Joey Molland / Joe Molland
Band members Related acts
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- Joey Molland - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
supporting musicians (1983) - Neil Andrews - keyboards
supporting musicians (1994) - Randy Anderson -- slide guitar - Scott Bartel -- keyboards, strings - Bill Collins -- organ - Mark Lichey -- lead guitar - Kathie Molland -- backing vocals - John Richardson -- drums, percussion - Ritchie Routledge -- backing vocals
supporting musicians (2001) - Randy Anderson -- lead guitar, slide guitar - Andy Dee -- lap steel guitar -
Tom Lecher -- bass - Bob Millea -- drums -
Doug Molland -- acoustic guitar
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- The Assassins (Joey Molland) - Badfinger (Joey Molland) - The Dodgers (Joey Molland) - The Fruit Eating Bears (Joey Molland) - The Iveys (Joey Molland) - The Masterminds (Joey Molland) - Natural Gas (Joey Molland)
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Genre: pop Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: After the Pearl Company: Earthtone Catalog: ET-01002 Year: 1983 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: includes original custom inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 11782 Price: $40.00
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Singer/songwriter Joey Molland's best known as one of early members of the musical tragedy known as Badfinger (and to a lesser degree his subsequent work with the bands The Dodgers and Natural Gas).
I'm no Badfinger
scholar, but from what little I know about the Badfingerr saga, Molland's an
extremely polarizing figure with some fans blaming him for all that went
wrong with the band (kind of a Yoko Ono reputation), while others peg him as
the nice guy who was simply misunderstood. I can't tell you
which is true ... maybe like most things in life, a little bit of both
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1.) Here Comes Heartache (Joey Molland) -3:38 Complete
with what sounded like steel drums (probably a synthesizer), 'Here Comes
Heartache' opened the album with a surprisingly enjoyable
rocker. Built on the criminally catchy title refrain and some
nice AOR guitar moves, you're hard pressed to figure out why this one wasn't
a radio favorite. Earth Tone actually tapped it as a
single. rating:
**** stars Kicked
along by pretty strumming guitars, 'Too Late To Cry' has a melody that would
have made Pete Ham proud. Seemingly a reflection to lost opportunities and
lost band mates, the only downside was a slightly flat Molland
vocal. rating:
*** stars Decent
"pocket rocker" that had some '80s commercial potential, but
wasn't particularly original, or memorable. Nice vocal, though the sax
solo wasn't necessary.
rating: *** stars The
lyrics were a bit pedestrian, but 'In My Heart' was one of the prettier
things Molland's written. Nice multi-tracked vocals gave it a bit of a
Badfinger vibe. rating:
*** stars Best
thing I can say about this synthesizer drenched mid-tempo number was that it
was short and forgettable.
rating: ** stars (side 2) 1.) Life Song (Joey Molland) - 4:00 Pure
speculation on my part, but I'm guessing the bouncy, keyboard-powered rocker
was a response of Tom Evans and Pete Ham's suicides. (I've heard a couple of
interviews with the man where he talks about the need to grasp every minute
of life.) The heavy synthesizer washes gave the tune a distinctive
'80s AOR feel which hasn't aged all that well. rating:
*** stars Another
surprisingly thought provoking bittersweet reminiscence, 'What Happened' had
one of the album's prettiest melodies; some patented Badfinger-styled slide
guitar and was probably the album's best ballad. rating:
**** stars Molland
takes a stab at Foghat-styled boogie rock with credible results ...
'Mean Jemima' actually raced its roots back to some 1971 Badfinger
sessions. Originally intended for the band's "No Dice"
follow-on, the song got shelved when the follow-up project collapsed, though
a version appearing on a reissued version of "No Dice". One
of the nicer performances on the album, but the Badfinger version is even
better rating:
*** stars The guitar rocker 'Dream of Thunder' closed the set out with the standout performance. rating: **** stars
As mentioned, Earthtone tapped the album for an obscure single:
- 1983's 'Here Comes Heartache' b/w 'What Happened' (Earth Tone catalog number ET 7002)
Needless to say, a
small label like Earthtone had minimal marketing resources and even though
the album picked up some favorable reviews, it sold little. Not sure
it has ever seen a CD re-issue.
