Ass (album)

Ass
Studio album by Badfinger
Released	26 November 1973 (US) 8 March 1974 (UK)
Recorded	1972-73 at Apple Studios, Olympic Studios and The Manor Studio, London
Genre	Power pop
Length	39:38
Label	Apple SAPCOR 101
Producer	Chris Thomas, Badfinger (Except tracks 4 and 9: Todd Rundgren)
Badfinger chronology
Straight Up (1971) Ass (1973) Badfinger (1974)

Ass is the fourth and last album released on Apple Records by power pop band Badfinger. The opening track, "Apple of My Eye", refers to the band leaving the label to begin its new contract with Warner Brothers Records. The cover artwork (showing a donkey chasing a distant carrot) alludes to Badfinger's feelings that they had been misled by Apple over the years. The cover was painted by Grammy Award winning artist Peter Corriston who would later create famous album covers for Led Zeppelin (Physical Graffiti) and The Rolling Stones (Some Girls, Tattoo You).

History

Because of the dispute over Joey Molland's copyrights, Apple did not credit the individual writers of the songs on Ass, such as Tom Evans for "Blind Owl", instead crediting the song simply to "Badfinger".

Although recordings for the album began as early as 1972, shortly after the release of Straight Up, Ass wasn't released until 26 November 1973 in the US and May 1974 in the UK. The album was originally delayed because of production quality, as the band attempted to produce the album themselves after producer Todd Rundgren departed the project with just two songs recorded. After a first version of the album was rejected by the label, Apple engineer Chris Thomas was hired as a first-time producer to improve the overall recordings and make new track selections.

The album was further delayed when a disagreement surfaced between Apple and Badfinger's management on publishing copyrights. The majority of the tracks on Ass were written by Joey Molland. Molland, unlike his bandmates, never signed a publishing agreement with Apple Music, instead assigning the individual copyrights of his songs selected for Badfinger albums to Apple Music after production. Badfinger's then-manager, Stan Polley, attempted to use Apple's lack of a publishing agreement with Molland to block release of the album; he told Molland not to agree to any individual assignments, and Molland obliged. To circumvent Polley's strategy, all songs on the US and UK album releases of Ass were credited by Apple to Badfinger, not to the actual authors.

Ultimately, Ass peaked at #122 in the Billboard 200 and did not chart in the UK. The single "Apple of My Eye" only peaked at #102 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" chart in America. After the album was deleted from the Apple catalog a large number of heavily discounted copies appeared in cut-out bins at US record stores during the 1970s. The original CD version released in the 1990s is now rare because it was re-released only in a few countries (UK, Canada and Japan) for a limited period.

Ass was Apple's last original album that was not by an ex-Beatle. From then on, only the Beatles as solo artists released records on Apple until the label went out of business in 1976.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link

Track listing

Side one

1. "Apple of My Eye" (Ham) - 3:06
2. "Get Away" (Molland) - 3:59
3. "Icicles" (Molland) - 2:32
4. "The Winner" (Molland) - 3:18
5. "Blind Owl" (Evans) - 3:00

Side two

1. "Constitution" (Molland) - 2:58
2. "When I Say" (Evans) - 3:05
3. "Cowboy" (Gibbins) - 2:37
4. "I Can Love You" (Molland) - 3:33
5. "Timeless" (Ham) - 7:39

CD bonus track

11. "Do You Mind" (Molland) - 3:15

CD bonus tracks 2010 remaster (replaces previous bonus track)

11. "Do You Mind" (Molland) - 3:15
12. "Apple of My Eye" [Early Mix] (Ham) - 3:02
13. "Blind Owl" [Alternate Version] (Evans) - 2:52
14. "Regular" (Molland) - 2:39
15. "Timeless" [Alternate Version] (Ham) - 5:27

Digital bonus tracks 2010 remaster

16. "Get Away" [Alternate Version] (Molland) - 3:32
17. "When I Say" [Alternate Version] (Evans) - 3:14
18. "The Winner" [Alternate Version] (Molland) - 3:15
19. "I Can Love You" [Alternate Version] (Molland) - 3:37
20. "Piano Red" [Previously Unreleased] (Ham) - 3:31

Personnel

• Pete Ham – guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals
• Tom Evans – bass, vocals
• Joey Molland – guitar, piano, vocals
• Mike Gibbins – drums, vocals

References

• Dan Matovina: Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger. ISBN 0-9657122-1-4