The album marked a departure from the more rock-oriented sound of Badfinger's previous releases, partly as a result of intervention by Apple Records regarding the band's musical direction.

Badfinger preceded the recording of their third album, Straight Up, with the well-received No Dice (1970),[2] and a series of acclaimed shows at Urgano's in New York that helped establish the group in America.

"[3] While attractive to American audiences,[5] the association with the Beatles, partly through Badfinger being an Apple Records act, continued to hinder the band's attempts to forge their own identity.

[2][6] In other areas of the group's operation, all four members signed a management deal with American agent Stan Polley in November 1970,[2] and the band hired part of Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire as a base for songwriting and rehearsing.

Twelve tracks from these Emerick-produced sessions were completed by March, with the band rushing to finish the untitled album before reluctantly leaving for a two-month US tour that Polley had booked.

[19] The band took a break from recording late in June,[26][27] as Harrison worked in Los Angeles with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, producing the soundtrack to Raga.

[33] Reprising their roles from the All Things Must Pass sessions, Ham, Tom Evans and Molland performed as acoustic rhythm guitarists at the shows and Mike Gibbins played percussion.

[18] In addition to working with Rundgren in London on some more recent compositions, the band re-recorded two songs from the Emerick sessions: "Money", written by Evans, and Ham's "Perfection".

[11] Two tracks were holdovers from the Geoff Emerick sessions: Rundgren re-mixed and sped up "Flying", while "Sweet Tuesday Morning", Molland's love song to his wife Kathie, was overdubbed and remixed.

"[41] Although admiring of Rundgren's technical abilities in the studio,[7] Badfinger were vocal in their opposition to his working methods; Matovina wrote in a 1979 article for Trouser Press: "According to the band, he was totally domineering and had little respect for their ideas.

[7] The lyrics of "Suitcase" include the mention of "pusher" that Harrison had asked Molland to change (in favour of the word "butcher"), to ensure that the song received radio play.

The final bonus track on the 1993 reissue was the US single mix of "Baby Blue", the main difference being the addition of extra reverberation on Gibbins' snare drum.

[63] In the CD's liner notes, again written by Davis,[64] Molland recalls that Emerick and "No Matter What" producer Mal Evans were among the many chorus singers on "Sing for the Song".

[63] The versions of "Suitcase", "Money", "Flying" and "Perfection" from the 1993 reissue appeared in the Apple Box Set on a separate bonus disc,[60] comprising 20 rare Badfinger recordings, and were also made available for digital download.

"[18] Alan Niester of Creem described the Harrison-produced tracks as "without exception the stronger" beside Rundgren's "more common and forgettable" work, but found the band's new sound "a curiously bland and unremarkable blend of guitars, drums, and nubile voices that really doesn’t go anywhere or in much of a blaze of hurry".

[11][47] Beat Instrumental described the album as "a good 'un",[69] and Jim Girard of Scene recognised "Perfection" and "Sometimes" as possible singles and said that Badfinger's "importance lies in their unpretentiousness and commercial potency".

[2][42] Reviewing the 1993 CD release, Q magazine described Straight Up as "brimming with mature melodies and bracing verse/chorus interplay", and "More complete than their other long-play selections and resplendent with previously unheard gems".

Pete Ham's 'Baby Blue' is textbook power-pop – irresistibly catchy fuzz riffs and sighing melodies – and with its Harrison-esque slide guitars, 'Day After Day' is so gorgeous it practically aches."

"[72] Todd Totale of the website Glorious Noise describes Straight Up as "impeccably sequenced" and the group's "best album", adding that it "stands tall against even the Beatles' solo efforts while reaching for [that] band's lofty mid-period gems".

[1] In his review for Blogcritics, Glen Boyd opines that "with Straight Up, Badfinger delivered one of the first power pop records of the post-Beatles era, and perhaps one of the best of all time", and admires the remastering of the original album.