Magic Christian Music
Encyclopedia
Magic Christian Music is an album by band Badfinger
, released in early 1970 on Apple Records
. 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.
"', which opened the film, and "Carry On Till Tomorrow", the title then. 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
song "Something in the Air
" to the movie prevented that. Instead, the soundtrack album was released on the little-known label 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. 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 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
(the first was also composed by McCartney), and the strings on "Carry On Till Tomorrow" were arranged and conducted by Beatles producer George Martin
. The other tracks on the album were produced by Tony Visconti
(six songs, including both Iveys singles and the last recording made, "Crimson Ship") and Mal Evans
(five songs).
Badfinger's line-up on these tracks includes bassist/vocalist Ron Griffiths. Griffiths departed The Iveys shortly after 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 #55 in the US charts.
Tracks marked '†' were originally released by The Iveys on the album Maybe Tomorrow.
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
, released in early 1970 on Apple Records
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 Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
. Three tracks from the LP are featured in the film The Magic Christian
The Magic Christian (film)
The Magic Christian is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with noteworthy appearances by John Cleese, Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same...
, which also gives the album its title. However, Magic Christian Music is not an official soundtrack album
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
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 ItCome and Get It (song)
"Come and Get It" is the name of a song composed by Paul McCartney for the 1969 film The Magic Christian, and made popular by the group Badfinger.-Beatles version:...
"', which opened the film, and "Carry On Till Tomorrow", the title then. 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
Thunderclap Newman were a British one-hit wonder band that Pete Townshend of The Who and Kit Lambert had formed circa December 1968 - January 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, Andy "Thunderclap" Newman and Jimmy McCulloch....
song "Something in the Air
Something in the Air
Something in the Air was an Australian television soap opera transmitted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 2000 and 2002. It was one of the first programs in Australia that was filmed in widescreen.-Cast:...
" to the movie prevented that. Instead, the soundtrack album was released on the little-known label 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
Maybe Tomorrow (The Iveys album)
Maybe Tomorrow was the only album released by Badfinger under the name The Iveys. It was issued in 1969 on the Apple label in Japan, West Germany and Italy. Although the album was scheduled to be released worldwide, the release in the US and UK at that time was halted without explanation...
, which had been quickly pulled off the market in 1969. 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 tracks used in the film, "Come And Get It
Come and Get It (song)
"Come and Get It" is the name of a song composed by Paul McCartney for the 1969 film The Magic Christian, and made popular by the group Badfinger.-Beatles version:...
", "Rock Of All Ages" and "Carry On Till Tomorrow", bear the strongest "Beatle connection." They were produced by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
(the first was also composed by McCartney), and the strings on "Carry On Till Tomorrow" were arranged and conducted by Beatles producer George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
. The other tracks on the album were produced by Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
(six songs, including both Iveys singles and the last recording made, "Crimson Ship") and Mal Evans
Mal Evans
Malcolm Frederick 'Mal' Evans was best known as the road manager, assistant, and a friend of The Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr....
(five songs).
Badfinger's line-up on these tracks includes bassist/vocalist Ron Griffiths. Griffiths departed The Iveys shortly after 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 #55 in 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.
- Produced by Paul McCartney, except:
- +Produced and arranged by Tony Visconti
- ++Produced by Mal Evans
Side one
- "Come and Get ItCome and Get It (song)"Come and Get It" is the name of a song composed by Paul McCartney for the 1969 film The Magic Christian, and made popular by the group Badfinger.-Beatles version:...
" (Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
) – 2:21 - "Crimson Ship"+ (Pete Ham, Tom Evans) – 3:42
- "Dear AngieDear Angie"Dear Angie" was the name of a song composed and sung by bassist Ron Griffiths of The Iveys for the album Maybe Tomorrow. It was released as the group's second single in some European markets, and it was also included on the Badfinger album Magic Christian Music.-History:Although The Iveys' first...
"+† (Ron Griffiths) – 2:39 - "Fisherman"++† (Evans) – 2:24
- "Midnight Sun"++ (Ham) – 2:46
- "Beautiful and Blue"++† (Evans) – 2:40
- "Rock of All Ages" (Ham, Evans, Mike Gibbins) – 3:16
Side two
- "Carry On Till Tomorrow" (Ham/Evans) – 4:47
- "I'm in Love"+† (Ham) – 2:26
- "Walk Out in the Rain"++ (Ham) – 3:27
- "Angelique"+† (Evans) – 2:28
- "Knocking Down Our Home"++† (Ham) – 3:40
- "Give It a Try"+ (Ham/Evans/Gibbins/Griffiths) – 2:31
- "Maybe TomorrowMaybe Tomorrow (The Iveys song)"Maybe Tomorrow" was the name of a song composed and sung by guitarist Tom Evans of The Iveys, which was released as the group's first worldwide single on Apple Records...
"+† (Evans) – 2:51
1991 CD bonus tracks
- "Storm in a Teacup"++ (Evans) - 2:31
- "Arthur"++ (The Iveys) - 3:20
CD bonus tracks (2010 remaster; replaces previous bonus tracks)
- "And Her Daddy's a Millionaire" [Alternate Version]+ (Ham/Evans) - 2:24
- "Mrs. Jones" [Remix]++ (Ham) - 2:19
- "Sali Bloo" [Mono Mix]+† (Ham) - 2:45
- "See-Saw Granpa" [Mono Mix]++† (Ham) - 3:32
- "I've Been Waiting" [Unedited Remix]+† (Ham) - 5:55
Digital bonus tracks (2010 remaster)
- "Dear Angie" [Mono Mix]
- "Think About the Good Times" [Mono Mix]
- "No Escaping Your Love" [Mono mix]
- "Arthur" [Stereo Mix]
- "Storm in a Teacup" [Mono Mix]
- "Yesterday Ain't Coming Back" [Mono Mix]
Personnel
- Pete Ham: guitar, keyboards, vocals
- Tom EvansTom Evans (musician)Thomas Evans Jr was a musician who was most notable for his work with the band Badfinger.- Badfinger :In 1969, The Iveys changed their name to Badfinger and Paul McCartney of The Beatles gave the group a boost by offering them his song "Come and Get It" which he produced for the band...
: guitar, vocals, bass on "Rock of All Ages", "Crimson Ship" and "Midnight Sun" - Ron Griffiths: bass (except as noted), vocals
- Mike Gibbins: drums, vocals
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
: piano on "Rock of All Ages", percussion on "Come and Get It"