Babe Ruth - First Base (1972)

Artista: Babe Ruth

Álbum: First Base
Año: 1972
Género: Hard rock progresivo
Duración: 42:03
Nacionalidad: Inglaterra

Lista de Temas:
1. Wells Fargo
2. The Runaways
3. King Kong
4. Black Dog
5. The Mexican
6. Joker

Alineación:
- Janita Haan / lead vocals
- Dave Hewitt / bass
- Dick Powell / drums
- Dave Punshon / piano, electric piano
- Alan Shacklock / guitar, vocals, organ, percussion

Otra vez a pedido del público, Alberto nos trae un disco siguiendo las inquietudes que nuestro público deja en el chat, ahora con un rock de principios de los 70s, muy ecléctico y jipi, un hard rock de guitarras densas y virtuosas, una base power y una fantástica vocalista femenina. Quizás éste sea el mejor disco de la banda, sin los altibajos que tienen los demás. Como prueba de la destreza y habilidades vocales de Hahn y buen sonido de la banda en general, les dejo la versión en vivo de el disco "The Mexican" (y noten que parte de la sección instrumental está construida alrededor de "Por un puñado de dólares" de Ennio Morricone).



Pero me estoy adelantando porque el comentario del disco es de Alberto, que nos reseña el álbum de esta manera:

Si quieren rock primitivo, desenfadado, animalesco, brioso, complejo, polentoso, original, sentimental, poderoso, con aire progresivo, acá está Babe Ruth, pendejos que en los 70s le volaban las trenzas hiponescas a más de uno, el que escuchaba Babe Ruth en esa época era un freak, con todo lo que acarrea la definición actual de "freak". Mucho se habló y se cuestionó, siempre, las escuelas o los origenes de los grandes músicos, si venian de conservatorio o salidos de algun mugroso garage y no tener la mas mínima noción de teoría, solfeo, escritura. De los últimos salieron todos los genios y grossos de la música contemporánea, desde Los Beatles a Spinetta.
Babe Ruth es un grupo inglés de lo más crudo y sentimental de ese entonces, esa sensación que nace desde lo mas profundo del ser está implícito en la música del grupo, esta si es una música desacartonada, directa, que te llega desde el primer acorde, recomiendo particularmente que vean el próximo video para que cerremos la idea sobre lo que estoy escribiendo. Los viejitos piolas ya conocen a Babe Ruth,los púberes, los jóvenes músicos que salen con sus amigotes a mostrarse por algun pub, les recomiendo sobremanera que vean y escuchen a Babe Ruth y sepan que hay que poner "esto" para salir a rockearla y no salir de covers musical y personal y creer que con ponerle un poco de plástico, colores, peinado raro, pose con "aire ausente y despreocupado" y vocecita a lo Indio Solari vas a llegarle a la gente, "no pibe no", por ahí no es, te marcaron mal la salida, quedate una tardecita de lluvia googleando y escuchando a Babe Ruth y tu camino quizás lo veas un poco mas claro.
Lo bueno que nació y perduró en los años 70s fue precisamente ese rock crudo y animal, que dió pie a las múltiples variantes que hoy existen. Ademas de Babe Ruth existieron también los Kingston Wall en los 80/90, muy de ese estilo, banda que recomiendo particularmente, su líder dejó este mundo muy joven (saltó de un balcon en una Iglesia de Helsinki) y dejó unos discos sensacionales, un violero y cantante "de aquellos". Pueden ver algo por acá.
Otra particularidad de este primer trabajo de esta banda es la calidad técnica de sus integrantes y de lo bien que suenan y de las mezclas de sus discos, la bata suena espectacular y los efectos de estereo están muy bien logrados, y Jenne Haan, jovencita adolescente que tira un aire de jipona de Belgrano la descose cantando, con su estilo natural y despojado de cualquier impostación, cosa que deberían aplicar todas las frontwoman de la actualidad, pero que raras veces aparece. Quizás por esto es que personalmente me conmueve tanto escuchar el trabajo de Carolina Restuccia en Catukua, esa es la naturalidad verdadera y la que te llega a conmover el alma.
"Black Dog", y "The Mexican", este último muy versionado hasta en la actualidad, sobresalen en este proyecto tan audaz como primitivo.
Alguien, como cientos de cabezones chateros, dejó su inquietud, y aquí estamos complaciendo pedidos, no creo que haya sido un viejito piola, me inclino más por un joven con inquietudes setentescas, al cual le agregaría como sugerencia que si le gusta Babe Ruth tampoco deje de escuchar Hypnos 69, banda belga actual pero con aire setentesco que la rompe.
Babe Ruth se volvio a unir en 2010 para dar un par de shows en Canada, país donde fue una banda muy exitosa, los canadienses de esa época adoraban y convulsionaban con la música de éste grupo. La hoy cincuentona cantante sigue manteniendo su estilo y por sobre todo su honestidad, cualidad que sólo los grandes poseen.
La escuelita de Moe hasta marzo no abre, pero siguen estas clases de apoyo, para los cabezones que se sientan atrás en el aula, que tiran papelitos, que escriben boludeces en el pizarrón, los que dibujan, los que hacen avioncitos con las hojas de carpeta, los que pegan el chicle debajo de la mesita, los que toman chocolatada .La pibita de Babe Ruth los espera. ¿Qué Tool?

