SUTC:Babe Ruth Plays Ball With Zappa, The Capitols, and Morricone
My introduction to British proggers Babe Ruth came through hip hop. Their tune, The Mexican, was a massive club and break dance record in New York, even earning it's own cover version by production phenom (in the early 80's)John "Jellybean" Benitez.
To me it's a tribute to the open mindedness of early hip hop and club DJ's that they even found this record. When I went to look for it in the mid-80's though, the cat was already out of the bag, DJ-wise, and in New York Babe Ruth's '72 album, First Base, was a high priced free agent ( record store wall item )costing 50-100 dollars. Not happening on my bush league salary, so I looked in a small market for a bargain. I managed to locate the record in Minneapolis for 5 bucks, 'cause folks there didn't care a whole lot for prog records by defunct bands from Hertfordshire . I'm not sure I did either, but at that point in my career, when I was dropping 75% of my paycheck on records, I didn't need too many excuses to buy anything.
I mean I already had the Mexican from Ultimate Breaks and Beats, so it was more of a vanity purchase, to show off my crate digging chops to my buddy in New York. Anyway, in the liner notes of the record, the band's founder (well he co-founded it with vox Jenny Haan) Alan Shacklock notes, "King Kong is presented with no overdubs." Evidently he was quite proud of their version of Frank Zappa'sâ–¼ King Kongâ–¼.
On their second record, Amar Cabalerro, they dropped out of left field with a version of Cool Jerk..not exactly a tune you'd expect from musicians ready to dig in against the crafty lefty from Cucamonga (Zappa)..
For my money, though, The Mexican is still where it's at with Babe Ruth. Happily, it too is a cover, with my favorite British baseballers stepping up to the plate to face the hard throwing Ennio Morricone.
The band, Babe Ruth, is not Hall Of Fame material, but their records are worthy of a roster spot in a winning crate of prog,classic rock,or even hip hop tracks.
Play Ball!
Locating MOG account...
Comments (29)
I just yesterday read a piece on this track in the Best Music Writing 2009 book edited by Greil Marcus, but I'd never heard it before. So thanks for the very timely (for me) post.
Doubly cool..I didn't know the new collection was out. I've been pickin' those up since 2000.
This was a fun read and listen as I ate (leftover from Halloween) Baby Ruth's for breakfast while waiting for the other Babe Ruth's team to take the field today. Cool Jerk was slammin' and King Kong didn't need no overdubs--he always scored cool "babes" anyway.
hi Cody
Hello fellas..top o' the mornin'/afternoon.
I just hint at the hip hop/club connection here, but as emscee mentions..there's this excellent piece on the influence of The Mexican here.
I will probably end up buying the best music writing book..but I just found about 1/2 of the articles on line by checking the table of contents on amazon and google.
The Mexican article appeared in Wax Poetics..and there's a couple of great pics of Ms. Haan there..
With most of their members out the door in '76, Babe Ruth dropped on more record that has intrigued beat miners..Keep Your Distance..pretty clean drum break here.
well, thank ya tons CB! you're just the candidate to kick my sorry but in gear, head downstairs to the lab, and fire up 'Liz the scanner as I pried some antique polaroids outta one of the albums. See, I had a friend verrry into this band when they first hit, so I got a good vibe. And, as fate would have it, got to see them open for the postuer-perfect Argent in Nov '73 (see edge stamp!) As usual, I edged my way to the front row and had the trusty Instamatic in my pocket...
Jennie Haan had a nice set of, uh pipes!
Alan Sherlock lays down dual chops.
you'd think I was onstage, but no...just tall.
and, finally, your man Dick Powell, showing you don't need a giant kit to lay down some classic beats!
oops...that's Alan Shacklock...my bad.
This stuff is like purest essence of 1974 - not that there was a whole lot of purity around back then....
Like Robin, a fun listen/read, but I'm coming off my sugar high with a light snack of salted cashews and a beer.
