No Dice

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No Dice
BadfingerNoDice.jpg
Studio album by Badfinger
Released 9 November 1970 (US)
27 November 1970 (UK)
Recorded 18 April–26 August 1970 at Abbey Road Studios and Trident Studios, London
Genre Power pop[1]
Length 57:31[1]
Label Apple
Producer Geoff Emerick
Mal Evans
Badfinger chronology
Magic Christian Music
(1970)Magic Christian Music1970		 No Dice
(1970)		 Straight Up
(1971)Straight Up1971
Singles from No Dice
  1. "No Matter What"
    Released: 6 November 1970
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[2]
Robert Christgau B[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music 4/5 stars[4]
The Great Rock Discography 7/10[5]
Mojo 4/5 stars[6]
MusicHound 5/5[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 3/5 stars[5]
Uncut 3/5 stars[8]

No Dice is an album by British rock band Badfinger, issued by Apple Records and released on 9 November 1970. Their second album under the Badfinger name and third album overall, No Dice significantly expanded the British group's popularity, especially abroad. The album included both the hit single "No Matter What" and the song "Without You", which would become one of the most successful compositions of the rock era.

History

Although this was the band's second album released under the Badfinger name, the previous album, Magic Christian Music, was originally recorded as The Iveys but released as Badfinger. It was the band's first album recorded after new guitarist Joey Molland joined the group, replacing bassist Ron Griffiths. Molland's addition caused Tom Evans to switch from rhythm guitar to bass. Badfinger would release five albums, generally their most successful recordings, with this line-up.

No Dice peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. Widely praised in music reviews at the time, Rolling Stone magazine opined that it represented what the Beatles would have sounded like had they retained their initial formula.[9]

The single from this LP, "No Matter What", peaked in the United States at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970. The song is often regarded as an early offering in the power pop genre. Other stand-out tracks are "Better Days", "I Don't Mind" and the closer, "We're for the Dark". The album also contains the original version of "Without You". Although Badfinger did not release the song as a single in Europe or North America, it was taken to number 1 on the Billboard charts in 1972 by Harry Nilsson, and became a hit for Mariah Carey in 1994. "Without You" has been the top money-earner for Badfinger in publishing royalties, having been covered by over 180 artists. The song was also picked to provide the title for Dan Matovina's 1997 biography, Without You: The Tragic Story Of Badfinger.

"No Dice" is a slang term meaning "not possible". It was the first of three albums titled by bassist Tom Evans. The term was originally used in dice games: when a throw is out of play or not lying flat, the throw is not valid and is ruled as "no dice".

In October 1991, No Dice was digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studio by Ron Furmanek. The remastered album was released in 1992 by Capitol Records and Apple, with five previously unreleased bonus tracks. Of the bonus tracks, "Friends Are Hard to Find" was an outtake from the same Mal Evans-produced session that saw the recording of "No Matter What" and "Believe Me". "Get Down" was originally attempted with Evans but the version here was recorded with Geoff Emerick. The three remaining tracks, "Mean, Mean Jemima", "Loving You" and "I'll Be the One", were recorded with Emerick between January and March 1971 (after the completion of No Dice) for the intended follow-up album that was never released.[10]

Track listing

Original release

Side one
  1. "I Can't Take It" (Pete Ham) – 2:57
  2. "I Don't Mind" (Tom Evans, Joey Molland) – 3:15
  3. "Love Me Do" (Molland) – 3:00
  4. "Midnight Caller" (Ham) – 2:50
  5. "No Matter What" (Ham) – 3:01 +
  6. "Without You" (Ham, Evans) – 4:43
Side two
  1. "Blodwyn" (Ham) – 3:26
  2. "Better Days" (Evans, Molland) – 4:01
  3. "It Had to Be" (Mike Gibbins) – 2:29
  4. "Watford John" (Evans, Gibbins, Ham, Molland) – 3:23
  5. "Believe Me" (Evans) – 3:01 +
  6. "We're for the Dark" (Ham) – 3:55

CD bonus tracks

  1. "Get Down" (Evans, Gibbins, Ham, Molland) – 3:43
  2. "Friends Are Hard to Find" (Molland) – 2:28 +
  3. "Mean Mean Jemima" (Molland) – 3:41
  4. "Loving You" (Gibbins) – 2:51
  5. "I'll Be the One" (Evans, Gibbins, Ham, Molland) – 2:54

CD bonus tracks (2010 remaster; replaces previous bonus tracks)

  1. "I Can't Take It (Extended Version)" (Ham) - 4:14
  2. "Without You"(Mono Studio Demo Version) (Ham, Evans) - 3:57
  3. "Photograph (Friends are Hard to Find)" (Molland) - 3:24
  4. "Believe Me" (Alternate Version) (Evans) - 3:04
  5. "No Matter What" (Mono Studio Demo Version) (Ham)- 2:57

Digital bonus tracks (2010 remaster)

  1. "Love Me Do" (Instrumental Version) – 2:57
  2. "Get Down" (Alternate Version) – 5:13

Personnel

Badfinger
Other contributors
  • Geoff Emerick – producer
  • Mal Evans – producer (+)
  • Mike Jarrett – mixing
  • John Kurlander – engineer
  • Richard Lush – engineer
  • Keith H - Additional Session Musician
  • Steve Kolanijan – liner notes, sleeve notes
  • Mike Jarratt – engineer, mixing
  • Marcia McGovern – pre-production
  • Roberta Ballard – production manager
  • Gene Mahon – design
  • Richard DiLello – design, photography
  • Ron Furmanek – digital mastering, mastering, mixing (CD re-release)

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 AllMusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
  2. ↑ AllMusic review
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