Alberto



En referencia al comentario de Alberto, donde dice: "los cabezones que se sientan atrás en el aula, que tiran papelitos, que escriben boludeces en el pizarrón, los que dibujan, los que hacen avioncitos con las hojas de carpeta, los que pegan el chicle debajo de la mesita"... ¡ese soy yo! Menos por lo de la chocolatada, en lo demás me siento representado. Mejor que el profesor sea Alberto, que yo le tiro papelitos desde las filas de atrás.

Y vamos con algunos comentarios en inglés, como cuando siempre hacemos cuando existen comentarios en inglés:

First Base was British hard rock group Babe Ruth's biggest success, both in terms of popular and critical acclaim. This LP defined an interesting junction between hard rock and progressive rock. The two driving forces behind this album were guitarist Alan Shackloc, who wrote most of the material, and vocalist Janita Haan, who came out as the perfect balance between Janis Joplin and Robert Plant. The album contained "The Mexican," the band's classic song which also includes a theme by western soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone ("Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu"). Other highlights include the powerful rock number "Wells Fargo," the sweet-and-sour "Black Dog" (with nice piano work by Dave Punshon), and a surprising rendition of Frank Zappa's "King Kong." The strings and oboe arrangements in "The Runaways" don't work as well, but at least they don't get pompous. With its long songs (six to eight minutes) and lush arrangements, First Base seduced both the hard rock and the progressive rock crowds. The album cover was painted by Roger Dean, who illustrated many Yes albums.

François Couture

First Base was British hard rock group Babe Ruth’s biggest success, both in terms of popular and critical acclaim. This LP defined an interesting junction between hard rock and progressive rock. The two driving forces behind this album were guitarist Alan Shackloc, who wrote most of the material, and vocalist Janita Haan, who came out as the perfect balance between Janis Joplin and Robert Plant. The album contained “The Mexican,” the band’s classic song which also includes a theme by western soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone (“Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu”). Other highlights include the powerful rock number “Wells Fargo,” the sweet-and-sour “Black Dog” (with nice piano work by Dave Punshon), and a surprising rendition of Frank Zappa’s “King Kong.” The strings and oboe arrangements in “The Runaways” don’t work as well, but at least they don’t get pompous. With its long songs (six to eight minutes) and lush arrangements, First Base seduced both the hard rock and the progressive rock crowds. The album cover was painted by Roger Dean, who illustrated many Yes albums.

