ONE LIVE BADGER

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That the nucleus of Yes got rid of Peter Banks on guitar to make space for Steve Howe was not really a beautyful gesture , but to get rid of Tony Kaye was even worse ( they will invite him back during the eighties and those mediocre albums - feeling guilty Mr Anderson?) especially for the second most pompous KB player around (behind Keith) , Rick Wakeman . Of course this paid of incredibly well, as Fragile outsold all previous albums together, but the Yes Album is still my Yes fave album and Tony Kaye was really excellent.

So Kaye will first join Banks in a group called Flash (unlike most proghead , I never really enjoyed that openly commercial semi-hard-prog . Commercial ? look at the covers to see how hard they tried ) and after one album Kaye , obviously not pleased with this band , left to form the much better Badger. Most people think Highly of this album and I do too but just barely making the fourth star ( your life will not be affected if you own it or not or even if you never hear this while you are alive , you will not have missed that much) . But I do give this album four star because Kaye really got a bum deal from Yes and to a lesser Extent frm Flash , and here he shows what he can do. Releasing your first album as a live is rather odd choice , but why not ? It was probably cheaper than a full-blown studio album. I think the drummer was from Ashton Gardner and Dyke who made a few good almost prog albums .

If Kaye does not develop by himself the masterful songwriting from Yes (Anderson getting too much credit IMO for the composer part as he developped the idea and heard jingles and all the other four musicians ) but it is clear with this album that He held his share of the creation in his former group. This was of course very raw sounding and I would've like to hear the studio versions, but alas this never came to be as some of the members left after this and the following album sounds nothing like this , especially with Lomax singing. Give it a try , but I tell you there are better bands still to be discovered before this one. Worth a spin .

Badgers can't sing

For their first album, Badger's unusually decided on a live release. Interest in the band was fuelled by the presence of former Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye. The Yes connection was strengthened by the presence of Dave Foster who had played in the Warriors with Jon Anderson. The pair also wrote two of the tracks on "Time and a word" together and Jon Anderson co-produced this album.

"One live Badger" was recorded at the Rainbow theatre in London in December 1972. Badger were supporting Yes on this part of the tour which also produced the "Yessongs" album. As the equipment had been set up for recording Yes at the Rainbow for that album, Atlantic records, to whom both Yes and Badger were signed, decided to record Badger's performance. Thus the album was recorded in front on a much larger yet sympathetic audience than they might otherwise have attracted.

"Wheel of fortune" opens the album, Kaye immediately switching on the mellotron on a fairly funky track which includes an early burst of Parrish's lead guitar work. Kaye also slips in a fine Hammond solo. "Fountain" is slightly slower, but in a similar vein, with an interesting synthesiser solo to finish. The vocals, which are generally the weak point of the album, have similarities to Peter Frampton on his "Frampton comes alive" album.

By the time "The river" appears at the start of side 2, the limited repertoire of the band is starting to show quite clearly. It's not that's it's bad, anonymous is probably a good word. It could be any of a thousand bands which played in pubs week in week out, in the hope of being spotted.

The album consists of six tracks in total, all of which are of similar length, and unfortunately all of a similar sound. A bit of variety would have helped enormously. I can't help feeling that if they had released this as a studio album, the results would have been a whole lot better. There are firm indications that Badger had potential, the guitar and keyboard work for example is very good. The vocals are average to poor, and in desperate need of a studio producer to work his magic over them. The overall sound is rather raw and unbalanced.

From a presentation perspective, "One live Badger" benefited from a fine Roger Dean gatefold cover, with a popup section inside.

Despite their credentials, significant success eluded Badger, and after a further studio album with a revised line up, they disbanded. Sadly, Badger need to go down as a missed opportunity.

The recordings on this album are from Badger's warming-ups for Yes at The Rainbow Theatre gigs, thus forming a nice pair for the "Yessongs" live album. Group's music is guitar and keyboard riff driven, having groovy passages supporting the more dramatic mellotron painted sequences, shimmering with religious gospel positive energies. The raw sound from the stage distributed y the contact of vinyl player syringe to this plastic is also very pleasing to my own ears. Songs "Wheel of Fortune" and "Wind of Change" rise for me as best compositions on this set, though the other tracks are quite nice also, not being musical masterpieces anyhow. The good vibrations on the gig are preserved in the audience's cheer, and Roger Dean's gatefold vinyl design with rising badger figurine in the inner side of the booklet is really fun. Maybe due cover art and my own time of album purchase makes this hope-giving fun little album associate strongly with winter. Recommended for fans of keyboard driven heavy prog, those open to Christian vintage rock and the collectors of solo albums from family of Yes members.

