Old Enough to Forget

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 wit...

On the Edge would be the last album by The Babys and their second to be released in 1980. John Waite would go on to a hit and miss solo career, and Jonathan Cain would join Journey. This was the album I liked best when I was a kid. I hadn't heard Union Jacks, so to me this was as good as the band got. The album opens with "Turn and Walk Away" that must have been a bigger hit in Canada as I'm sure I heard it on the radio. However, in the US it stalled outside the top 40. Too bad it didn't click, it's a hell of a song. This was the band's fifth record, and the band seemed to finally know what it wanted to be. The songs were cohesive and they were good. Sure, they were rooted in '70s rock, but the band seemed to be looking to the future.  The album was produced by Keith Olsen who was pretty busy during the '70s and '80s. There aren't many albums with his name on the jacket that I haven't enjoyed.  I wish I knew what the deal is with band...

I recently picked up a few albums (three) by The Babys - I'm still looking for their debut, but honestly I'm not looking too hard. I have   fond memories of the band and even though I can't remember much other than a couple of songs I still like them enough to want to hear their old stuff. Go figure. Head First was released at the end of '78 and they'd enjoy some chart success in April of '79 when "Every Time I Think of You" came close to cracking the top 10. It would be the band's most successful single ... but not their best song.. It's funny listening now, as I probably enjoy it more now than I did in the early '80s when I bought this one along with On the Edge . I know that "Every Time I Think of You" was the big hit, and it's a decent enough song, but for me it was the title track that floated my boat. It was a gritty, crunchy rock song with a great riff courtesy of Mr. Wally Stocker and his tasty guitar work. Not every s...

Union Jacks fell in between the trio of albums I had by the band back in the day. My buddy Andew who I'd jam with back in high school introduced me to some cool bands, notably Harlequin because he made me learn the guitar parts (as a fifteen year old I thought I got pretty close) to "You are the Light" and then we were farting around one afternoon and he was playing the lead riff to "Head First" by a band called The Babys. I thought it was really cool. It was probably not long after I picked up the album, and then when they dropped I'd snag Union Jacks and the band's last album On the Edge that came out in the fall of 1980. It's been a while since I've listened to The Babys and it's a bit weird listening now. Jonathan Cain would join Journey and John Waite would manage to carve out a pretty decent solo career. Then in the late '80s while Journey was in limbo Jonathan Cain, John Waite and Ricky Phillips would team up with Neil Schon and...

"Missing You" was a song so big it's probably the only song most people will think of when you mention John Waite. I knew him from a couple albums I had by The Baby's and thought they had a couple of good songs. I didn't know he'd started releasing solo records until I heard that song on the radio - and heard it again, and again. Honestly it never really got old - although it got old. I picked up No Brakes based on the strength of the hit. The album was straight ahead rock without leaning too far into the "new" sounds and production tricks that were going to define the '80s - John mostly kept to the tried and true and as a result the album has aged incredibly well. He also assembled a crack band. Dang if old Curly Smith didn't show up behind the kit. Man, I love seeing familiar names in the credits. However, it was Gary Myrick on guitar who put this album over the top - he also co-wrote 4 of the 9 tracks on the album. At the time I was blown...