AllRovi

This was my second album after I knew the third one through melodic song "The Duchess of Orleans". This album has some prog elements in most of tracks featured. In addition to original line-up, the band brought together string chamber musicians: four musicians to play cello, Brent Carter on Sax, and Caspar Lawal on congas, bongos and kabasa. Alan Shacklock did all the arrangements and co-produced the album with Nick Mobs. Looking at the number of musicians contribute in this debut album, it seems a grandiose effort.
"Wells Fargo" (6:17) kicks off the album with an energetic style in relatively fast tempo music combining excellent percussion, guitar riffs and powerful vocal by Janita Haan. Saxes also provide its role during interlude. "The Runaways" (7:27) is very melodic song, heavily influenced by classical music combined with Mexican style. It's a mellow track that blends powerful and transparent vocal of Janita Haan and cello work. The song moves nicely in crescendo with variations in cello augmented with piano work. "King Kong" (6:44) is a wonderful instrumental piece with great keyboard / piano solo and energetic rhythm section, augmented with guitar work.
"Black Dog" (8:03) is a wonderfully crafted composition which begins with a soft guitar fills followed with bass lines in bluesy style that accompany low register notes voice lines. The opening line is really a melodic segments. The song moves gradually with drum work and at approx minute 2:24 the song enters into a stream of great arrangements with inventive piano work. The piano work reminds me to the work of Cuby + Blizard. The exploration of piano solo is really a good treat esoeceially it's combined with great guitar fills and Janita Haan's higher register notes. This song ends up wonderfully at the ending part with uplifting music in high points with stunning guitar work.
As the title implies, "The Mexican" (5:49) explores the Mexican music through nice combination between dynamic keyboard work, solid bass lines, powerful vocal. The song is very uplifting. The vocal quality of Janita Haan reminds me to the voice of Atlantis / Frumpy's lead singer Inga Rumpf. The song turns into a truly Mexican with the interpretation of "per qalche dollaroin piu" at the end of the track - it's typically a theme commonly used in cowboy / djangos movies. The album concludes brilliantly with "Joker" (7:43) which explores percussion, guitar riffs and great vocal lines.
Overall, I cannot identify any lacking of this album as every individual track is an excellent composition. This debut album is an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ..!
Peace on earth and mercy mild.

Gatot Widayanto

"Babe Ruth" debut album is still one of my favourites from the early 70's mixing powerful rock, symphonic and progressive genres. I love the voice of Jannie Haan who has one of the most powerful and awesome voices of all time. Mood on the album moves from the high adrenaline forward rock number "Wells Fargo" (which is one of the greatest rock tracks of all time IMHO) to the soft symphonic melodic piece titled "The Runaways". They even attempt and pull off a fantastic rendition of FRANK ZAPP's "King Kong". Leader of the band, guitarist, and principal song writer, Alan Shacklock was a huge talent and may IMHO be of one rock's most underrated musicians. This album has it all and is just an amazing piece of 70's progressive rock. Absolutely essential album.

James Unger

'First Base' is a stormer of an album. Not fully complex like a lot of prog we know and love, but equally as effective. When I got this LP a while back, I was naturally drawn to the Roger Dean artwork, and not knowing anything of the band, took a chance. 'Wells Fargo' rocks, can't put it any other way, and vocalist Jennie Haan belts out her lines like a female version of Ozzy Osbourne !! Great opener. 'The Runaways' is a softer, more symphonic sounding piece that is beautiful - a personal favourite. Next up we get a cover version of Frank Zappa's instrumental 'King Kong' (haven't heard the original, though) with some great electric-piano work and guitaring. Side 2 starts with 'Black Dog', another cover song (penned by Jesse Winchester), and the longest track on the album. It starts out quietly and gradually builds into a hard-edged jammy track with excellent guitar runs. 'The Mexican' seems to be a big hit although I've never heard it on the radio here in Australia, maybe I was too young...I was 1 when the album came out. Anyway, awesome song it is, great riff with e-piano and guitar, cool drumming, castanets and Jennie's superb vocals. It interpolates 'Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu', a famous Morricone composition, which fits into the song as if it was meant to be - just listen to the MP3 here. Last song on the album, 'Joker', starts out with more of that tinkly electric-piano and is generally hard- rocking with some strong vocal duels between Jennie and guitarist Alan Shacklock. Clearly, in prog terms, this album doesn't break any new ground, but it is an excellent addition to any music collection, whatever genre.

