Badfinger-Badfinger (1974)

With the Welsh band Badfinger's fifth album, the saying "if something can go wrong, it will" proved true. In a terrible decision by the group's new record label, Warner Bros., the album was released almost simultaneously with their fourth, which had been released on Apple Music, the label previously owned by The Beatles. As a result, both albums competed in record stores that year. Despite this new commercial setback, "Badfinger", as this fifth work is titled, contained enough material to have achieved success, material that, as with their previous releases, never fully materialized commercially. As was their custom, Pete Ham became the main songwriter on this new release; the album's best moments are his, even though his creativity and inspiration weren't quite what they used to be. Tracks like the sublime "I Miss You" or the catchy "Shine On" are examples of Badfinger's impeccable power/pop rock prowess, while the elaborate "Give It Up", the Beatles-esque "Song For A Lost Friend", the rocking "Island" or the energetic "Andy Norris", showed that despite countless legal and financial problems, Badfinger were still at the pinnacle of British power rock.