BADFINGER 'STRAIGHT UP' FIRST UK PRESSING 1972 'PORKY' w/ APPLE INNER SLEEVE

$

51

BADFINGER 'STRAIGHT UP' ORIGINAL FIRST UK 1972 PRESSING 'PORKY/PECKO' MATRIX w/ RARE APPLE INNER SLEEVE
BADFINGER "STRAIGHT UP" LABEL: APPLE SAPCOR 19 PRESSING: ORIGINAL UK FIRST PRESSING w/ APPLE SLEEVE JACKET MADE BY: GARROD & LOFTHOUSE UK RELEASED: FEBRUARY 11, 1972 LACQUER: GEORGE PECKHAM ~ MATRIX w/ 'PECKO' &  'PORKY' PRODUCERS: GEORGE HARRISON & TODD RUNDGREN MATRIX (SIDE A): SAPCOR 19A - 1U PORKY  MATRIX (SIDE B): SAPCOR 19B - 1U PECKO 1
CONDITION: VG++  BOTH  VINYL & JACKET AND INNER SLEEVE
I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection  and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 40 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week we are offering up this very nice original 1972 UK First Pressing of Badfinger's great album "Straight Up". Issued on the Beatles' Apple record label, it includes the hit singles "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue"
This is an original first UK 'Porky/Pecko' pressing of 'Straight Up' by the UK rock band Badfinger, released in December 1971 in the United States and in early 1972 in Europe and England.
I've had this record in my collection well over 40 years and it still has the original, and quite rare, early printed Apple inner sleeve. The 'Apple' inner sleeve is quite collectible, to Beatle collectors, just by itself. They are harder to find than the album is.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
VINYL: The vinyl is in very nice condition for being 50 years old.  A nice thick vinyl pressing, but there are some very fine light scratches and a tiny smudge on the first track, 'Take it All' (see pics). Otherwise, side 2 and the rest of Side 1 looks great.  
Clean and Bright. The Matrix has the classic 'Pecko/Porky' signature. I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. 
I'm sure you'll be happy with it. (A good cleaning would probably help). 
LABELS: This is pressed on the early UK Apple labels. The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and careful handling.
JACKET: The Jacket is in very nice condition for a 50 year old thin, UK style, laminated jacket. The mostly black cover is notorious for showing dirt, scuffs and ringwear, but this has been sleeved and stored properly for years, and is still fantastic. Clean and bright. A few light fingerprints, but should polish up nice. The corners have some very very minor 'bumping', but still very nice. The spine is fine.
There is some shelf wear to the thin jacket at the very bottom edge of the back cover, and also someone wrote the date, very small and barely noticeable, if the lettering on the back cover. (Again, see photos).  The front cover, with the classic picture of the band, looks great. The lamination is still nice nice, smooth and intact. The shiny lamination makes it hard to photograph without reflection, so i put several pictures of the cover in my photos.
This laminated UK jacket is made of thinner material than US pressings, making it more prone to wear. The cover is still quite nice but does have some minor corner and edge wear. You can see from my pictures it's still quite nice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a great record to add to any Beatles, Apple or classc Rock collection. Original UK pressings don't turn up for sale often in the States and this one is quite decent and a rare survivor. I'm sure you'll love it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Badfinger consisted of:
Pete Ham – vocals, lead & rhythm guitars, piano, organ, Tom Evans – lead/backing vocals, bass, twelve string guitar.  Joey Molland – lead/backing vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, Mike Gibbins – drums, percussion,
Additional musicians:
George Harrison – slide on "Day After Day", guitar "I'd Die Babe" Leon Russell – piano on "Day After Day", guitar on "Suitcase"
~~~ THE LONG HARD STORY OF BADFINGER'S 'STRAIGHT UP'
The music press was mixed on their reaction to 'Straight Up'. Some felt it sounded too much like the Beatles and others felt that Badfinger had abandoned it's Rock roots and made an album to please Apple, not themselves. 'Straight Up' was much maligned with Rolling Stone calling it "a barely decent album"
After its mixed reception on release, 'Straight Up' has grown on people, gained a great fan following, and has come to be recognized by many as Badfinger's best album, and a great album in general.