Tom Ozric

Babe Ruth´s debut album First Base is an excellent album IMO. I expected nothing and got a nice surprise. If you like female fronted prog rock this one´s a real treat. It´s very different from groups like Renaissance and Curved Air though as Jennie Haan is a very original and distinct vocalist. She seldom sings with soft angelic voices like many other female fronted acts. More about this later.
The music is a mix of hard rock and progressive more symphonic moments. A lot of the instrumental runs are done simultaniously by the guitar and piano. The music is very melodic and powerful. Most songs are melodic hard rock songs but The Runaways and the Zappa cover song King Kong are a bit different. The Runaways is the only song where Jennie Haan sings with a soft voice and here she shows she has a beautiful voice for this kind of singing too. The song is very symphonic building to a climax in the end. Very nice. As I am a big Zappa fan I´m very happy that Babe Ruth has chosen to cover King Kong. It´s one of the more complex Zappa themes rytmically ( well most of his songs are very complex) but Babe Ruth pulls it of with ease. There are some nice solo sections here too.
The musicians are fantastic in my ears. Especially the guitarist Alan Shacklock has a very nice feel to his playing. The most original thing here is the banshee rock mama vocals from Jennie Haan though. I´m exaggerating a bit here as I really think she is a great singer. I´m not normally into female rock singers as I think they often force their vocals to be raw, but Jennie Haan has attitude and plenty of it. She is a great asset to this band.
The sound quality is very good and the songs are well displayed here.
Note the beautiful Roger Dean art work too, it´s a real treat.
All in all First Base is an excellent prog rock album with lots of surprises along the way. It rocks, it has quiet moments, symphonic moments and first and foremost it has a great distinctive female singer. 4 stars is a matter of course for this brilliant little gem. Highly recommendable.

Umur

Overlooked by many, this is a band who's failure to make anything of themselves after their rookie season would ultimately leave them forgotten in the greater scheme of things. It's unfortunate, since the band was so amazing on this outing, and would even go on to inspire bands whose cover songs are all that's left to give any recognition that the band ever existed at all.
Babe Ruth's music can be described as an excellent mix of '70s hard rock with typical progressive leanings voiced by a terrific female vocalist whose vocals give the album all sorts of life. The two leading forces of the band are the two sources of noise that are most prominent in the music. Vocalist Jenny Haan exercises all possible and probable vocal chords on the album as she rips through her parts switching between blood curdling shrieks and serene softer passages while guitarist/songwriter Alan Shacklock grinds his axe to produce the licks that are ever so catchy on the album. But for all those who are wondering, no, the music has nothing to do with baseball.
With such riff based rock sections it's easy to compare this band as a mix of Heavy Proggers Rush (with early 70s high-Geddy vocals) and Led Zeppelin (with the stinging riffs). Heavy and slower songs leap frog one another on the album giving it a very scattered feel which ends up being a major plus for the disc as it manages to keep attention without ever becoming boring or too over the top.
Though the band did not write all the material on this first album it sure seems like they did. The music is played with such perfection and direction that one forgives the band for not submitting all their own songs. From the opening (and curiously named) Wells Fargo were given a sonic blast from the excellent pair of vocals and guitar that doesn't let up until the end of the track. Of the other fast songs on the album none let down and they all do the job to letting heads band or nod whilst keeping the music just as it's been labeled. Heavy and progressive.
The slower songs on the album are all performed to perfection. Jenny Haan's vocals on these tracks are beautiful, providing depth and emotion to what is already a tear jerking experience. Songs which pick up to an ultimate screaming climax such as Black Dog (not a Zeppelin cover) and The Runaways are what really make the album so exceptional.
A couple of songs which don't stick to the proposed formula are also quite excellent. The Frank Zappa written King Kong is an excellently performed instrumental that is highly enjoyable while the southern twinged The Mexican is a chilling yet somehow calm song which is likely the best of the shorter tracks (later covered by German metallers, Helloween). Joker finishes off the album as a combination of the previous tracks (style wise) and it all comes seemingly too soon.
An amazing feat of Heavy Prog which was so unfortunately forgotten after the dust of the 70s settled. It's true that Babe Ruth would never top this album or really go anywhere, but this album is absolutely necessary to anyone who fancies hard rock or Heavy prog. 5 home plates out of 5!

