''Magic Christian Music'' is the second studio album by the British rock band

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are r ...

, released on 9 January 1970 on

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including ...

. It was the first release under the band's new name as Badfinger. The band had previously released the album '' Maybe Tomorrow'', in 1969, under the name The Iveys. Three tracks from the LP are featured in the film '' The Magic Christian'', which also gives the album its title. However, ''Magic Christian Music'' is not an official soundtrack album for the film.

History

The film soundtrack for ''The Magic Christian'' featured three new songs by Badfinger that had been commissioned for the film, including their US/UK top-10 hit " Come and Get It"', which opened the film, and "Carry on Till Tomorrow", the title theme. The soundtrack album, which also included incidental music by Ken Thorne, had originally been scheduled for release on Apple Records, but the addition of the

Thunderclap Newman Thunderclap Newman were an English rock band that Pete Townshend of the Who and Kit Lambert formed in 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, Jimmy McCulloch, and Andy "Thunderclap" Newman. Their single, " Something in ...

song " Something in the Air" to the movie prevented that. Instead, the soundtrack album was released on the little-known Commonwealth United Records label in the US and on Pye in the UK. As a result, it received little promotion in the US and remained mostly unknown to American record buyers. To capitalize on this gap, Apple Records released its own "pseudo-soundtrack". Apple combined the film's three Badfinger songs with four unreleased songs and seven older tracks (released by the group when they were still known as the Iveys) on the album '' Maybe Tomorrow'', which had been quickly pulled off the market in 1969 after having only been released in Germany, Japan and Italy. The previously released Iveys songs were specially re-mixed for this album, significantly improving their sound quality in the process. One of them, "Fisherman", was also edited for this release. The three Badfinger tracks used in the film -- "Come and Get It", "Rock of All Ages" and "Carry on Till Tomorrow"—bear the strongest "Beatle connection". They were produced by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

(the first was also composed by McCartney), and the strings on "Carry on Till Tomorrow" were arranged and conducted by Beatles producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

. The other tracks on the album were produced by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of many ...

(six songs, including both Iveys singles and the last recording made, "Crimson Ship") and

Mal Evans Malcolm Frederick Evans (27 May 1935 – 5 January 1976) was an English road manager and personal assistant employed by the Beatles from 1963 until their break-up in 1970. In the early 1960s, Evans was employed as a telephone engineer, and ...

(five songs). Badfinger's line-up on these tracks includes bassist/vocalist Ron Griffiths, but Evans doubled on bass on "Midnight Sun", "Crimson Ship" and "Rock of All Ages" after Griffiths fell ill during the sessions. Griffiths departed The Iveys at the end of the McCartney sessions in late 1969, prior to the name change from The Iveys to Badfinger, which led to his exclusion from the credits and pictures on the album (although Griffiths does appear on the picture sleeve for "Come and Get It"). Guitarist Joey Molland was eventually added as Griffiths' replacement, causing Tom Evans to move from guitar to bass, but Molland's addition came after the album art had been prepared, so only Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Mike Gibbins are pictured on the cover. The album peaked at number 55 on the US charts.

Track listing

The following track listing is from the original UK issue of the album, and is also replicated on CD reissues. The original American LP had a rearranged order and two tracks missing ("Angelique" and "Give It a Try"). *Tracks marked (*) were originally released by The Iveys on the album ''Maybe Tomorrow''. ;Digital bonus tracks (2010 remaster) #

"Dear Angie" ono Mix– 2:35 # "Think About the Good Times" ono Mix– 2:22 # "No Escaping Your Love" ono mix– 2:01 # "Arthur" emix– 3:15 # "Storm in a Teacup" ono Mix– 2:30 # "Yesterday Ain't Coming Back" ono Mix– 2:55

Personnel

Pete Ham Peter William Ham (27 April 1947 – 24 April 1975) was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist best known as a lead vocalist of and composer for the 1970s rock band Badfinger, whose hit songs include " No Matter What", " Day After Day" and " ...

– lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards * Tom Evans – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar on "Crimson Ship", "Midnight Sun", and "Rock of All Ages" *Ron Griffiths – bass guitar (except as noted), backing vocals, lead vocals on "Dear Angie" and "Give it A Try" *

Mike Gibbins Michael George Gibbins (12 March 1949 – 4 October 2005) was a Welsh musician, most notable for being the drummer of Badfinger. Early life Mike Gibbins was born on 12 March 1949 in Swansea, Wales. He began playing drums at age 14, and join ...

– drums, vocals ;Additional contributors *

– piano on "Rock of All Ages", percussion on "Come and Get It" *

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

– piano on "See-Saw Granpa" *Bill Collins – piano on "Knocking Down Our Home"

References

{{Authority control Badfinger albums 1970 debut albums Apple Records albums Albums produced by Paul McCartney Albums produced by Tony Visconti Capitol Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios Albums recorded at IBC Studios Albums conducted by George Martin Albums recorded at Olympic Sound Studios