Upon release, the album did well, but the singles from it did better. The album's success was marred by a lack of promotion by Apple. The Beatles and the staff at Apple were all involved in other projects and too busy to pay much attention to Badfinger, or their other Apple artists, at the time.
'Straight Up' assured Badfinger a spot in pop history thanks to its "unforgettable" singles. The album's two best songs were "Baby Blue" and "Day After Day", both written by Pete Ham. Both are knockout songs.
“Day After Day” became Badfinger’s biggest hit after being released as the album’s lead single in November 1971. The bridge section of the song consists of an amazing slide-guitar duet played by George Harrison and Ham.
Pete Ham's 'Baby Blue' is textbook power-pop – irresistibly catchy fuzz riffs and great melodies – with Harrison-esque slide guitars. Written about a girl Ham met on their recent US tour.
~~~~~ As the very first band signed to The Beatles new label, Apple Records, Badfinger was off to a good start and appeared to have a bright future.
Paul McCartney wrote and produced their breakout single, 'Come And Get It', and over time, various members of The Beatles' inner circle - including John Lennon and George Harrison, worked with the group. If any band appeared in a position to carry on with the style of the Beatles music at the dawn of the ‘70s, it was Badfinger. They had already scored two Top 10 hits by 1971, before this album was recorded and added a few more.
Before recording 'Straight Up', Badfinger had worked closely with the former Beatles. All four members of Badfinger contributed to George Harrison’s landmark 'All Things Must Pass' album, guitarist Pete Ham and bassist Tom Evans sang backing vocals on Ringo Starr’s Harrison-produced single “It Don’t Come Easy,” while Evans and guitarist Joey Molland performed as “Joey and Tommy Badfinger” on Lennon’s 'Imagine' album.
With 'Straight Up', Badfinger delivered one of the first power pop records of the post-Beatles era, and perhaps one of the best of all time. It's a cornerstone record of the power pop style and should be in everyone's collection.
'Straight Up' is today considered Badfinger's masterpiece. Its fine songwriting, combined with sharp musical performances and exquisite studio crafting, made 'Straight Up' one of the best albums of the early 70s. This UK pressing sounds great!
This album has one of the best 'flows' of any other album out there. It just works seamlessly. All the songs are great and there's no filler.
The quality of the songwriting, from start to finish, is top-notch, and the musicianship and playing is excellent. A reminder that Badfinger was a great band. This album is rightly considered to be the group’s finest effort.
What makes this album even more amazing is how cohesive, clean and organized it sounds despite it's odd production history and the mutual 'interference' of the 3 different, diverse, and strong-willed, producers involved.
Producers: Geoff Emerick: Early studio work Todd Rundgren – producer (tracks 1–4, 8, 10–12) George Harrison – producer (tracks 5–7, 9)
The long, complicated story of the production of this album is a thing of rock legend.
Initial sessions for the new album began in January 1971 at London's Abbey Road Studios, under the direction of Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, who had already produced the bulk of their previous album, 'No Dice'.
The band was under pressure to work quickly in the studio, since they had upcoming tour dates they had to keep. Amazingly, they were able to finish 11 or 12 tracks by March '71.
Putting sessions on hold, they headed out on the road. Upon their return home that May, they found that Apple Records was not happy with the new songs. Apple felt that the recordings were lacking and needed a more polished sound. Apple rejected them. The Pete Ham penned song, "Name of the Game" was scheduled for release as a single, but Apple cancelled that single as well.
They would have to start over again.
Of note, some of these Emerick produced sessions were released on later CDs and some fans, as well as surviving members of the band, feel that they were closer to what the band intended than what was eventually released. That was the start of the band strongly disagreeing with their producers.
George Harrison was a big fan and was very familiar with the band. He had used them on his first post-Beatles solo album, 'All Things Must Pass.'