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Genre: pop Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: The Pilgrim Company: Ryko Catalog: RCD 10212 Year: 1992 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): NM/NM Comments: CD format Available: 1 Catalog ID: Price: $20.00
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In 1989 Ryko released a Badfinger live set - "Live Day After Day". The resulting publicity (good and bad) was apparently enough to get Joey Molland a solo deal with the label. Released in 1992, the self-produced "The Pilgrim" was a significant improvement over his 1983 "After the Pearl" debut. Featuring twelve Molland originals, to be honest, with the possible exception of 'No One Likes the Rain' and the slide guitar on 'In My Dream', little on the set was going to scratch your Badfinger itch. Instead the collection offered up a mixture of competent ballads, mid-tempo numbers, with an occasional harder rock number thrown in for good measure. Interestingly, much of the album reflected a true one man show with Molland handling vocals and virtually all of the instrumentation with the exception of drums (credits to John Richardson). Normally such a one man show would be marked by a raw, under-produced sound. That certainly wasn't the case here. In fact, if you didn't pay attention to the performance credits, you'd never have figured most of these tracks were just Molland and Richardson.
"The Pilgrim" track listing 1.) You Make Me Sick (Joey Molland) - 4:10 Judging by the biting lyrics, something, or someone certainly seems to have pissed Molland off. A blazing rocker with the kind of snarling lyrics I find highly entertaining (would love to know what inspired the song), this was a great way to start the album. rating: **** stars 2.) All Caught Up (Joey Molland) - 5:12 Perhaps due to the fact it followed such a great rocker, the ballad "All Caught Up' came off as a mild disappointment. Pretty enough, but kind of bland and anonymous. rating: *** stars 3.) The Party's Over (Joey Molland) - 4:10 The rocking 'The Party's Over' was a true one man show with Molland playing everything except for the drums (John Richardson). Musically this one exhibited a nice blend of late era new wave (think Flash In the Pan), Dire Straits, and AOR moves. That probably didn't sound like a great combination, but Molland turned it into something quite enjoyable. rating: **** stars 4.) No One Likes the Rain (Joey Molland) - 4:09 With one of those '60s flavored melodies that simply reeked nostalgia, 'No One Likes the Rain' was a track that I found irresistible. Probably something to do with my beat ears, but the song's always reminded me a bit of The Ronnettes 'Be My Baby'. Wonderful multi-tracked harmony vocals coupled with plenty of strumming guitars made this one another album highlight. rating: **** stars 5.) Vampire Wedding (Joey Molland) - 4:05 Kind of a goofy, pub rocker, 'Vampire Wedding' sounded like something Dave Edmunds might have recorded. Very English and fun through and through. Would have made a nice mid-'90s single. rating: **** stars 6.) The Magic of Love (Joey Molland) - 6:19 A breezy ballad, 'The Magic of Love' demonstrated Molland could churn out a highly commercial number with a pretty melody. With a beautiful lead guitar solo, the song also demonstrated Molland's skill on lead guitar. The only problem with this one is that it was way too long and after you hit the four minute mark it simply began to drag and drag and drag. rating: *** stars 7.) Hard Times (Joey Molland) - 3:26 Initially 'Hard Times' struck me as a throwaway rocker. Bland and forgettable ... and then one day I discovered it was actually a killer rock tune with a great bass pattern, nice lead guitar, and some of Molland's best singing. rating: **** stars 8.) Long, Long Way Back Home (Joey Molland) - 4:59 With an insidiously catchy jittery new wave-ish hook (the little keyboard flourish was classic), 'Long, Long Way Back Home' was easily one of my favorites performances. Should have been a hit for Molland. rating: **** stars 9.) In My Dream (Joey Molland) - 4:12 Another ballad, 'In My Dream' sounded like an unfinished demo. The song certainly had the bones of a good song with some dreamy vocals and nice Badfinger-ish slide guitar, but the track just never shifted into gear. rating: ** stars 10.) Your Eyes (Joey Molland) - 4:20 'Your Eyes' offered up another slice of Dave Edmunds-styled slice of rockabilly. Didn't do a great deal for me. rating: *** stars 11.) This 'n That (Joey Molland) - 3:32 Admittedly it didn't sound exactly like a Badfinger song, but the bouncy melody, sweet harmonies, and carefree, summer-ish aura came close to capturing the formers wonderful spirit. rating: **** stars 12.) All the Way (Joey Molland) - 5:57 With a slow, vaguely exotic melody that reminded me a bit of a cross between Rick Ocasek and the Cars and Tears For Fears' Roland Orzabel, 'All the Way' was the album's strangest song. It was also a true Molland solo effort (he even played the syn-drums). rating: **** stars
Ryko did little to promote the set (I didn't know if existed until a decade after it was released) and sales were pretty much non-existent. Shame since the album's actually quite enjoyable in a low-keyed, easy-going fashion. The good news is you can still find cheap copies so don't wait.
