Baby Please (Ham/Molland/Gibbins):
Tom was too ill to go to the studio one day, and the others decided to jam.
Baby Please was what came out of it. Baby Please is good rock song, but nothing
more than that. It was originally planned for release on the first version of Straight Up.
Do You Mind (Molland):
A version of this song is released on the reissue of Ass. However there is a
different and much better version available. It's slower, it has better backing
vocals, and an overall better feel. A shame Apple didn't spend a few minutes
comparing the two versions , before deciding which one to use for
the reissue.The song is one of Joey's best, he comes close to Pete as
songwriter on this song.
Do You Mind was dropped for the second version of Ass.
Dreaming (Molland):
A blues song by Joey.It was recorded during the early Ass sessions Sep. 72,
but was left off, and not even intended for the first version of Ass. Strange
though, as it's a really great song.It's just as good as some of Joey songs
that ended up on the released version of Ass.
No Good At All (Evans):
A rock'n roll song, very heavy. The song is okay and features a fine vocal
performance by Tommy.
Not a typical Badfinger song. It was to be released on the first version of
Straight Up
Piano Red (Ham):
Badfinger started working on it around Sep. 1972.
Pete got inspired to do it it on a US tour, where he had met an old Piano
player at
a bar called: "Red's Grate On The 88". The old man had no teeth, and he was
called
Piano Red.It sounds like a parody! This song has also been known as Pete's
Mambo,which is not correct. Piano Red should have been released on the rejected first
version of Ass. Not one of Pete's best songs.
Regular (Molland):
A funny drinking song. Joey has said about it: "It was a pub song" ,
and he continues:"It reminds me of going to pubs,playing in pubs".
Joey was dead drunk when he sang it. It's one of the group's most successful attempts to
create something funny in the studio. Regular was dropped for the second
version of Ass.
Rock'n Roll (Evans):
An ordinary Rock'n Roll song, that features Tommy's fabulous voice,
but lyrics and melody fails to make lasting impressions.The style is similar
to No Good At All. Like "Dreaming" , Rock'n Roll was not considered
good enough for the first version of Ass.
Sing For The Song (Evans):
Probably the best of the unreleased Straight Up songs.
A sort of sing-along song. Producer Geoff Emerick demonstrates on this recording
some of the tricks he learned during his work with the Beatles.
The lyrics seem to be about getting ready for a performance or something.
Sing For The Song was to be released on the first version of Straight Up.
By Jesper Vindberg
© BadfingerNews 1999
Most of the information on this page can be found in the great book "Without You The
Tragic Story Of Badfinger" by Dan Matovina.
