Gary Walker and the Rain - Album No. 1 - Alternate Version (1968)

A commenter recently posted on this blog that singer-songwriter Joey Molland died two months ago, on March 1, 2025, and suggested I should post something in his memory. (Molland is one of a few key singer-songwriters in the early 1970s band Badfinger.) I thought that was a good idea, so I'm posting this.

This album has a curious history, especially because it's credited mainly to Gary Walker, who is mainly just the drummer in the band. Walker, whose real name is Gary Leeds, was one of the three members of the 1960s American band the Walker Brothers. None of the band's three members were related to each other, though at least the lead singer, Scott Walker, really had "Walker" in his name. In 1965, the band moved to Britain and found massive success there, including two Number One singles hits. But in early 1968, while still at the peak of their popularity, the band broke up.

Gary Walker was just the drummer in the Walker Brothers. He hadn't done any singing or songwriting at all. But he realized he could take advantage of his "Walker" name and connection. This was especially true in Japan. The Walker Brothers toured Japan shortly before breaking up, and were treated like the Beatles there, with screaming fans following them everywhere. So Walker resolved to quickly form a new group made up of British musicians, since he was still living in Britain. For the band's main lead singer, he picked Charlie Crane. Crane had been the lead singer to the Cryin' Shames, which had a minor hit single in 1966 before breaking up. He also picked Joey Molland as lead guitarist. This would prove crucial. Molland had been in a couple of bands up until this point, but none of them had done much. It turned out not only was Molland a talented lead guitarist, but he also could sing well and write songs. Rounding out the band was John Lawson on bass, who had previously been in the band Plastic Penny. It consisted mostly of songs by Molland, plus a few covers, though Crane also contributed a couple. Walker was credited as co-writer with Molland on three songs, though I wonder how much he contributed considering his lack of songwriting credits before or after this album.

The album was surprisingly good, especially considering the way it was quickly put together to take advantage of Walker's involvement in the Walker Brothers while the public still had that in mind. I like it quite a lot. One can definitely see the connection with Molland's songs and involvement in Badfinger.

The band put out a single in Britain, and performed a short tour there. However, the single didn't make the charts. The band didn't have enough credibility for the album to even get released there, or in the U.S. But it did get released in Japan. So they went there to tour and promote it. That's when Gary Walker's Walker Brothers connection paid off. They were met at the airport by thousands of screaming girls, with Walker being treated like a big star. Molland later commented that it was like being in a band with Elvis Presley. But when they returned to Britain, they were basically nobodies again. Their record company released another single, which also flopped. Walker decided the game was up, so he broke up the band and moved back to the U.S.

What I'm posting here is an alternate version of the band's sole album. In my opinion, this is a case where less is more. The official album has 13 songs on it. There was a later edition that added three bonus tracks from singles. I cut that down to ten songs from the album, plus one of the bonus tracks. A few of the songs just aren't that good. 

Ironically, two of the songs I cut are the two that the record company decided to release as singles in Britain. One was a cover of "Spooky." It had just been a big hit and there was nothing special about the cover. The other was "Come In You'll Get Pneumonia," a song by the Easybeats. I love the Easybeats, but that was one of their weakest songs. So it's no wonder those singles failed. I also didn't include "I Can't Stand to Lose You" (a song co-written by Walker and Crane), "I Promise to Love You" (another Crane song), and "Gary's Theme" (a cover of an instrumental).

In retrospect, I wonder if the record company deliberately sabotaged the band by selecting those songs for singles, or if it was just the usual stupidity. I could see how they would have been unimpressed by a band led by a drummer with no known singing or songwriting skills, and wanting just to have them go away. The fact the band happened to contain a serious talent in the form of Joey Molland was basically a lucky fluke, especially since Walker hired him after only speaking to him for a few minutes, without any proof of his singing or songwriting abilities. 

But the bottom line is we're left with this quality album. Especially if you're a Badfinger fan and had never heard of this album, you really should give it a listen.

This album is 38 minutes long.

01 Magazine Woman (Gary Walker & the Rain)
02 The Sun Shines (Gary Walker & the Rain)
03 Doctor Doctor (Gary Walker & the Rain)
04 Market Tavern (Gary Walker & the Rain)
05 Take a Look (Gary Walker & the Rain)
06 The View (Gary Walker & the Rain)
07 If You Don't Come Back (Gary Walker & the Rain)
08 Thoughts of an Old Man (Gary Walker & the Rain)
09 Francis (Gary Walker & the Rain)
10 Whatever Happened to Happy (Gary Walker & the Rain)
11 Cutie Morning Moon (Gary Walker & the Rain)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/omNaWNJz

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/q9Xwp6JqPr40x4w/file

The cover is the same as the original cover. However, I noticed there are slightly different versions, for instance with record company logos and boasts of "stereo" sound and so forth. I combined parts from a couple of versions to create the cleanest version.