What the heck, Spike 1 got me thinking about this group yesterday (indirectly of course) and I've been re-listening to them all this morning.
http://mog.com/Spike_1/blog/1563837#comment_847037
Hope you enjoy, From P - Zing Splash:
The veterans come through with extras...not a seed or stem in the bunch.
Fantastic photos, Mr. Free.
I could never imagine being a huge fan of them, but it makes sense..like being a fan of A Certain Ratio in the 80's, or somethng like that.
In the article Shacklock talks about how much freedom they had in the studio for their second record..'74 indeed.
They really get a groove going, Cody. A very good listen. I've always liked this Zap-tune, myself.
Cool Jerk: The jerky rhythm and dynamics, the piano chords and horn cresendos! Out-a-sight! Not so unZap as one might expect. Early Mothers Lite.
Ooooh! I love The Mexican!
Yes- the Mexican is some tasty prog rock!
Trivial trivia on Babe Ruth: They were the biggest band in Canada for a few years. Maybe that's why the second album was a no-limits affair. They had a guitarist called Bernie Marsden who was (and is?) quite a songwriter. Unfortunately, rather than God-like looks he is fairly short and round. So when he put his next band together he got a guy called David Coverdale in - yes, he gave us Whitesnake.
It is all news to me Magnum J.I...Love the Whitesnake connection.
In the Wax Poetics article it talks about how big they were in Toronto. How Shacklock was blown away to hear himself played in a Disco.
Canada! The Rock and Roll Dream Maker!
i rarely need much of an excuse to buy vinyl either. record shopping used to be my only reason for having a "day job". (i've recently added "muscle car" as the other reason but at least i can pack all my vinyl into the trunk & live in it if i lose my job and/or home...)
crate diggers til death! ;)
oh, and obscure prog rules! thx for introducing me to Babe Ruth.
I love that the tune became an anthem for break dancers, especially Latino/Puerto Ricans...'cause Shacklock actually was thinking about paying tribute/giving respect to Mexicans and Latinos when he was writing the tunes, and it worked.
Still slugging them out of the park, I see. They remind me of another crazy little English prog band called Flying Saucer Attack.
Nice to see ya Fluxie..
I guess Shacklock (babe Ruth's first moniker) had too much of a cricketeer ring to it, and with North American success, they changed the name.
I'll have to stick some Flying Saucer Attack on my wicket and see if it bowls me over.
That's interesting about the name change -- I admire their opportunism, Babe Ruth is such an iconic name that no American band would surely choose it. Shacklock? Too much like Shylock. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
dood - how the ef did I miss your Awesome post? Well, I was the poorer for that but no longer. "course, I take the "Brush Back". My post pales in comparison (as I expect it would). I bow to you oh postmaster!!
Oh please rummy..you deliver the goods every day. Plus, you are the master of a monastery that is a beacon of hope and joy to pre-verts everywhere.
oh, we cater to post-verts as well :-)
have you listened to any of their "07 release "Que Pasa" ?
I'd be scared to listen to new material by them...I mean some 20 year hiatuses see some good stuff coming in the late innings, but not too many.
I guess I'd give it a tryout..Two iconic (to me) 70's bands, Funk Inc. and Black Merda, put out records in the noughties..kinda due to attentions their 70's records garnered from DJ/collector type folks..
Good for them I say..I hope you get paid. However, when I check out the records...eeek..they suck. Unable to strike a balance between the natural inclination to progress and embracing the older material that got them rediscovered.
There are exceptions:Buena Vista Social Club, Bettye LaVette,Solomon Burke..I guess there have been some on the Rock side too, though I can't remember them now.
Sure, I'd check out a new Babe Ruth record, but I'd have to be in a certain mood .. or hear it by accident without knowing it was them to fully appreciate it.
guess we will have to arrange an accident;-)
As a card carrying post-vert (one who spends too much time reading MOG posts) I'd be greatful.
Although in Brooklyn, "arranging an accident" is more mob than MOG.