Joey Molland’s BADFINGER / Mike Pinera (Iron Butterfly) / Live in Vilages 2023

03:15 - Mike Pinera (Iron Butterfly) 18:00 - Joey Molland’s BADFINGER Badfinger — британская рок-группа, образовавшаяся в 1969 году в Суонси, Уэльс, и исполнявшая пауэр-поп; многие критики относят её к числу пионеров этого жанра в Великобритании. В начале 1970-х годов Badfinger считались прямыми последователями The Beatles — как в стилистическом плане, так и в силу того обстоятельства, что группе покровительствовал Пол Маккартни, спасший её от раннего краха и спродюсировавший основные выпуски. Badfinger получили контракт с Apple Records (став, как отмечает Allmusic, единственной группой экстра-класса, оказавшейся на этом лейбле), выпустили серию запоминающихся и успешных синглов («Come and Get It», «No Matter What», «Day After Day», «Baby Blue»), но оказались жертвой как нечистоплотности представителей музыкального бизнеса, с которыми вынуждены были иметь дело, так и трагического стечения обстоятельств. В результате двое основных авторов группы покончили с собой (Пит Хэм — повесился у себя в гараже в 1975 году, Том Эванс — повесился в своём саду в 1983), а Badfinger вошли в историю как «самая неудачливая группа» всех времён. Возможно, известнейшую из песен Пита Хэма и Тома Эванса, «Without You», сделал знаменитой Гарри Нилссон, а позже исполняли Мэрайя Кэри, Энди Уильямс, Ширли Бэсси и многие другие. Джозеф Чарльз Молланд (родился 21 июня 1947 г.) — английский автор песен и рок гитарист, чьи записи карьера охватывает пять десятилетий. Molland’s recording career began in earnest in 1967 when he joined Gary Walker (formerly of the Walker Brothers) for the group ’Gary Walker & The Rain’. The Rain released several singles, an EP, and an album on the Polydor and Philips labels in the UK and Japan between 1967 and 1969. Titled #1, the album featured four Molland songs and was especially well received in Japan, but a lack of success in their UK homebase caused the band to disband by 1969. In November 1969, Molland auditioned for The Iveys and was hired. The Iveys were a conspicuous recording group at the time of Apple Records (a label launched by the Beatles). The Iveys changed their name to “Badfinger“, then dismissed original bassist Ron Griffiths, moving guitarist Tommy Evans to bass, and starting Molland as guitarist. The group continued an early string of successful singles and albums for the next couple of years. During Molland’s association with Apple, he made guest appearances on two George Harrison albums, All Things Must Pass and The Concert For Bangla Desh, and the John Lennon album, Imagine. Molland left Badfinger in late 1974 due to disagreements over management. In 1975, he joined with Jerry Shirley (formerly of Humble Pie) and formed a group called Natural Gas. The band released their self-titled album on Private Stock Records in 1976, and enjoyed a successful tour with Peter Frampton the following year. According to Molland, a general lack of organisation led to the band’s demise late in 1977. Molland and former Badfinger bandmate Tom Evans recorded two albums under the Badfinger name, Airwaves in 1979, and Say No More in 1981. He and Evans split after Say No More and the two performed in rival touring Badfinger bands until Evans’ suicide in 1983. Molland’s career since 1983 has been with various rock groups and duos, and performing tours under the Badfinger name or as “Joey Molland’s Badfinger“. Earlier versions of these groups sometimes included original Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins. Molland was instrumental in releasing a 1974 live recording of Badfinger on Rykodisc in 1991, called Day After Day: Live, which received mixed critical reactions due to overdubbing and a rearranged track order. Molland’s solo recordings have been well received. His first, After The Pearl, was released in 1983 on Earthtone Records. His second, The Pilgrim, was released in 1992 on Rykodisc. His third, This Way Up, was independently released in 2001. His 2013 album, Return To Memphis, was released on 13 December. His latest album Be True To Yourself on Omnivore Recordings was released 12 July 2021, featuring the single ″Rainy Day Man.“ Molland went back into the studio in 2015 with members of 10,000 Maniacs (Ladies First) to release a new version on the classic song, “Sweet Tuesday Morning“ from Badfinger’s 1972 album Straight Up. The collaboration, in partnership with HAIL! Fredonia Records of the State University of New York at Fredonia has aimed to “expand support to those in need of help and increase community empowerment“ with proceeds supporting global non-for-profit organization, WhyHunger. In late 2019 Molland toured with Todd Rundgren, Jason Scheff, Micky Dolenz and Christopher Cross in celebration of the Beatles’ self-titled double album, under the banner “It Was Fifty Years Ago Today – A Tribute to the Beatles’ White Album“. Molland performed the Badfinger songs “Baby Blue“ and “No Matter What“.