Pete Ham
Variety Pack - Without
Tracks: 1. Baby Blue / 2. Catherine Cares / 3. Makes Me Feel Good / 4. Dear Father / 5. No Matter What / 6. Dawn / 7. You're Such A Good Woman / 8. Hampstead Heath / 9. Perfection / 10. Down Down Down / 11. Has Someone Really Got Into My Heart / 12. Pete's Walk / 13. Pete's Turn / 14. Richard / 15. It Doesn't Really Matter / 16. Piggy Jam / 17. Things Are Really Getting Tight / 18. Sille Veb / 19. Mosy / 20. May Blues / 21. No, Don't Let It Go / 22. Ringside / 23. Take Me Back
Comments:
Although the first two Pete Ham collections "7 Park Avenue" and "Golders Green", released on Rykodisc in 1997 and 1999, respectively, appear quite homogeneous and solid, this latest collection "Variety Pack" is probably overall the most solid. It could be labelled as a compilation, as the majority of the tracks have been released before; Primarily on the two aforementioned albums. In most cases, however, these are either remasterings or remixes and the tracks are generally among the best Pete Ham compositions. It goes without saying that there are limits to how much the sound can be improved, when the sources in most cases are home recordings that have not been intended for release. However, the sound is generally fine, and in several cases significantly improved. Some tracks have gotten new overdubs, while others have been given longer fade-outs. Six tracks have never been released before; including a very exciting demo of “Baby Blue,” showcasing how finished the song was before Pete presented it to the group; the arrangement is largely identical to Badfinger’s. Two more tracks have never been released on CD before.
Among the other "new" songs there is a mainly acoustic demo of the well-known Badfinger song "Perfection"; again pretty much finished arrangement. "Mosy" and "Things are Really Getting Tight" are melodic pop songs; a bit in a style that could fit a Manfred Mann hit-single in the 1960s. "Pete's Turn" and "Piggy Jam" are two instrumentals; the former very short, while "Piggy Jam" seems more finished with both bass, drums and lots of nice guitar from Pete. "May Blues" is a fairly simple blues without much text. Finally, the closing track "Take Me Back" is new. It's probably an early stage of a song that was never completed. It is a gospel inspired rock song written on the piano.
Two tracks come from a special Pete Ham single released in 2013. Both tracks are great and have been added extra instrumentation. "No, Don't Let it Go" is an upbeat power-pop song, despite the somewhat sad lyrics, and is very catchy. You could call it an alternative version of "No More", where the perspective is moved from first to third person. “You’re Such a Good Woman” is a melodic country ballad; it runs a little faster than the single version and is therefore a little shorter. Neither of the two has been previously released on CD.
From "7 Park Avenue" come the songs "Catherine Cares", "Dear Father", "No Matter What", "It Doesn't Really Matter", "Sille Veb" and "Ringside". "Catherine Cares" and "Sille Veb" have become 12-15 seconds longer via longer fade-outs. "Ringside" has a slightly raw sound, but otherwise all these numbers sound fine. “It Doesn’t Really Matter is, in my opinion, one of Pete Ham’s finest songs.
From "Golders Green" come "Makes Me Feel Good", "Dawn", "Pete's Walk" and "Richard". "Pete's Walk" is a significantly longer mix. It is fully instrumented and sounds almost like an early Procol Harum number. "Richard" is also a new mix without fade-out.
From the slightly obscure CD "Keyhole Street" released on Without You Music in 2013, come the songs "Hampstead Heath", "Down, Down, Down" and. "Has Someone Really Got Into Your Heart". The first two do not sound overtly different than on the original CD, while the latter has got new overdubs. It is a fully instrumented ambitious number, with exciting details and fine guitar playing.
Overall a must have for Pete Ham and Badfinger fans.
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