Patricia O'Bee

One fo the classic rock albums of the 70´s. Oh, sure, this is hardly what you call a typical progressive album, but it is progressive in the broader sense of the the term. The base for this album is hard rock music, but it also wrong to call First Base a typical product of the genre. There are elements fo boogie, jazz, classical, latin music and even italian film soundtracks. All played by skilled musicians and sung by a very unique and powerful singer.
The original LP had this strinking cover designed by Roger Dean, of Yes fame. Inside you had the genius of guitarrist, arranger and mastermind Alan Shacklock leading the band through a serie of classics. Of course the main attraction is vocalist Janita Haan, one of the finest female singers of that era. She could handle every kind of music, being it a very vocal demanding hard rock (Wells Fargo) or a delicate symphonic ballad (The Runaways). On the remake of Zappa´s King Kong the group proved they could play as good as anyone. And, of course, no one can forget The Mexican: a great mix of heavy guitar riffs, spanich guitar introduction, historical lyrics and great percussion in the background. By the end of the song electric piano and guitar jumps with Ennio Morricone´s For A Few Dollars More theme, which sends shivers down my spine everytime I hear it.
First Base is Babe Ruth´s best album, born a classic and although production and mixing could be better, it has an incredible tracklist. The Mexican may be their best (and most original) tune but the rest of the songs are not far behind that, offering an amazing display of styles and outstading perfomances. Unfortunatly constant line up changes, musical and personal clashes and general bad luck prevented the band to explore their enormous potential in full, both in artistic and commercial terms. but what a debut it was!
First Base is one of my favorite 70´s album. A CD that stood well the test of time and sounds fresh and exciting more than 30 years after its release. It also proved you don´t have to sound like Yes or Genesis to be progressive. As long as you have talented people and the will to expand bounderies, prog music could be found in many styles, even quite unlike ones like hard rock. And Babe Ruth did it brilliantly.
No, it is symphonic prog. But prog in the very orignal sense of the word. A masterpiece.

Tarcisio Moura

Babe Ruth seem to have made a big impact on those who got into some of their minor hit singles back in the seventies. It is common to read reviews, blogs and forum entries from middle-aged dudes (seems to be almost all guys for some reason) who were really blown away by the band’s energy as well as by their relatively simple but well-textured arrangements. The gutsy intensity and ripped abs of lead singer Juanita Haan didn’t hurt either, I suppose.
I actually never heard of these guys back then, and didn’t really discover their music until long after they had disbanded. In retrospect, their first three albums were all quite good, with this one being the most well-known and probably the best overall in terms of musicality and progginess. From the spacious “The Runaways” to a highly rhythmic and intense version of Zappa’s “King Kong”, the band displayed both power and finesse while above all emphasizing an enthusiasm that is still quite infectious.
The band’s biggest hit ‘”The Mexican” also came from their debut, an intense variation on the Ennio Morricone spaghetti-western theme that took the sound of bands like Home and Cactus one step further by incorporating heavy organ and percussion to give the tune a rather timeless feel.
Their other cover came with a lengthy and impassioned version of “Black Dog”, a song penned by American war-protestor Jesse Winchester who fled the U.S. for Canada after being selected by the Vietnam War draft board. Those were different times, but the message sadly resonates still today.
The album closes with “Joker”, a hard-rocking tune that calls to mind the rhythm of Bad Company and the hard-driving blues of Led Zeppelin. This one is really a period piece that doesn’t stand the test of time quite as well as the rest of the album, but is still a pretty powerful song even today.
Unfortunately Babe Ruth would go steadily downhill in the years following this release, and by the time ‘Kid's Stuff’ released four years later all the original members were gone and what remained was in name only and bore little resemblance to the original sound. No matter, this album’s place in prog history was well-secured by then, and even the disco damage done to their reputation and music by the end of the decade would not taint that. This is a solid heavy prog offering from a band that should have been bigger than they were. A four star effort for sure, and one that is highly recommended for prog fans who enjoy gutsy female singers and bands who take the “rock” part of progressive rock seriously.

Bob Moore

This debut album by Babe Ruth is called First Base, which is appropriate since the band is named after a famous baseball player! This is a bit odd, however, given that baseball is a distinctly American sport, and Babe Ruth is a British band (though the band's American influences do not stop with their name). To fit with the baseball theme, Roger Dean made the cover art picture with the iconic "babe" with a baseball bat wearing (what looks like) a spacesuit, being hunted down by three green men (that looks a bit like the Ninja Turtles!) surfing on the backs of sharks! Maybe this is Roger Dean's (who is also British) idea of what baseball is about? It is hard to believe that this was the same guy who painted those beautiful fantasy landscapes for Yes and Asia (and many other bands). Suffice to say that the art work for First Base is not among Dean's better works. Fortunately the music of First Base itself has nothing to do with baseball, neither of the regular kind nor of the Roger Dean kind!
First Base consists of six rather lengthy tracks, often fusing Latin/Mexican music with heavy Rock and some Blues, Jazz and Symphonic influences. Babe Ruth is fronted by Janita Haan. In the booklet to my CD version (holding both this album and the band's second album) she is rightly credited not for vocals per se, but for 'vocal power'! I normally don't much like female vocalists in a Rock context, often finding them lacking the required edge and power for Rock music (Annie Haslam is a good case in point), but I like the diverse and distinctive vocals of Haan very much. Her voice fits perfectly both hard rockers like Wells Fargo and Joker as well as softer songs like The Runaways and Black Dog (and judging from some pictures from the 70's, she was quite a babe!)
The instrumental backbone of Babe Ruth consists of bass, drums, Latin percussion, electric and acoustic pianos, organ and electric (and some, but not enough in my opinion, acoustic) guitars. On some songs they are joined by a small string section, Oboe and Saxes. The whole band is obviously talented, but Alan Shacklock's guitar playing deserves special mention (especially on The Mexican). Shacklock also wrote all the material for this album with the exception of two (and a half) covers. Of these covers we find one instrumental called King Kong originally by Frank Zappa and a (semi-)ballad called Black Dog written by Jesse Winchester (the latter has nothing to do with the Led Zeppelin song of the same name). I had previously not heard the original versions of these songs but I searched them out for the purposes of this review and I must say that I much prefer the Babe Ruth versions of both songs.
The Frank Zappa original is far jazzier and much more experimental (and is badly recorded). Babe Ruth have taken the basic riff and taken it into an entirely different direction; their version is much more concise and articulate. The Jesse Winchester original of Black Dog is a folky singer/songwriter tune. Babe Ruth's version is about twice as long and they have transformed it into something much more interesting and progressive in my opinion. The third piece of non-original music occurs in Babe Ruth's most famous song, The Mexican. This great song is divided into two parts with the first part being an original by Alan Shacklock and the second part being a Rock version of Ennio Morricone's famous movie soundtrack For A Few Dollars More. I am usually very hesitant about giving an album with cover songs a high rating, but these covers are so different compared to their originals, and adds to them, or improves them, and incorporates them, in such an elegant way that I cannot find it unimaginative in any way. Indeed, these two (and a half) cover songs are almost as different compared to their originals as the Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen covers made by Manfred Mann's Earth Band!
The original material is all well written and blends perfectly with the non-original material. The best song is in my opinion the Spanish/Latin infused hard rocker The Mexican with its fantastic guitar playing, tasteful tempo changes and Latin percussions. Like a Santana on speed! It begins with a (too) short acoustic intro before it goes straight into the main theme played on electric guitar backed up by electric piano to great effect. After three and a half minutes it flows smoothly into the For A Few Dollars More theme only to return to the original theme once more towards the end. Brilliant!
Other highlights are the opener Wells Fargo and the Symphonic The Runaways. These first two tracks of the album immediately show the diversity of both the band as a whole and of Haan's voice in particular. Alternating like this between up tempo songs, ballads and an instrumental, makes the album varied and never boring.
I have had this album for several years but I have never quite been able to decide if I should give it three or four stars. It is by no means a perfect product and it might not be to every Prog fan's taste, but I have a soft very spot for it. So four stars it is!
Highly recommended to those who feel attracted to the music as it is described in reviews like this one.

Fritz-Anton

This was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting a straight up Hard Rock album with Janis Joplin- like vocals but I got much more than that. Lots of keyboards here and they also have several guests on here playing congas, bongos, kabasa, sax, aboe and cello. I like the way the songs are extended as well, with the average track length being 7 minutes.
"Wells Fargo" kicks in fairly quickly and the vocals come in before a minute. Sax a minute later. Nice guitar solo after 3 minutes then the sax retrurns around 5 minutes. A catchy tune. "The Runaways" is pastoral with aboe early as reserved vocals join in. Strings are added too. I like when the vocals stop and we get this long instrumental section as they just seem to jam the rest of the way. "King Kong" is an instrumental that opens with the bass, guitar and drums standing out. Keyboards join in. It's building after 2 1/2 minutes then settles back. The guitar starts to solo tastefully before 4 minutes. It's building again before 5 minutes.
"Black Dog" is laid back with vocals to start. It picks up some 2 minutes in, then a full sound follows with drums, piano and bass standing out. Vocals are back after 4 minutes with guitar and they both shine the rest of the way,especially late. "The Mexican" has this catchy beat with some prominant bass. Vocals and guitar come in. A Spanish flavour to this one. "Joker" is more straight forward sounding and my least favourite. Keyboards and percussion to open as heavy guitar comes in followed by male and female vocals. The guitar takes the lead 2 minutes in. She gets pretty theatrical at times.

John Davie

Babe Ruth would shift from being a hard-edged progressive rock band to being a hard rock band with a few progressive touches on subsequent albums, but this debut finds them at their proggiest, with a capable cover version of Frank Zappa's King Kong - one of the most intricate and technically challenging compositions from the original Mothers of Invention era - demonstrating their strong capabilities as a group. The album's sound is unique in the band's back catalogue due to the aforementioned hard rock emphasis of their subsequent releases, which is a shame because had they persisted in this direction I think they could have been major names on the prog scene.

W. Arthur

Frequently overlooked by major music guides including The Great Rock Discography, The Music Hound Essental Guide To Rock, The Rough Guide To Rock and others Babe Ruth, from Hatfield , England blasted it`s way into the early seventies music scene with this appropriately titled First Base album which also featured cosmic artwork from Roger Dean. Like other bands from England such as Genesis, Gentle Giant and Supertramp they became very popular in North America particularily in Montréal, Canada.
Vocalist Janita Haan could have been Janis Joplin`s evil twin belting out song after song with the heart of Janis with her devil may care, no holds barred vocal deliveries. Guitar wizard/composer Alan Shacklock provides some heavy rythmn guitar riffing support which constitutes the basic formula throughout the album. Shacklock also throws in some lightspeed guitar solos on blues based tracks Joker and Wells Fargo which also features some searing saxwork.
The barrage lets up somewhat on the ballad-like The Runaways which features guest musicians on strings and woodwinds as well as some melodic Fender Rhodes playing. Don`t expect any Emerson-istic freakouts from keyboard player, Dave Punshun. He plays a more softer background role providing at times some jazzy soloing particularily on a cover version of Frank Zappa`s King Kong. The theme from Enninio Moricone`s Fist Full of Dollars is borrowed on The Mexican which features Spanish guitar stylings from Shacklock complemented by Punshin`s keyboard work.This track became their most well known piece and can still be heard on classic rock stations. It also gained some popularity as a dance song perhaps as a result of it`s Spanish rythmns in discotheques during the seventies!
The only caution I would issue to the listener who starts out with this LP is that the band`s subsequent albums never quite shined like First Base. Nevertheless First Base is rock n`roll time capsule material and rates 5 gold stars with this reviewer even if some of the so-called " reputable " record guides choose to ignore it.

Ian Gledhill

The album First Base is established(constituted) by a sound enough heavy hard rock. The feminine singing(song) is does not ease the style, guitars are tranchante. We touch here has a progressive tres well produced to see boogie on edges. One can hear(understand) the saxophone but also Alan Shacklock's guitar which remains rather incisive.
Dave Punshon's piano sometimes cuts with certain titles(securities), which makes an album varied enough sometimes tres soft. Even if he(it) not ets not façile to go into this album, it is necessary prété attention there, because Babe Ruth realized her(it) a beautiful pancake. The low battery(drum kit) battery(drum kit) enchaine tres well, that swing almost with the keyboard, pleasant to ears without speaking about extreme originality the album does not fall in the cliché (picture) of the commercial progressive rock.

Discographia

Talk about music with passion, I don't know of many other albums on which the entire band sounds so driven. The lead vocals are especially of note as Janita Haan really punishes her vocal cords, stretching them to the limit over and over. Admittedly, I usually side step most bands with a female lead vocalist but this album has me rethinking things completely. The first two tracks are enjoyable but not spectacular. These opening tracks are followed by an honest cover of FRANK ZAPPA's King Kong, which while I didn't mind it seemed slightly out of place with the rest of the album. Now, the fourth track, Black Dog, is truely a rock monster and is the highlight of the album. Black Dog has to be one of the great underrated songs in the history of rock music as a whole, let alone in heavy prog, with driving, powerful instrumentals and the intense vocals of Haan cutting through. The next track, The Mexican, is the second best song on the album and while it is a slight drop off from the previous track it is only because the heights of Black Dog. It is a bit of a shame that the band reached the peak of their musical career halfway through their first album, but better then than never. The final track, Joker, doesn't leave the listener disappointed as a ending but this is truely one of those albums which you will find yourself listening to one track off of over and over but not necessarily the entire album. Overall, with a band sounding so motivated to excel in every area and a true powerhouse track right in the heart of the album First Base scores 4 game winning home runs out of 5.

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

Babe Ruth's first album, First Base, is in my opinion a must-have album for any Hard- Rock/Prog fan. It cannot be considered as full progressive music but it is a great mix of Hard driving rock (Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple) and early experimental prog. The album consist of six stunning pieces exploring differents styles and moods.
Wells Fargo is a strong opening song with powerful guitar riffs, simple bass lines, great power vocals, saxes and oboe solos that bring a different tone to the song and complex guitar solo. In my opinion, not a progressive song, but a Hard Rock song.
The Album plays next song, The Runaways, and the mood changes to something more bluesy, melodic and symphonic in which we can more appreciate Jennie Haan voice along with soft cello playing. In my opinion, the greatest song on the album, The Runaways starts slowly as we hear Haan's singing and builds up to reach a peak of intensity by the end of the song.
Third song is a prog remake of Frank Zappa's King Kong. Recorded "straight" (as said on the album back), it generates a feeling of power, prog and even psychedelia at some point. The feel is supported by keyboard and guitars works, grooving bass and drums and a great evolution of the sound.
Side two kicks off with Black Dog, a great progressive composition, a melting pot of melody, softness, intensity and emotion. It is the perfect example of Hard Rock mixed with progressive sound. The second half of the song is simply stunning on intensity evolving. Great guitar, good keyboards and nice lyrics sang perfectly by Haan's jazzy, but still powerful voice, mix up to present you a nearly perfect piece.
Follows The Mexican, Babe Ruth's most known song. The key of the song sits in the very complex guitar riffs by Alan Shacklock and again Haan's singing. Closing piece, Joker, joins Folk, Hard Rock and prog altogether to create a good grooving song with lots of bass and slow guitar riffs.
In conclusion, First Base is an good mixed-style album composed of incredible guitars riffs and solos, staggering vocalist, poor bass lines, good but not more than good drums and excentric keyboard solos reminding me of Jon Lord and maybe Keith Emerson. I own the Vinyl (or Vynil, I never know) and it been three days since I listened to something than First Base. I can tell the song I appreciate the most is The Runaways after three days but that's still an opinion. Great addition to any collection of music. It would have been masterpiece in his own music style, but not prog though it contains lot of early prog sound.

Olivier Lamarche

I have too many records. Sometimes I will file something good too soon, and neglect a return spin. However, this LP is one that I will flip past in the letter B and often pop it on the turntable. Every time I hear it, my estimation of its quality only continues to grow, so I just upped my 4.5 to a 5.0. This is one seriously locked-in slab o' wax with superlative vocals from Janita Hahn. That the 12-inch house crowd latched on to fat bass groove of the The Mexican in the 80's only confirms its status as a stone cold groover. But really, the original Mexican is better, the band is tight as they come, and there really is not a duff track on the whole record. If female fronted hard rock is your thing, you can do no better than this. And if you think they sound great, I suggest you go to Youtube and check out what these guys looked like live playing this stuff back in the day. Jenny shaking it for all its worth in that white jumpsuit......what a lady!

Newarkpsych

Discazo emocional desde las entrañas, desgarrador, apasionado y al mismo tiempo con buenas melodías, te recomiendo que escuchas y conozcas a estos ingleses que si bien no son ultra conocidos han marcado y definido un estilo que varios han intentado copiar. Otro aportazo de Alberto, para variar.