BADFINGER No Dice EX+ PLAY GRADED 1970 Apple 1ST PRESS SKAO-3367 The Beatles

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Vinyl:  EX+ Play Graded. Sounds Great!   Apple Photo Labels are Clean.   This is the Original 1970 Apple 1ST PRESSING!  SKAO 3367.  This is the Definitive version, Mastered by Sam Feldman at Bell Sound!  Arguably their finest hour and the Peak of Badfinger's influence on Power Pop!  allmusic gives it 4 1/2 stars!!

See Review Below!

First or early pressings nearly always have more immediacy, presence and dynamics. The sound staging is wider.  Subtle instrument nuances are better placed with more spacious textures. Balances are firmer in the bottom end with a far-tighter bass. Upper-mid ranges shine without harshness, and the overall depth is more immersive.  Inner details are  clearer.  

 On first and early pressings, the music tends to sound more ‘alive’ and vibrant.  The physics of sound energy is hard to clarify and write about from a listening perspective, but the best we can describe it is to say that you can 'hear' what the mixing and mastering engineers wanted you to hear when they first recorded the music.

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine  [-]

Badfinger's second album No Dice kicks off with "I Can't Take It," a rocker that signaled even if Badfinger still played pop and sang ballads, they considered themselves a rock band. What gave Badfinger character is they blended their desire to rock with their sensitive side instead of compartmentalizing. Even when they rock on No Dice, it's never earthy, like, say, the Stones. Badfinger's very sensibility and sound is modeled after the early British Invasion, where bands sang catchy, concise love songs. Yet there's a worldliness to their music absent from that of their forefathers, partially because Badfinger styled themselves as classicists, adapting the sound of their idols and striving to create a similar body of work. No Dice bears this out, boasting old-fashioned rockers, catchy pop tunes, and acoustic ballads. On the surface, there's nothing special about such a well-crafted, sharply produced, straight-ahead pop record, but the pleasure of a power pop album is in the craft. No Dice is not without flaws -- a byproduct of an all-writing, all-singing band is that some songs don't measure up -- but it does achieve the right balance of craft, fun, and emotion, due in no small part to Pete Ham's songwriting. Ham dominates the record, providing note-perfect openers and closers, along with the centerpiece singles "No Matter What" and "Without You," the latter a yearning, painful ballad co-written with Tom Evans. Collaborating with new guitarist Joey Molland, Evans wrote two other excellent songs ("I Don't Mind," "Better Days"), while Molland's own "Love Me Do" chugs along with nice momentum. Still, the heart of the album lies in Ham's work.. He proves that songcraft is what separates great power-pop from good, and it's what makes No Dice a superb pop record.

Less than 6 months after Badfinger's debut "Magic Christian Music" was released, the public is treated to the first real (with the new lineup) Badfinger album--"No Dice." The change is instantly noticeable. Gone is the silly dated Brit-pop that was the Iveys, replaced by the harder edged power pop that is Badfinger. "I Can't Take It" is the nonsensical raver that starts the LP off in fine fashion with Pete Ham shouting it out. The boys would use this song in their live act for years. "I Don't Mind" comes floating into the speakers next. Tom and newcomer Joey Molland do a good job vocally. It's a good song, handled with great feeling by the singers. "Love Me Do" is another song in the rocking mode. Also used in their stage show for the next few years, one can see why--lots of energy, good guitars. "Midnight Caller" is a nice mournful ballad with the drums mixed surprisingly high. The backing vocals shine while Pete Ham delivers a sterling lead vocal. Ham shows why many people referred to him as the best songwriter in the band as he shifts gears next and brings us the classic "No Matter What." All you have to do is hear the opening chord to know that it's Badfinger. Joey Molland plays a very fitting lead guitar. "Without You" is next and it's the one that got away. Badfingers version really sounds like a demo compared to the version that Harry Nilsson made and created into the monster that now stands as the definitive one. "Bloodwyn" is up next and it shows the boys can handle different types of music. Here the boys work the rural angle with Pete again doing a tremendous vocal job. His slightly nasal readings give his songs an edge to them. Also, his lead guitar in this song is nothing short of perfection. Joey's "Better Days" is up next. While more of a shuffle than an out and out rocker, its nice to have. Nice way the acoustic guitars keep time, almost buried in the chorus. "It Had to Be" is the song drummer Mike Gibbins wrote although Pete Ham sings it. This is probably the song with the least to commend it. His writing would grow alot stronger in the future. "Watford John" is a song written by all four but sung by Pete. Nice guitar work here although the song as a whole fails to impress. "Believe Me" marks the first solo written number by Tom Evans who wrote much of the material on their debut LP. Highly impassioned vocals, while kept in check for the first couple of verses, erupt, then lead us to dueling guitars leads, then back into the song again. Tremendously impressive. "We're For the Dark" finishes the Lp proper with Pete Ham and his mates on their trusty acoustic guitars. Of course, it helps that the lush arrangement cradles this beautiful tune. All in all, improved vocals(both harmony and backing, a harder edge (due to Joey Molland) and improved songwriting(mainly Pete Ham) gave Badfinger one the best albums of 1970.