Essentially, that is Magic Christian Music. Although the recording qualities, songwriting, and styles are wildly divergent, there is some great music on it. It just is nowhere near the album it was billed to be. McCartney’s “Come And Get It” is far and away the best cut, and the two he produced for the movie, “Carry On Till Tomorrow” and “Rock Of All Ages” are not far behind. Of the older Iveys tracks, “Midnight Sun” has a great rock sound, and “Crimson Ship” even reminds me of the Fabs.
Separating The Iveys from the Badfinger and Paul McCartney surroundings is the only way to really appreciate this record. Maybe one day The Iveys will get credit for the cool mid-sixties band they were, especially on period pieces like “Knocking Down Our Home” and ”Mrs. Jones."
The Iveys album that Apple released in 1969 was titled Maybe Tomorrow, and the main reason they were able to pillage it was because at the time it was only available in Japan, West Germany, and Italy. For those interested in delving a little deeper, the record has been issued on CD a few times over the years by various companies.
This new edition of Magic Christian Music has been completely remastered as part of the new Capital EMI/ Apple Records reissue series. In addition to the 14 songs of the original release, five bonus cuts are also included. These are all various mixes or edits of Iveys songs from Maybe Tomorrow.
Magic Christian Music is an odd duck, more of a late-period Iveys collection than anything else. But there is some wonderful music contained on it, and will reward those who are especially fond of pre-psychedelic British rock.
At the end of 1970, Badfinger released the record they had spent most of the year working on, No Dice. This is where the Badfinger saga truly begins, and it too has just been remastered and reissued with bonus tracks.
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