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"Jack-Ass"
Single by Beck
from the album Odelay
Released	August 26, 1997
Studio	The Shop Studio, Arcata
Genre	Folk country
Length	4:11
Label	Bong Load DGC
Songwriter(s)	Beck Hansen John King Michael Simpson
Producer(s)	Beck Hansen The Dust Brothers
Beck singles chronology
"Sissyneck" (1997) "Jack-Ass" (1997) "Deadweight" (1997)
Music video
"Jack-Ass" on YouTube

"Jack-Ass" is a single by Beck, taken from the album Odelay. The song is based on a sample of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", performed by Them, from their 1966 album Them Again.

The B-side, "Strange Invitation", is a re-recorded version of "Jack-Ass", played on acoustic guitar and strings and forecasts the style Beck would later use on Sea Change in 2002.

Legacy

Insane Clown Posse sampled this song for their 1999 single "Another Love Song", from their album The Amazing Jeckel Brothers, but the sample was cleared with Bob Dylan, the writer of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", rather than Beck.

The track is used in an episode of the Chris Morris radio show Blue Jam.

Track listing

Original pressing

1. "Jack-Ass" (Butch Vig Mix) - 3:25
2. "Feather in Your Cap" - 3:47
3. "Lemonade" - 2:23
4. "Jack-Ass" (Edit Version) - 3:24

Alternate pressing

1. "Jack-Ass" (Butch Vig Mix) - 3:23
2. "Jack-Ass" (Butch Vig Lowrider Mix) - 4:11
3. "Burro" - 3:11
4. "Strange Invitation" - 4:05
5. "Devil Got My Woman" - 4:34
6. "Brother" - 4:45

Personnel

• Beck Hansen: Vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, electric piano, harmonica, xylophone
• Written by: Beck/The Dust Brothers
• Programmed by: Beck/The Dust Brothers

Music video

The music video for the single was directed by Steve Hanft, and features the Butch Vig mix included on the single rather than the album version. In it, Beck and several other miners are in a black-and-white coal mine. Willie Nelson appears with a dog in a passing mine cart. Later, Beck's character sees a show girl atop a pile of coal that turns into a peacock. At the end of the work shift, the miners emerge into a fully colored world. A fully suited beekeeper waves at the passers-by. It first aired in July 1997.

Charts

Burro

"Burro" is the Spanish version of "Jack-Ass". It was released on the 2000 album Stray Blues. Heather Phares of AllMusic called "Burro" "surprisingly straight mariachi".

References

1. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2023-08-06. ...while reminding listeners of the Sixties and his own folk roots with the shabby, lovely "Jack-Ass".
2. McLean, Craig (2016). "Beck - Odelay". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 776.
3. Rabin, Nathan (12 August 2011). "Violent J of Insane Clown Posse". The A.V. Club.
4. "Beck - Jack-ass @ mvdbase.com". mvdbase.com - the music video database. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
5. "Lista Przebojów Trójki - Polskie Radio Online". Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
6. "A Collection of B Sides: Stray Blues - Beck - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.

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