Getting a Piece of Ass (the album)

Sorry, I couldn't resist the post title.  Today we're going to look at a wonderful lp, Badfinger's last lp on the Apple label, Ass, from 1973.  The sessions for this album started in 1972 shortly after the release of Straight Up.  The lp was released in America on November 26th, 1973 and May 1974 in the UK.  Chris Thomas, an Apple engineer, was called in to complete the sessions after Todd Rundgren left after the completion of two songs.  Due to some legal issues with publishing rights (Joey Molland was going to sign a separate contract from the rest of the band, but never did) the release of the album was delayed (until Apple assigned songwriting credits to the band as a whole.)  Unlike previous efforts Joey wrote the bulk of the tunes on this lp.  The title refers to the band's feelings towards Apple Records (who were winding down all non-Beatle related recordings and Warner Bros, their new label.)  The cover features a donkey chasing a carrot being dangled from the sky by a hand (representing the two record labels.)  This was to be the last non-Beatle album released by Apple.  Due to almost non-existent promotion by Apple and their debut album Badfinger on Warner Bros coming out around the same time (causing much confusion for the record buying public,) Ass lingered on the lower ends of the album charts and died a quick death.  Many critics have blasted this album, unfairly, in my opinion.  The band was attempting to have a less overproduced sound and a much heaver feel on this outing.  They were attempting to align themselves with more heavy English acts of the day.  Think more along the lines of The Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Humble Pie, etc.  Of course, they could not quite get away from the Beatle-esque power pop that they were known for, but they made a gallant effort.  As I've stated before, Joey Molland is not my favorite songwriter, but he does a great job on this album.  He really contributes some good stuff here.  The two best songs were both by Pete Ham, Apple of My Eye and the amazing Timeless.  Really the only song on here that doesn't fit is the silly Mike Gibbins penned Cowboy.  This song soils an otherwise fine album.  Overall, I feel like this is a great Badfinger album, that got screwed over by bad timing, under promotion, and other external factors.  The music is great for the most part and I listen to this one a lot.  So, if you enjoy music from this time period, do yourself a favor and go out and get yourself a piece.  Jason rating **** 1/2