Badger Heavy Prog? After a few listenings sessions I have to say that to me this CD sounds more like R&B (in the vein of The Spencer Davis Group and The Allman Brothers), embellished with an interesting vintage keyboard sound by ex-Yes member Tony Kaye. He has succeeded to colour the 6 compositions (mainly swinging but also bluesy or compelling) very tastefully with varied keyboards: violin- Mellotron in Wheel Of Fortune, The Preacher and On The Way Home, a synthesizer solo in Fountain, electric piano in River and exciting Hammond organ solos in Wind Of Change and On The Way Home. The guitarplayer delivers lots of strong and powerful solos, often fiery (great wah-wah sound in The Preacher) but also sensitive like in the long final song On The Way Home. This is pleasant music with a good singer but I have the idea that the presence of Tony Kaye was the main reason to add Badger to Prog Archives. My rating: 3,5 stars.

I saw "Badger" playing live as opening act of "Purple - Mark III" in December 1973 in Brussels (FN). The only thing that I knew at that time, is that Kaye was an ex-Yes member and I really don't know much more by now.

Tony Kaye was not very vindictive about his sacking from "Yes" since Jon Anderson co-produced this album and it was even recorded during a Yes concert for which "Badger" was the opening act!

I only remind me their performance as being a good one, which is not frequent for a supporting band.

In those remote days of rock music, a live appearance was the occasion of solo efforts which were kind of invading each song. To a certain extent, this feature is also valid here.

Heavy keyboards throughout the album (especially during "Fountain" but not only), some links with soul music as well (during "Wheel Of Fortune" and even more during "The Preacher" which is the weakest song here).

There is not really a highlight on this album although "River" is maybe my favourite. It is "borrowing" some seconds to "Hear Me Calling" from TYA ("Ten Years After"). It features a very good guitar solo which is to be mentioned since most numbers are keyboards oriented.

"On The Way Home" is also a good song. Pleasant vocal harmonies, nice guitar again and excellent work from Tony on the background keys. The rhythm catches up seriously at half time and enters into a great frenzy. But again the soul influence is noticeable during the vocal parts.

This album is a curiosity. A snapshot of an era. A good album. But no more.

Three stars.

I had a disagreement with another prog fan a while back about whether or not this album had blues leanings. I still say it does. Sure it features Tony Kaye on mellotron and other keyboards, but the power pair of Brian Parrish on guitar and Dave Foster on bass set an unmistakable bluesy groove right off the bat with the funky and heavy “Wheel of Fortune”. And on vocals Parrish sounds like Michael McDonald in his Doobie Brothers days. Kaye of course is all over the place on keys, but by the time “Fountain” rolls around the prominent guitar and bass belie this being a pure progressive effort.

Not that I’m complaining – this is one great album that still gets played once and a while (like tonight). Much has been made of the band putting out a live album as their debut, but my understanding is this was more a matter of convenience and economics than anything else. The band had a live audience, and a Yes one at that since they were supporting the tour that would become ‘Yessongs’. Kind of hard to go wrong with that, and certainly much less expensive than a proper studio album. The one studio release the band did put out isn’t anywhere near as good as this one either, so maybe this was the best possible legacy they could leave anyway.

“Wind of Change” would make it onto the Yes album ‘Affirmative’, a de facto part of the Yes ‘family’ records (and the best of them in my opinion). A goof choice too, since this is the strongest musical effort with the band sounding very tight and the tempo reflecting confidence in their set that night.

The first half of the album is the better one though, and with “River” the band resorts to a lengthy guitar solo not because it is all that awesome, but probably more for filler to yield them a decent length for their live set. “The Preacher” is decent, but also heavy on Parrish’s guitar forays and a little light on substance.

Finally, “On the Way Home” is the closing number and sounds like it was written to be just that in concert. Kaye takes charge here with copious amounts of freak-out organ, but really this just sounds like a partially improvised jam session. A pretty good one, but a jam session nonetheless.

The Roger Dean cover sort of makes this an official prog album I suppose, but at its heart this is a jam band with one keyboardist who makes them much better than they probably should be. This is an album that I still like to play once and a while, but it is not a classic by any means. Three stars seems proper so that’s what I’ll give it, and a recommendation for heavy prog fans and those who like to sniff at the periphery of the Yes family tree.

peace

This is an album that would appeal to fans of Manfred Mann's Earth Band, especially the albums _Solar Fire_ and _Nightingales and Bombers_. Not surpringly, Manfred Mann mentioned Badger's first LP as a favourite in an interview I once heard and have since read. Oddly, I heard the aforementioned Manfred Mann recordings prior to hearing of Badger. There appears to be a strong influence on Manfred Mann and the direction he would take his Earth Band in the studio. Great organ from Tony Kaye here which leaves me asking many questions, the prominant one being: _Why did Yes get rid of this guy?_...not that Rick Wakeman isn't worthy.

