The Babys - Broken Heart

This was the third of the three recent albums I recently found by The Babys. I've got my eyes out for the debut, but there's always something about a bands sophomore record that can be cool. For some bands their debut is a one and done. All the songs they'd spent years crafting were likely polished and presented and the real test is whether or not the band could have lightning strike twice. 

I already know the answer but I'm curious to hear this one.

It's been a while since I've done a song by song first impression so I'm just going to drop (carefully place) the needle and jot down my thoughts in real time ... more or less.

Here we go ... 

"Wrong or Right" is a sort of clunky slow burn with strings. John Waite is in fine form. A decent enough lead in track. The song really starts strong, and I'm thinking, "This is cool" and then the band goes into the duh duh duh duh duh duh duh section and sort of works but just feels out of sync with the rest of the song. Not the greatest first impression.

"Give Me Your Love" the song has a good groove and I'll admit my feet were tapping. When the song changes gears it seems like a separate song ... but when the song gets back to the groove it's pretty good. Heck Wally Stocker has a great touch.

"Isn't it Time" John Waite is a first rate singer, and the backing vocals by The Babettes (good Lord, so much cringe) really suits the song. Strings, horns. Apparently this one cracked the top 20 on the US Billboard charts. I honestly don't remember this one at all. I actually like that the song varies tempo. Not sure how this would have been as a slow dance. It's not a ballad, but a mid tempo rocker disguised as an R&B song.

"And If You Could See Me Fly" starts with Wally laying down a heavy riff that feels like the lovechild of Jimmy Page and Keith Richards with Tony Brock channelling John Bonham. The song almost feels like the tempo was deliberately kept in check. This is the kind of song you can strut to.

"The Golden Mile" closes out the first side, and opens with a warbly organ and strings. Another slow one, this one is a ballad with John laying down a wailing vocal. Some really tasty guitar work. Like a few of the songs before it, there's a string arrangement that really adds another layer to the song. Oddly, the song is pretty generic. Generic to my ears almost five decades later.

That's side one. Kind of in one ear and out the other. Oh, I'll play it again a couple of times. I just wanted to capture my first impression. I did like "Isn't it Time" and I kind of want to hear "And If You Could See Me Fly" again. I'm hoping the first track is the beneficiary of repeated plays as it really has moments. I also like the fact that none of the songs were really the same.

Think I'll give it a few minutes before I flip it over.  

The next day.

Here we go. I've got a coffee and am seated in front of the speakers.

"Broken Heart" which is also the title track, starts off really strong and is a straight on rocker with a tinge of country. Heck Wally's lead work is pushed way up in the mix. Not really a single or mix tape song but it's a great album track. For whatever reason I kept thinking, "Man, this sounds like someone put "The Boys Are Back in Town" in a blender. They sound nothing alike, but there was just something that reminded me of Thin Lizzy.

"I'm Falling" is yet another slow song. My goodness John's vocals are front and centre and dominate. The strings are a huge part of the sound here. I have to remind myself that this was 1977 as it's easy to forget how much time has passed since this was released. What sounds generic now was once fresh.  Great tune.

"Rescue Me" The Babys seemed to revel in the slower mid tempo rockers. There's a swagger and the song that makes me want to tuck in my bottom lip and walk around like Bert doing "The Pigeon". In my minds' eye it looks cooler than it sounds. John Waite is a great vocalist, and it's a shame people sleep on the bottom end he anchors the songs.

"Silver Dreams" is another ballad, and is the second song on the album to feature The Babettes and it features Tony Brock on lead vocals. Tony sings in the same range as John and there's a delicate sweetness to his delivery. He does the song justice, and it certainly sounds like there's a bit of a call and response going on between Tony and John. The song feels much shorter than the three minute run time. The song's ending is dovetailed into the next with a drum fill which was kind of cool.

"A Piece of the Action" gets straight down to business and feels like a braided continuation of "Silver Dreams" and the strings here are an integral part of the song. I've always like John Waite as a vocalist, but somehow listening to the songs throughout Broken Heart it feels like a coming out party. He's not showboating or overplaying his hand. He's right in the thick of it and his voice services and in many cases is the centre of the song. Quite a nifty trick. I'm sure I'll hear the other albums in a different light now.

Yeah, I'm going to listen to this a few more times. Reading this again you'd get the impression that the second side was the stronger, but I wonder how much of that was foundational to what I had heard on the first side. That in and of itself is strange as the whole concept of sides is interesting to me. 

I really like this one, and I keep coming back to the earworm "Wrong or Right" that opened the album as the perfect first song. It's been really cool going back in time with The Babys and Broken Heart was the last album to feature original member Michael Corby on the marquis. He'd contribute to Head First, but he'd be in the miscellaneous supporting credits.

Producer Ron Nevison really managed to harness the band and bring out their best. The secret sauce here was Alan MacMillan who arranged and conducted the strings and horns. They were so good throughout the album and I find it odd that I can't remember them on the band's follow up Head First (that I've just listened to).

This was really cool, and oddly I suspect this is one of those the whole is greater than the sum of its parts albums. For a band I could take or leave when I was teenager it's been a hell of ride hearing their earlier albums.

Time to flip it over and play it again.