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What drum tracks did Pete
play on 7 Park Avenue?
Catherine Cares. Originally there were other songs that he played on,
which I later dropped from 7 Park Avenue. Some are on Golders Green.
A few of the songs on 7 Park (No Matter What and
others)
have a very professional sound, are there many songs of that
quality?
Not really, most of the demos are not quite as clean and well-recorded
as that demo of NMW, but some are.
Are there any of the songs on 7 Park
Avenue that Badfinger ever rehearsed or recorded? (apart from No Matter
What and Matted Spam)?
The Iveys made a demo of "Just Look Inside The Cover." There
exists on a bootleg a bass, drum, guitar demo of portions of
"Coppertone Blues." But I don't know whose playing what on
it.
How did you select the songs for 7
Park?
I tried to make it cohesive as a long-playing album experience, versus a
random grab bag of tunes with a disconnected feel. I feel I did a decent
job, the order is a little off in spots, for my taste. I did not want the
listener tired or burnt out by the end. I wanted the emotions of Pete to
come through and flow as best they could. With more time and more budget I
feel I could have done better, but I didn't let the CD go until I felt I
was reasonably proud of it. I know how easy it is to screw up these types
of recordings, and based on the reactions of the consumers and critics, I
have to feel I accomplished that. I've done a remastering, with some
tempos improved, and I hope that will come out very soon for future
pressings of 7 Park Avenue.
"Sille Veb" ,a higlight in my
opinion, when and where was it recorded?
Recorded, I believe, in Wales, just before Christmas 1970.
Obviously the sound quality of Pete's
recording of "Sille Veb" is not in top
form, are there other or better versions of the song?
No, (other than some earlier, very rough versions on the same tape) I
think the microphone's he had available were not as good as what he
normally used. And he may have used a different machine. Everything is a
bit distorted.
When was the recording of Coppertone Blues made?
I believe late 1972, or early 1973.
It Doesn't Really Matter was recorded
during the WYWH days, wasn't it?
Only scratch aspects of it, the three full version demos existing were
done in early 1975. Pete actually did an ARP string pad on a faster
version of it (not the released one), which was interesting, but not fully
realized.
“The Heart That Can’t Be
Understood”, in my mind the best of the bonus tracks on the Japanese
“7 Park Avenue”. Are there better versions of that song, and can
you imagine it ending up on another CD one day?
There are two other very similar versions sung on the same cassette.
They are a little shorter. Possibly they will come out someday.
On a bootleg there is a Pete demo
called “It Takes So Long”, what do you know about that
song?
Very little, other than it is a very early demo, and it
sounds like it had been partially erased. A shame, because it's very
good.
What is it that makes Peters songs something special compared to other
good songwriter's work?
Pete's consistency. A sense of directness and humanness that is so
uncontrived that one connects emotionally. Very strong melodically. The
intense sincerity of his words comes through. Pete's hit songs have not
dated. They will be played fifty years from now.
Why was it important to you to work on the
Pete Ham CD's?
Pete Ham was a tremendous man and his premature death was a great loss to
the world as an artist, friend, and contributor to mankind. He is an
inspiration to many, and the goodness and positiveness he gave out in his
life continues to touch many people through his music and the held
memories of his loved-ones. I am most proud of helping lay forward his
beauty of talent and a good-hearted giving soul. I was tremendously
blessed to get a chance to get involved with his music. And I hope others
continue his legacy well after I'm gone.
During the Ass recordings Pete did not get
much material recorded, wasn't he writing, or was there a lack of
quality?
The book lays out that situation pretty well, but remember, this was a
democratic band, and Pete's material simply wasn't prioritized. Many
people around him at the time have said he was openly struggling with his
confidence in his writing at that time.
Did the other Badfinger members contribute
a lot to Pete songs, or did he have the basic drawings made before
presenting them to the group?
Pete had the basic drawings. Tommy helped
flesh out some of Pete's songs melodically and a few words here and there.
But he would then get co-credit. The group members often contributed in
arranging their own parts. I think the band jammed a good number songs
into place, and many others were crafted in the studio at the time through
experimentation, trial and error, producer suggestions.
How could Pete, with many great songs in store
,get the
idea to present
a songs like “Piano Red” and Matted Spam,to the
band?
If your referring to the fact they are so different in style to the
usual Badfinger-fare; those are just other directions of music he loved,
and the band members gave him the freedom to explore recording those
tunes. It's really a matter of taste. He didn't want to just do melodic
power-pop and rock'n'roll all the time.
How did Pete feel about performing live,
obviously
he wasn't the same
type of performer as Joey and Tom?
Pete loved playing live, but eventually got burnt out by doing so much
of it, as he lost a lot of potential time to write songs -- this he told
his brother, Anne, Beverley, and other close friends. Joey and Tom
didn't sing as consistently well live as Pete, but they were more
animated and were good at joking with the audience at times. Pete was
very still, but somehow he had a charisma that entranced people
watching. I never heard anything but total praise
regarding his performance from those lucky
enough to see the original band.
On 7 Park Avenue the production style was
very smooth and Pete’s
performances really came in focus. Will Golders Green have same sort of
production, or will there be more overdubs on some
songs?
Golders Green was approached in much the
same manner as 7 Park Avenue. Only, I
ran out of time to deal with some tracks. Some were also held back for
future
releases. Some were returned to a barebones state if the overdubs seemed
to be
detracting more than enhancing.
On 7 Park Avenue there is two songs that Badfinger recorded and
released.The two songs were "No Matter What" and "Matted
Spam". Why those two, and will there be songs on Golders Green that
Badfinger recorded?
Those two songs were very strong in performance with decent sound. Golders
Green will have three more Badfinger songs in Pete's early demo form.
Golders Green will not be released until
June, any date, and where in the
proces of making the CD are you currently?
The release date is now mid-July, 1999. The CD is done.
Will there be more detailed liner notes on
Golders Green?
The liner notes are simply a bit longer this time. A qualified writer was
hired
by me to do them.
How do you plan for the cover to
look?
Pete is the focus, with a little atmosphere of Golders Green.
How do Ryko look at the release, have they
been willing to spend more
money on Golders Green than on 7 Park Avenue?
I think they will definitely be making a greater promotion on this CD
and
re-pushing 7 Park Avenue.
How does Pete’s family look at the
release?
Pete's family members all are very proud to have Pete's music furthered in
the
public eye.
©BadfingerNews 1999 ~ No reprinting without permission
- Thanks to Dan Matovina.
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