George then agreed to produce them, but he insisted they start from scratch and let George produce them in  'his' way. Everyone agreed and sessions started again. For much of the next phase on the album, Harrison worked closely with the band to help them craft and polish their sound.
George Harrison wanted to help the band create a more mature work, in the style of the Beatles' 1969 album 'Abbey Road', and sessions resumed by late May 1971.
George's first move was to submit a remixed version of Ham's "Name of the Game" for a single release, but that was also met with disapproval by Apple.
They kept five songs from the aborted album, but totally re-record them, plus they had several 'new' songs written for the second go-round. 
George was a very "hands on" producer often sitting in and playing along with the band. Part of the reason was that George thought they were great and fun to jam with; another reason was that George was a perfectionist and wanted the songs to sound 'his' way. George infamously changed some lyrics, added guitar parts and rewrote some of the songs. This caused some friction, but I don't think anyone can argue with the results that ended up on this album.
George then got called away to Los Angeles in June, to help produce his friend Ravi Shankar's latest album. While in L.A., George agreed to set up the "Bangla Desh" Benefit shows and that suddenly took up all his time and focus.
In July, George informed both Badfinger and Apple that he had more important and urgent things to do, and that the Badfinger album would have to wait.
George included Badfinger as the backing band for the Bangla Desh shows, but didn't have the spare time to continue to produce their album.
All told, Badfinger completed five songs with Harrison—“I’d Die Babe,” “Sweet Tuesday Morning,” “Suitcase,” “Name of the Game” and “Day After Day.” Harrison was particularly fond of "Day After Day", on which he performed a slide guitar duet with Ham.
That left a half-finished session in the can and Badfinger, once again, scrambling for a producer. George recommended Todd Rundgren to take over the sessions and Apple hired Todd to do so.
With Harrison’s blessing, Todd Rundgren was brought in around September to complete the sessions and pick up the scattered pieces. 
With Rundgren now at the board, a near total overhaul occurred. Rundrgren was not a fan of George's 'Wall of Sound" Spector-esque style and went back to some of the takes on the original Emerick recording sessions.
Rundgren was able to take the best from both the Harrison sessions and the Emerick sessions, add his own pop touch and studio tweaks, and complete the album in just two weeks.
Rundgren coaxed the very best out of the band including the new song "Baby Blue", written by Ham.
There were some other 'new' songs completed during this period such as guitarist Joey Molland’s rocker “Sometimes” and Tom Evans’ great closing track “It’s Over.” 
Working to a small degree with existing tracks, but for the most part starting fresh, the three principal Badfinger songwriters each turned in the best work of their careers and their musicianship gelled perfectly under Rundgren's watch as fuzzy guitar riffs blended perfectly with beautiful soaring vocals.
Rundgren oversaw the recording and final mixing for most of the album as we know it today. His warm, detailed production makes each songwriter and bandmember sound as if they were all on the same page. 
The album flowed seamlessly. Rundgren and the band were able to craft an excellent, timeless, power pop record. A perfect masterpiece.
In retrospect, Rundgren's lush production worked out well. There’s no doubt he was a key factor in the record’s amazing success. His polished production and pop sensibilities combined with the excellent songwriting and instrumentation to create a power pop classic.
When all was finally done, Badfinger had their best album, and it remains so to this day. They were at the top of their game.
The album has been remastered, remixed, and re-issued several times since the original 1971 version, but nothing beats this great sounding, UK original pressing of the original.
What should have been a glorious and lengthy career for Badfinger ultimately soon came to an end. The group split up just three short years after 'Straight Up' was released. 
Change in musical tastes, poor follow up sales and bad business dealings splintered Badfinger. In 1975, Pete Ham hanged himself in frustration. Ironically, eight years later, Tom Evans would choose the same desperate method for his final exit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Add this classic, Badfinger rarity to your Apple, Beatles or General Record collection today. It would make a great addition to any vinyl record collection. A classic, timeless, album.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN