The Three Badfinger Songs With A Beatles Connection

Badfinger were one of the first groups signed to the Beatles' new record label Apple in the late 1960s. In a previous incarnation, they were known as The Iveys and had enjoyed a moderate hit in Europe with the song Maybe Tomorrow. Despite this, the Apple hierarchy decided that the Iveys as a band name was not in keeping with the group's new power-pop direction and was considered trite for the times. The Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall stepped in and suggested the new name Badfinger (allegedly a reference to the Beatles song With A Little Help From My Friends, which had boasted a working title of Bad Finger Boogie).
Badfinger's association with The Beatles at that time gave them great kudos, but was also to dog them somewhat as comparisons with the fab four became repetitive and wearisome for the principal songwriters, Pete Ham and Tom Evans. They went on to enjoy some success in the US over the ensuing three or four years, but became hamstrung by the poor management contracts they signed along the way. The endless stream of negative ramifications following on from these signings caused huge tensions within the band and proved toxic to their career.
The first of the three Badfinger songs to have a direct Beatles connection gave them their biggest UK hit:
* Come And Get It - from the album Magic Christian Music, the song was written by Paul McCartney and the eventual recording was almost a mirror image of McCartney's demo version on which he played all the instruments. It made top ten throughout the world, landing them with a 'new Beatles' tag (for better or for worse).
* No Matter What - from the album No Dice, initially produced by the Beatles roadie Mal Evans, until final production was completed by one of the Beatles regular engineers since 1966, Geoff Emerick. There was no doubt they'd achieved a much heavier sound on here than anything they'd done as The Iveys. An outstanding lead vocal from Pete Ham, which drew favourable comparisons with Lennon and many other, heavy rock exponents of the time such as Free's Paul Rodgers and Deep Purple's Ian Gillan.
* Day After Day - from the 1971 album Straight Up, produced initially by George Harrison whose involvement was suddenly curtailed by his Concert For Bangladesh commitments. The final production credit went to Todd Rundgren. To my ear, it sounds as though the track's lucid slide guitar can only belong to George.

Exquisite Moments In Popular Music

What makes a great song? It can be a lot of different things to different people and no list will please everybody. Since there are already so many lists of the greatest songs, albums, etc., I propose something a bit different: those little moments, those exquisite details, that make a song worth listening to over and over again. Some songs on my list are not well-known but that's part of the fun - discovering new gems. Your mileage may vary, but these are my picks; check them out and see if you agree!
Ray Charles - HIT THE ROAD, JACK: Ray's responses to the Raylettes singing the chorus lines are some of the best screams I've ever heard.
Sam Cooke - CUPID: The "whoosh" to emphasize the firing of Cupid's arrow was a stroke of genius.
The Beatles - ALL MY LOVING: Paul's walking bass line, John's breakneck rhythm guitar and George's terse but just right lead break make this one of the most joyful performances ever recorded. By the way, trivia buffs, this was the first song the Beatles ever played on The Ed Sullivan Show - not one of their singles. Gutsy move!
Van Morrison - BROWN EYED GIRL: The oh-so-tasty acoustic lead guitar lines running through the song are why I keep coming back for another listen.
The Beach Boys - GOD ONLY KNOWS: The wraparound harmony round that ends the song is why nobody has ever topped Brian Wilson's ability to arrange vocal harmonies.
Bob Dylan - BLOWIN' IN THE WIND: Written nearly 50 years ago and nobody has topped the lyrics of this song that chronicles man's inhumanity to man.
Janis Ian - GETTING OVER YOU: The best breakup song I've ever heard from an under-rated songwriter.
Nils Lofgren - SOME MUST DREAM: Recorded live with no overdubs, the acoustic guitar solo that ends the song is deliciously played. Neil Young, Ringo Starr and Bruce Springsteen weren't wrong in wanting to play with this guy.
Cheryl Wheeler - MUSIC IN MY ROOM: This is the song for every aspiring musician who's ever played along to a record trying to learn how to play it.
Little Feat - A APOLITICAL BLUES: The live version has the nastiest guitar rave-up ending I've ever heard. The dueling slide guitars cut like razors.
Paul McCartney - HERE TODAY: Paul's grief over John's death resulted in his best song after the death of the Beatles. Incredibly moving.
Eric Clapton - RAMBLING ON MY MIND: The live version from E.C. WAS HERE, where he calls out key change after key change for his guitar solo while building it to a climax. Jeff Beck was impressed - 'nuff said.
Mamas & Papas: DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE: I know it's an old Shirelles tune but how can you argue with those 4-part harmonies belting out the chorus?
Mary Black - SUMMER SENT YOU: A waltz in the guise of a pop song. One of the musicians lets out a "whoop" as the song nears the end.
Neil Young - HARVEST MOON: What sounds like an extended high-hat sizzle is really a straw broom sweeping the floor and being miked. You gotta love low-tech special effects!
The Beatles - SOMETHING, DON'T LET ME DOWN: Paul's melodic, counterpoint bass playing on both of these songs elevates them to another level. The bass lines are almost symphonic.
Led Zeppelin - STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN: It's been played to death but the ascending acoustic guitar line in the verse is still a thing of beauty.
Christine Lavin - ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM / A SUMMER SONG: What A great idea to make a medley of these great songs and when she modulates into a different key in the last verse it blows the roof off.
Beach Boys - KISS ME BABY: The most overlooked gem in the Beach Boys catalog; it was buried on Side 2 of their TODAY! album. The equal to anything on PET SOUNDS or SMILE.
The Who - Keith Moon's drums: The energy on all those Who classics was generated by Moon's hyperactive, whirling dervish drumming style, yet it never sounded like it was overplayed. To this day nobody sounds like "The Moon."
That's twenty examples - a bit more, actually - and I could easily come up with twenty more for a completely different list. Listen to your favorite records and make your own list of those musical moments that keep you coming back for more. Listening for those little subtle elements will give you a whole new level of appreciation! Enjoy!

The Best Hip-Hop Album of April 2011 - Fat Boy Fresh Vol 1 by Big Pooh

About 8 years ago I attended a new hip-hop artist showcase at the club called The Knitting Factory in Manhattan. Even a bit tipsy and still buzzed from having met Guru from Gang Starr a group of cats from North Carolina hit the stage and blew my mind. They called their group Little Brother, which was kind of odd to me at the time but I was certain they were destined for big things. I just knew these country boys were going to blow up.
Little Brother went on to release six fantastic albums, the best two and hip-hop classics being Chitlin' Circuit Mixtape and The Minstrel Show, but the group never really caught on with the masses. Maybe it had to do with the two members, Phonte and Big Pooh, spreading themselves too thin with side projects and other groups or because we live in a time in which the masses are programmed to "like" certain artists. Whatever the reason in 2010 Phonte and Big Pooh decided to end the group and go their separate ways.
After the demise of the group Little Brother, Phonte easily transitioned into his other project, the group The Foreign Exchange. Many people didn't know what would happen to the other half of Little Brother, Rapper Big Pooh.
I feel that the end of Little Brother might have been the best thing that happened to Big Pooh's career as he can now shine on his on and not compromise on the harder edge he brings to hip-hop. An edge that had to take a backseat to an R&B sound in Little Brother because Phonte wanted to be an R&B singer more than an MC.
This month Phonte released what is actually his third solo album and has really found his sound and does it big for I choose as the best album of the month.
The Best Hip-Hop Album of April 2011 is Fat Boy Fresh Vol.1 by Big Pooh.
With a tremendous ear for beats and a clear love for old hip-hop Big Pooh does an amazing job producing a simple yet driving sound that stays true the genre without electronic gimmicks, out of tune hipster sung hooks and odes to tight jeans wearing punks looking for something cool to play while doing tricks on their skateboards. This is straight grown man hip-hop, like or hate it. I love it and can't get enough of it.
Big Pooh really made a daring move but only putting out a 42 minute 12 song album. Three or four bad songs could have really put an end to his career but the cat comes through like a champ and bangs from start to finish.
The song that I only give three stars out of five is titled Access and although its not a bad song it just seems to over produced and created to appeal to the popular southern sound as if he's looking for a hit instead of maintaining his integrity as an artist. Easy for me to say since it isn't my responsibility to sell his album but I have to be honest. Maybe it'll grow on me but it prolly won't. The rest of the songs are far and away the best hip-hop released in April.
Fat Boy Fresh Vol.1 by Big Pooh, get it today and take pleasure in people stopping to ask you "Who dat is?!?" when you bang it in your trunk.
Program your mp3 player with these tracks:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12

Review: Foo Fighters "Wasting Light"

If you don't like the Foo Fighters, you're really not going to like them by the end of the year. "Wasting Light" is one of their superior releases and should prove itself by staying on the radio and album charts for 2011. Their current tour dismantles every pre-conceived negative thought one might have had about their music. Always notorious for having stellar opening acts, they pulled no punches by adding Motorhead and Scotland's own Biffy Clyro to the bill.
"Wasting Light" features several power rock singles and a few ballads that are destined for major shelf life. Easily, the first four tracks on the record just create this relentless assault on all things rock. By the time you get through "White Limo" (which happens to feature Lemmy in the video as a chauffeur), you should be hooked. The intricacies of the different guitar parts, combined with Taylor Hawkins monster drum skills, left me shocked, which is what I think they were going for.
If you listen to the entire Foo Fighters discography, one could venture to say that they haven't put out a bad album yet. Sure, some albums have charted better than others, but every single record has produced several gems that have made their way to radio and into our collective consciences.
Foo Fighters bring a three-guitar assault, machine gun precision and moxy in spades. They haven't put out an original set of music since 2007's, "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" and took a brief hiatus and a chance to recharge. Dave Grohl formed a side project with John Paul Jones & Josh Homme (Them Crooked Vultures) and guested on several albums (Tenacious D, Slash), in the pursuit of other sounds, not of the Foo variety.
If the music were not enough, Dave Grohl enlisted the production help of Butch Vig (Nirvana, Garbage) and brought in old friends Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) on "I Should Have Known", Bob Mould (Husker Du, Sugar) on "Dear Rosemary" and Fee Waybill (The Tubes) on "Miss The Misery". This was as close to a Nirvana reunion as one could get. Dave Grohl converted his garage into a new state-of-the-art recording studio and the band went back to basics to recreate the initial grit and organic vibe from the original album.

10 Best Acoustic Guitar Brands That You Will Want To Buy

You can find a number of good acoustic guitar brands in the market. But among the high quality ones, you will find those that can be perfectly suited for you. Below is the list of the best brands out there.
Yamaha
Yamaha is a Corporation in Japan which became the world's major supplier of a full line of musical instrument. Using the finest hand-selected woods and traditional craftsmanship together with subtle new construction finish and wood technology, Yamaha produces acoustic guitars which are both good in quality and creating sound.
Epiphone
Epiphone is an acoustic guitar organization from Gibson Corporation. The sound quality of Epiphone guitars doesn't let Gibson's name down, the price range has been kept to the smallest. It has rosewood fingerboard and bridge that allows you feel more at ease in playing.
Squire
Squire guitars are made by the Fender Business which is famously recognized for their electric guitars from Scottsdale, Arizona. Their acoustic guitar is extremely durable and made to suit for school music program learners and newbies. With a good sound, this brand is known to make low-priced guitar models like SA100 and MA1.
Ibanez
Ibanez is considered to be one of the best-selling electric guitars and bass guitar brands. But, they also produce a quality acoustic guitar for acoustic guitar players. The V series is really popular for newbies, making it one of the best acoustic guitar brands for beginners. Their guitar uses mahogany wood on the neck, and back and sides of the guitar. It also includes a rosewood bridge and rosewood guitar fretboard.
Gibson
Gibson has the biggest standing inside the music industry. The fingerboard in their guitar features the highest grade rosewood which has been professionally graded and qualified by Gibson's group of qualified professionals. Their acoustic guitars provide an extremely smooth and comfortable feeling for playing.
Samick
Samick is a Korean guitar manufacturing company, that is known first for constructing their pianos using imported pieces. The corporation is capable of manufacturing more than one million guitars each year. They have an acoustic guitar with good quality which makes an exceptional sound. The company sell its guitars under its own brands such as Abilene, Silvertone, Greg Bennett, and Samick.
Oscar Schmidt
Oscar Schmidt is a brand of Washburn Guitars. It has smooth fret end, precision low action and resonant quality of sound. The best-selling acoustic guitar of this brand are the OG2 and also OG3. Oscar Schmidt also creates other traditional stringed musical instruments like ukuleles and autoharps.
Taylor
Though Taylor guitars are probably the most expensive, but they certainly produce an exceptional quality of sound. They choose the best wood to use so that the guitar will produce its very best sound quality. Taylor Baby Spruce BT1 or Taylor Baby Mahogany BT2 will work for those who want fine tunes along with a good price.
Takamine
Takamine is a Japanese guitar making company, which has Half a century of historical past committed to innovating and advancement of guitars. Takamine guitars are very pricey but the cost is really worth the sound.
Seagull
Seagull is a Canadian company that produces hand crafted acoustic guitars. It has solid top guitars which offer richer sound, broader dynamic range, and sound becomes better as time pass by. The neck of the guitar of the seagull guitar has either Silverleaf maple or Honduras mahogany. Silverleaf is less permeable than mahogany that provides an incredibly smooth sensation but has an identical denseness. Some really good guitars from the line up of Seagull are Original S6 Cedar, Entourage Rustic S6, and Entourage Rustic CW QI.

South Scope Cine Awards 2010 Launch Stills, South Scope Cine Awards 2010 Photo Gallery

Lux Sandal South Scope Cine Awards 2010, HICC, Hyderabad, Samantha Launches South Scope New Edition, Kushboo, Piaa Bajpai, South Scope Cine Awards 2010 Launch stills, South Scope Cine Awards 2010 Photo Gallery, South Scope Cine Awards 2010 Pics