The Very Best of Badfinger

The difference between 2000's The Very Best of Badfinger and 1995's Come and Get It: The Best of Badfinger is a simple one -- the 1995 collection concentrated on the group's Apple recordings, where the 2000 collection runs all the way until 1974's Wish You Were Here, the band's final album with Pete Ham. Not only does the collection benefit from the expanded timeline, but it has a sharp selection of songs from the classic Apple years -- yes, "Flying" is absent and Ass is bypassed (perhaps understandably so), but "We're for the Dark" is a more than welcome addition. The 19 tracks may not be in chronological order, but the sequencing packs a real punch and, in this context, the best of the Warner material more than holds its own with the Apple cuts. Inevitably, there are some fan favorites missing, but apart from "Flying," all the classics are here and this compilation is unquestionably the most thorough (and arguably the best) overview of Badfinger's entire career yet assembled.