When I was a kid, rumors swirled around a mysterious group called Klaatu. People said they were the Beatles in disguise. Given the mediocrity of their music (remember "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft"?), it was a measure of how much fans loved and missed the Beatles - or, perhaps, how much rock music needed them at the time. Rock was under assault on two fronts - punk and disco - and the nation turned its lonely eyes to any salvation, however tepid.

Badfinger was the first such stand-in for the Beatles. An early signing to Apple Records during a period of Beatle disarray, some fans thought they actually were the Beatles in as much as they sounded more like the Beatles than the Beatles did at the time. Their first single, "Come & Get It" was written and produced by Paul McCartney, and it sounded like a throwback to the days before the Maharishi and "Revolution #9." One could almost say that Badfinger was the first power pop band in that they were the first post-Invasion band to attempt to recreate (and reinvent) the Beatles' classic sound. That they shared some of their peers' hippie leanings only reinforces this position. Badfinger produced a string of sterling singles (including the George Harrison-produced "No Matter What") and several solid albums (especially No Dice, Straight Up, and the import-only Wish You Were Here). Their Best Of Badfinger has all most fans will need; Rhino's Best Of Vol. 2 covers the later, post-Apple years.