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No Dice
Studio album by Badfinger
Released	U.S. November 9, 1970 and UK November 27, 1970
Recorded	1970
Genre	Power pop
Length	40:03
Label	Apple SAPCOR 16
Producer	Geoff Emerick Mal Evans
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
Badfinger chronology
Magic Christian Music (1970) No Dice (1970) Straight Up (1971)

No Dice is a pop album by Badfinger, issued by Apple Records and released on November 9, 1970. Their second album under the Badfinger name, No Dice significantly expanded the British group's popularity, especially abroad.

History

Although this was the second album released as "Badfinger," it was actually the band's first coherent album. The preceding Badfinger LP release, Magic Christian Music, was a compilation of five tracks of newer material and nine tracks recorded for a previous album by an earlier version of the band, The Iveys. No Dice was the first album recorded as Badfinger and included guitarist Joey Molland for the first time. Badfinger would release their next four albums, including 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 observed that it represented what The Beatles would have sounded like had they retained their initial formula ^[1].

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 standout tracks are "Better Days", "I Don't Mind", and the closer "We're for the Dark". The album also contains the original version of the MOR evergreen "Without You". Although Badfinger never released the song as a single, it was taken to #1 on the Billboard charts in 1972 by Harry Nilsson, and again became a hit for Mariah Carey in 1994. "Without You" has been the top money-earner for Badfinger in publishing royalties.

'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.'

Track listing

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

Personnel

• Joey Molland - Guitar, Vocals
• Tom Evans - Bass, Vocals
• Mike Gibbins - Drums
• Pete Ham - Guitar, Piano, Vocals

Credits

• Geoff Emerick - Producer
• Mal Evans - Producer (+)
• Mike Jarrett - Mixing
• John Kurlander - Engineer
• Richard Lush - Engineer
• 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)

References

1. ^ Badfinger - No Dice