. "Maybe Tomorrow" which had been a minor hit for the Iveys, was also selected for this album. The material in this album is too varied in style and quality to make a real strong consistent album. The two bonus tracks are Iveys recordings from late 68 - none of them very interesting.

My favourites: Come and Get it, Crimson Ship, Midnight Sun, Beautiful and Blue and Walk Out in The Rain.

If You Want It, Here It Is, Badfinger's Begining.
Most of the tunes on the album were done earlier when the band was called the Iveys and the rest were done after the name change but before second guitarist Joey Molland joined the band. Actually it's only a Badfinger disc in name only. The result is a mis-mash of different styles of songs. The Paul McCartney penned "Come and Get It" starts out the disc in fine form. Simple and irresistibly catchy, with Mike Gibbins drums driving the song home. It's no surpise the song went deep into the top ten. "Crimson Ship" is up next and its a slow-paced song that just hints at the creativity of the Pete Ham-Tom Evans partnership. "Dear Angie" sung by departed Ron Griffths is the kind of older British pop that seems dated compared with some of the other songs on this disc but has some interesting jazz noodling on guitar by Ham. "Fisherman" is another of those dated Ivey songs. Indeed its almost a novelty song. "Midnight Sun" puts the boys back on the right track with a stunning vocal by Ham. The rhythm guitar is mixed real high giving the song extra punch. "Beautiful and Blue" while poppy, showcases developing songwriting talent. "Rock of All Ages" is another impressive track by the band. This has Tom Evans giving it his all in his best rock 'n roll voice. It's one of those songs that doesn't stop moving. "Carry On Till Tomorrow" showcases the bands vocal abilites, which not fully mined on this disc would be explored later on. The strings on this song help immeasurably, however the electric guitar is a little bit off putting to such a gentle song. "I'm in Love" is still another Iveys old song, just remixed to be used on this disc. However, its better than some of their other attempts but still it sounds of its time. "Walk Out in the Rain" is a nice gentle Pete Ham vehicle. "Angelique" a total throw away. "Knocking Down Our Home" is a song about the effects of progess elegantly and effectively performed in the dance-hall style. Its one of the underrated songs on the disc. "Give It a Try" is more old dated Brit-Pop. "Maybe Tomorrow" was the Iveys first single--its simply overdone with Tom Evan's vocal histronics and orchestration and timpanis. The bonus tracks, "Storm in a Teamcup" and "Arthur" add nothing to the original disc. It's obvious here, on several songs at least, that early in 1970 Badfinger was a group to watch.

You can see a complete list of all Badfinger discography, or go back to the Badfinger tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.