BABE RUTH / STEALIN' HOME

Babe Ruth / Stealin' Home is a compilation album featuring the third and the fourth albums by UK hard rock act Babe Ruth. The compilation was released in 2000. 1998 had seen the release of a compilation album First Base / Amar Caballero featuring the first two albums by the band, so the release of Babe Ruth / Stealin' Home was only natural.

Babe Ruth:

Babe Ruth is the third full-length studio album from UK ( Hatfield, Hertfordshire) rock act Babe Ruth. I was really impressed with the debut from Babe Ruth called First Base (1972) while my response to their second album Amar Caballero (1973) weren´t quite as enthusiastic even though that album was pretty good too. For me Babe Ruth is a return to form for the band and a really good album. There are a couple of flaws that keeps it from being really excellent though.

The style of music Babe Ruth plays is hard rock with a few jazz, latin and progressive rock elements. Their style reminds me a bit of a mix between Wishbone Ash ( There´s a Rub), early Thin Lizzy and early Rush ( the debut album and especially the way that Jenny Haan and Geddy Lee sings) with a few added progressive moments.

The album starts out very well with Dancer and Somebody´s Nobody. Two powerful rock tracks where Jenny Haan´s powerful and distinct voice really shines and we get to hear some really great hard rock riffing. The third track called A Fistful Of Dollars is an instrumental song with a western theme. Pretty good that one. We People Darker Than Blue is a mid paced song where Jenny Haan shows that she can also sing a bit more softy ( well not to soft). Lots of good moments in that song. Jack-O-Lantern is another fast rocker and a great track. Private Number is my least favorite on the album and kind of a sleazy commercial song IMO. Turquoise is the most latin influenced song on the album with it´s Spanish guitar. Not a favorite either but a good song. The two last songs on the album Sad But Rich and The Duchess of Orleans are good songs as well without showing quite the same power as the first couple of songs on the album.

The musicianship is excellent. Great interplay and sharp hard rock riffing. Jenny Haan needs a special mention. A real rock mama with attitude. I really like her vocal style. Very powerful.

The production is excellent and brings out the power in the music well.

Babe Ruth is an album that shows both the great sides and the more trivial sides of Babe Ruth. I think it´s a bit of a disappointment that they couldn´t keep the momentum from the first five songs on the whole album because I would have rated the album 4 stars if it had been so. As the second part of the album isn´t as exciting I can only give a 3 star rating. It´s still a good album and recommendable to hard rock fans though.

Stealin´ Home:

Stealin´ Home is the fourth full-length studio album by UK hard rock act Babe Ruth. Main composer and guitarist Alan Shacklock left the band after the third self-titled album and I was really worried how Stealin´ Home would sound without his contributions.

As it turns out Stealin´ Home isn´t that far in sound from its predecessor. Babe Ruth is basically a rock/ hard rock act in the vein of Wishbone Ash ( without the twin guitar attack). A kind of soft hard rock album. The vocals by Jenny Haan sound like a female Geedy Lee ( Rush). She is a very skilled singer with a great rock mama attitude IMO. The only element on this album that links the music to progressive rock is the inclusion of keyboards/ synths on some songs which gives the music a slightly progressive touch, best examplified on the opening track It´ll Happen In Time. I enjoy most of the album but I especially enjoy the songs that emphasise the harder rock side of the band´s sound. When they slow things down my fascination drops. A song like Can You Fell It with its regaae rythm is close to a disaster.

The production is enjoyable, warm and pleasant.

While I enjoy most of the album there are parts that doesn´t do anything for me and a 2.5 - 3 star rating is warranted. I would listen to any of the three first studio albums before this one.

Conclusion:

While I find both albums enjoyable it´s definitely Babe Ruth that I find is the album of most value here. Stealin´ Home is more of an additional bonus IMO. A 3 star rating is warranted. The idea to release both albums on a single CD is of course great for those of us who haven´t got the original vinyl albums.