Some great guitar solos here as well. This Badger LP also reminds me a bit of the Paice, Ashton & Lord LP _Malice In Wonderland_(as per the organ playing). A rare sampling of Tony Kaye on the mellotron here (appearently Tony Kaye wasn't big on the use of the mellotron...thought it sounded like cats dying or something?). Recommended for fans of hard progressive R&B rock...like Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster and Rare Bird/Fields.

Aaaah, that feeling you get when you un-cover a gem. And what a feeling it is! And, after listening to the excellent live album entitled merely: ONE LIVE BADGER, that feeling is back! The beauty of prog is the hidden surprises that suddenly appear and whack you over the head with the 'great-new-album' stick. Due to the inter-linking of many bands(with band-members occupying multiple positions in multiple bands), many little-known projects have come and gone, fading as quickly as they formed. BADGER, a band forged around the impressive keyboard-wizard and ex-Yes member Tony Kaye, belong to that 1 album group inhabited by the likes of MAINHORSE and SAMURAI who somehow made a great album and then conspired to disappear and never again produce anything as compelling. And just like the afore-mentioned one(album)-hit wonders, this is one surprising piece. The origins of the band are obscure, but one things is for sure: the album was recorded live because it was cheaper. Had it been a studio-bound affair, then would the powerful, bluesy rhythms and epic, surging feel contained within all seven tracks remained? Who knows. However, what we do know is that we have a truely original piece of work, a piece of work that comes over like a kind of trippy mixture of Cream, Pink Floyd and Yes with a hint of Grateful Dead-ish finger-picking and a little sprinkle Howlin' Wolf and the old- time blues for good measure. Like a lot of prog-albums of the time, the vocals aren't amazing, but that fact can be forgiven due to the dazzing technical proficiency on show. Guitarist Brian Parrish lets rip with a magnificent guitar-solo during 'Fountain', Tony Kaye fills every number with some eclectic keyboard, moog and mellotron work and the band as whole seem tighter than Jose Mourinho defence. Maybe the album's little-known status enhances it's initial impact, but there is no denying that ONE LIVE BADGER is a compelling affair, straddling the void between prog and classic rock whilst still managing to contain the exciting principles of the former. Filled with virtuoso solo's, cryptic lyrics and rollicking jams, everyone from Yes fans to lovers of Dream Theatre should find much to admire. Highly recommended.

Strong, upbeat debut from Tony Kaye and Dave Foster's progressive rhythm band, bursting with energy at the Rainbow in December,1972 and bringing together the soulful, pulsing beats of Santana and Traffic with the melodic intricacies of the Allmans, Yes and Meddle-period Floyd. Foster had been with Jon Anderson (who co-produced here) in the Warriors, and the trail of bands in Kaye's wake is no secret, making Badger an interesting project with huge potential. And in part they live up to it. 'Wheel of Fortune' is good if a bit too stuck in its era but 'Fountain' is more prog, first-rate bluesman Brian Parrish trading licks with Kaye beautifully, the band oozing with feeling all the way through. A bit of English beat for 'Wind of Change'; catchy bubble rock with some good R'nB jams and a nice classical crescendo, and Blackmore&Lord-like 'River' is fine though the odd preoccupation with religion begins to show, the yearnings of gospel just under the surface. 'The Preacher' aches with soft remorse and evangelic visions, more solid rhythm, Kaye's rich organ throughout and Parrish ripping it up on lead guitar. And heavy prog beast 'On the Way Home' is a powerful number showing how songwriting and progressive rock can coexist. A night of very good music from an ensemble on the edges of A-list Prog, a semi-supergroup that deserves plenty of reexamination.

Interesting album from ex original Yes keyboards man Tony Kaye. It was recorded live and showed a lot of potential. The music is quite different from Yes, though. It´s harder, simpler but very tasteful and solid. Great keyboards runs (of course) and some fine guitar licks and solos all over. Vocals are average to good. I´d like to hear them on the studio, but this line up broke up soon after this LP and their next (and last) release would be the disastrous White Lady.

Well, the production is only adequate, but acceptable for a live record. Highlights are the opening song, Wheel Of Fortune (it could have been a hit a the time, if it was given a little airplay) and the closing number On The Way Home (their most progressive). The remaining tracks are good, but not much. A promising start that was not fullfilled. But if you´re into good rock with some prog unfluences and fine keyboards, you should give this a listen. 3,5 stars.