Yesterday & Today Music have released yet another Badfinger archival album. The album, Miniskirts and Rainbows, is a collection of 19 songs coming from the band’s time under the Iveys name. With the 19 songs being previously unreleased demo recordings, Miniskirts and Rainbows is not going to be an album for everyone: most of the songs are unfinished and pale in contrast to what the band would eventually release as Badfinger. Even then, there’s still music on here that’s worth a listen.
According to the press release, Miniskirts and Rainbows consists of demo recordings from 1966 to 1969. Some of the songs on here would end up on official Iveys/Badfinger albums, including “I Miss You,” “Angelique,” “Blodwyn” and “Yesterday Ain’t Coming Back.” Though for the most part, the songs on here are songs that didn’t go past the demo stages. As per usual with these archival Badfinger releases, it’s hard to listen to this as an actual album. With these being songs that were never meant for commercial release, the quality varies with each song.
For the familiar songs, “Blodwyn” perhaps stands out the most. Whereas the version that ended up on the No Dice album was more folk based, the demo on this release sounds more country inspired. “I Miss You” is also somewhat different, with some psychedelic elements that didn’t make their way onto the band’s 1974 self-titled debut for Warner Brothers Records. The other songs sound pretty close to what ended on the album/s they came from.
As far as the “new” stuff, it’s very hit or miss. Listening to these songs, there was clearly potential for some of these song. One thing listeners must keep in mind is that the Iveys sound was different from what would later become Badfinger: the Iveys were more of a pop band with a bubblegum-esque sound to them. The rock edge that the band would later have as Badfinger is barely on here. Even then, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any good songs here. Songs such as Tom Evans’ “Cleopatra In a Miniskirt” and and Pete Ham’s “I Love You” sound like they had potential to be hit songs: they’re very catchy and delightful sounding. Looking for rockers? You can find them in the form of the garage rock oriented numbers “Black And White Rainbows” and “Girl Next Door In The Miniskirt.”
Unfortunately, some of Miniskirts and Rainbows is hard to listen to. While this was band’s earlier sound, most of the songs are either too plain or don’t go anywhere. Then there’s other songs here that have good ideas but the production and sound quality are hurting them. This affects songs such as Mike Gibbins’ “All Of My Life” and Ron Griffiths’ “Bound To Get Lucky Someday.” If these were recorded in a studio, they would probably sound amazing. Though in their form on this album, the production isn’t doing these songs favors.
Despite its flaws, Miniskirts and Rainbows does have a charm to it: it’s the early days of the band that would become Badfinger. All good bands have to start somewhere and this is how Badfinger started: there’s a lot of potential captured in these songs that would later be discovered by Apple Records. There’s even some detours that are intriguing such as “All The Fun Of The Fair,” a waltz song written by the band’s manager Bill Collins. It doesn’t sound like anything the band would record in later years, which makes it such an enjoyable oddity on this album.
As it stands, Miniskirts and Rainbows is okay at best. This release is really meant for diehard Badfinger fans only. For what it is, the songs are sequenced well and the sound restoration from Kevin McElligott is solid. Along with the album, the physical release of the album includes a booklet with liner note from Badfinger historian/website manager Tom Brennan. If you can listen to it as a collection of songs from a band’s early days, you might get something out of Miniskirts and Rainbows.
Rating: 6/10
I'm a writer/journalist with a passion for music and pop culture. Having graduated from King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 2014, I've been looking for a platform in which I can share my passions. Since 2009, I've been posting to my own blog- The Walrus' Music Blog- via Blogger. I'm also the author of two self-published books, "The Camp: Stories from the Summer" and "The College: Stories from King's." Together, the two books cover the story of my life from 2004 to 2014. I've been lucky enough to interview several of my favorite musicians over the years and go to concerts from time to time. I'm also very devoted to the CBS reality TV show Survivor, which I started watching in 2002 when its fourth season started. I currently live in New Jersey.