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Genre: pop Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: This Way Up Company: Independent Artists Records Catalog: CD 1013 Year: 2001 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): NM/NM Comments: CD format Available: 1 Catalog ID: Price: $20.00
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Released in 2001, "This
Way Up" was
Joe (no longer Joey) Molland's first release in three years. Self-produced and released
on his own Minnesota-based Independent Artists label, the collection
featured thirteen original songs and backing from some of the folks who'd
been in his touring band. Interestingly the first couple of times I
played the album I couldn't help but notice the changes to Molland's
voice. By my calculations he was in his mid-50s when this album
was recorded and time had clearly taken a toll on his vocal agility.
Mind you, Molland was still a talented singer, but with the album his voice came off
much deeper and rawer than on earlier releases. The change was most
noticeable on ballads such as 'This Must Be Love' and 'What Else (Nothing)'.
Otherwise you quickly acclimated to his "new" voice and thanks to the high caliber of
most of these tunes, it really wasn't a deal breaker. My opinion
(worth nothing), but musically I'd argue this wasn't quite as goof as
"The Pilgrim". Up-tempo numbers like 'Happy', 'A Way To Be',
and 'Three Minute Warning' were uniformly strong, but towards the second
half, the collection lost steam and points on ballads like
'This Must Be Love' and the country-tinged 'Tell Me'. It wasn't
the lost Badfinger classic some folks would have you believe, but at least
half of the tracks were worth multiple
spins.
"This Way Up" track listing 1.) Mirrors (Joe Molland) - 4:15 With
a wonderful melody, 'Mirrors' opened the album with one of the best things
Molland's ever written. The song was written in 1995 and previously
appeared on Molland's 1998 demos collection "Basil". The song also served to showcase the impact
age was having on his voice and trying to obscure the effects with lots of
instrumentation, backing vocalists and harmony singers only served to
underscore the changes. Regardless, it was a nice way to start
the album. rating:
**** stars. 'Happy'
was a tune that had been in Molland's live repertoire since at least the
mid-'90s. YouTube has a bunch of live performances of the tune
in different styles including acoustic singer/songwriter, and full out
rocker. As for the version he finally recorded, geez, how could
you not fall in love with a song that so blatantly made us of
"Revolver"-styled guitars. If you ever wanted to hear
a good Beatle-esque tune, then go no further than 'Happy'. By
the way, Molland's rugged voice sound wonderful on this blazing rock
version. rating:
***** stars In
spite of a slightly raw and flat lead vocal, 'A Way To Be' may have been the
album's most overtly commercial and radio-friendly tune. The song had
one of those melodies that you couldn't help but hum and the lead guitar
work was killer. rating:
**** stars Anchored
by Harry Pulver's pulsating organ fills, the
mid-tempo rocker 'The Bust' offered up another catchy melody, one of the
album's best arrangements, and some intriguing lyrics - pure speculation on
my part, but it appeared Molland was taking a stab at some of his
critics. rating:
**** stars The
album's first disappointment, 'This Must Be Love' was a pretty, but
pedestrian ballad. Nice guitar, but the rest of the song was simply
forgettable.
rating: ** stars Bland
and forgettable ballad that sounds like it was recorded in an echo
chamber. rating:
** stars 'Another Honeymoon' was a strange semi-lounge act number. It actually sounded like the late Harry Nilsson trying to pull off some sort of '40s vibe. Really didn't do much for me. rating: ** stars 8.) When I Was A Boy (Joe Molland) - 6:00 Nice,
pensive ballad with a dark, slightly lysergic melody and some cool echo
effects on the vocals. Not sure what the end-of-song 'Lights On
Broadway' chorus was all about. rating:
*** stars With
lots of jangle guitar, 'Angels Like Us' quickly won be over ... Sounding a
bit like a Dave Edmunds and Rockpile effort, it was also one of the songs
that benefited from Molland's roughed up voice. rating:
**** stars 'What Else (Nothing)'
was a dreamy,
drifty ballad that highlighted Molland's vocal limitations and didn't make a
great impression ... I'll give it an extra star for the nice
guitar solo that kicked in at the end of the tune. rating: ***
stars Country-tinged
ballad ... pass.
rating: ** stars 'The
Minutes Warning' came off as a first-rate slice of Chuck Berry-styled
rock. Not particularly original, but powered by some nice George
Thorogood-styled fuzz lead guitar, this was a great slice of no frills,
old-school rock. Shame Molland didn't ditch a couple of the
ballads in favor of more material like tune.. rating:
**** stars Another album highlight, 'Isn't That A Dream?' had previous appeared on his "Basil' collection. Molland described it as "A relatively new song about losing your problems. I recorded it at "Echo Boys" in Minneapolis with some friends. Randy Anderson played slide guitar on it." This offering framed the song as a wonderful folk-rock tune with a sweet lyric, lots of jangle guitar, and one of Molland's most impressive vocals. Think along the lines of a good Byrds tune. Nice way to end the album. rating: **** stars
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