{"id":5233,"date":"2010-10-27T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2010-10-27T04:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5233"},"modified":"2010-11-04T23:24:15","modified_gmt":"2010-11-05T03:24:15","slug":"gonzo%e2%80%99s-gems-%e2%80%9con-the-edge-with-the-babys%e2%80%9d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=5233","title":{"rendered":"Gonzo\u2019s Gems: \u201cOn The Edge With The Babys\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales<\/strong><\/p>\n

By accident, I stumbled across the The Babys in 1982, one year after the band had broken up. It was a bright sunny day and I was at a yard sale rummaging through cassette tapes in a big box marked \u201c$2 each\u201d. I picked up a cassette by \u201cThe Babys\u201c entitled \u201cOn The Edge\u201d and though I wasn\u2019t familiar with the group, I added it to my stack of cassettes. I paid $10 dollars for my handful of cassette tapes and headed home. \u201cNot bad\u201c, I thought, after listening to half the tracks. The Babys had a very distinctive sound. It wasn\u2019t until I got to the cut, \u201cToo Far Gone\u201d that I was floored! It had my immediate attention. There was no denying the hard rocking attitude of the track. I decided to find out what else these \u201cBabys\u201d were about.<\/p>\n

The Babys, formed in 1976 with John Waite on lead vocals\/bassist, Wally Stocker on lead guitar, Michael Corby on guitar\/keyboards and Tony Brock on drums, went on to record five albums in a five year time span. In those five years, The Babys proved themselves to be a very melodic rock band, scoring two Top 20 singles with \u201cEvery Time I Think Of You\u201d and \u201cIsn\u2019t It Time\u201d. The Babys opened up for everyone from Ted Nugent to Styx to Alice Cooper and they rocked harder than their name implied, yet the band\u2018s image as a teen-friendly pop band remained with them until the very end.<\/p>\n

Their debut album, \u201cThe Babys\u201d, released in 1977, showed a lot of promise and it contained the standout cuts, \u201cIf You\u2019ve Got The Time\u201d and \u201cI Love How You Love Me\u201c. \u201cI Love How You Love Me\u201d was an older song originally written by Larry Kolber and Barry Mann and covered by Bobby Vinton, Jerry Vale, Ray Coniff and Eddie Arnold to name a few. Here the band gives \u201cI Love How You Love Me\u201d it\u2019s charm by playing it in a slow, bluesy manner. And with \u201cIf You\u2019ve Got The Time\u201d, John Waite sings, \u201cOh, I\u2019ve got love that grows\u2026 Oh, I\u2019ve got love that shows\u2026 I\u2019ve got the love if you\u2019ve got the time\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

Their sophomore release, \u201cBroken Heart\u201d also appeared later in 1977. Some critics feel the teen-oriented packaging of this album may have stifled the group\u2019s appeal to wider audiences. Nonetheless, they were still a hard rocking unit. Starting off the album were the Zeppelin-tinged tracks, \u201cWrong Or Right\u201d, \u201cGive Me Your Love\u201d and \u201cAnd If You Could See Me Fly\u201d. Listen close and you can hear the Led Zeppelin influences throughout these exceptional tracks. \u201cBroken Heart\u201c, the albums title track, is a song written about L.A and has a very catchy pop hook. It settles in as a very good pop song.<\/p>\n

1978 saw the release of The Babys\u2019 third album, \u201cHead First\u201d. It also saw the departure of founding member and lead guitarist\/keyboardist Michael Corby. Corby was let go in the midst of recording the album due to the strong animosity that had been growing between him and Waite over a long period of time. With Corby out of the picture, the album sounded simpler and sleeker. The highlights were \u201cEvery Time I Think Of You\u201d and the title track, \u201cHead First\u201d. \u201cHead First\u201d is a superb rocker, endowed with a very cool driving beat and \u201cEvery Time I Think Of You\u201c is a beautiful power ballad served up with flair and flourish and gave the band it\u2018s second big hit. With the album completed, the band headed out on tour with their new members, keyboardist Jonathan Cain and bassist Ricky Phillips.<\/p>\n

In 1980, John Waite abandoned the bass and concentrated solely on vocals for the recording of \u201cUnion Jacks\u201c. The album, recorded in a little over a month, capitalized on the great songwriting and outstanding musicianship of their new band members Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips. The end result was an energetic album. John Waite cited it as their finest hour. The Gems here were: \u201cBack On My Feet Again\u201c which reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the band\u2019s last song to hit the charts; \u201cTrue Love True Confession\u201d, a Motown tribute with an English rock \u2018n\u2019 roll back beat; \u201cMidnight Rendezvous\u201d, a song that instantly draws you in with it\u2019s opening riff and pumping beat; \u201cAnytime\u201d, the first song written as a five-piece band while rehearsing for the Head First Tour; and \u201cTurn Around In Tokyo\u201d, which is sung by Jonathan Cain in a Bowie-esque fashion.<\/p>\n

The Babys\u2018 last album, \u201cOn The Edge\u201d, was released in October 1980, just 10 months on the heels of \u201cUnion Jacks\u201d. At this point of the game, the band were fighting for their professional lives. \u201cOn The Edge\u201d was an apt description of the band\u2019s state. Though the album sounded much more polished, it still had the energetic appeal and swagger of previous albums. \u201cSweet 17\u201d and \u201cShe\u2019s My Girl\u201c rocked with sweet abandon. \u201cRock \u2018N Roll Is (Alive And Well)\u201d and \u201cPostcard\u201c showed the band\u2019s growth and ease at creating impressive and heartfelt rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. And then there\u2019s the Gem that started it all for me\u2026 \u201cToo Far Gone\u201d! It has all the key ingredients of a classic hard rock song. It has a cocky attitude, a hard driving beat, a catchy guitar riff and lyrics that go, \u201cStaring down a bottle\u2026 feelin\u2019 kinda mean\u2026 itchin\u2019 for some trouble\u2026 tryin\u2019 to keep it clean\u2026 wound up so tight\u2026 poundin\u2019 like a drum\u2026 I put up the good fight\u2026 I\u2019ve been never known to run\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n

After the band had called it quits in 1981, Jonathan Cain joined the legendary rock group Journey, Tony Brock went on to drum for Rod Stewart for many years, Wally Stocker played guitar for Rod Stewart and Air Supply and John Waite went on to a successful solo career, scoring a smash hit with the number one, \u201cMissing You\u201d. In 1989, he took a breather from his solo career and helped with the formation of the AOR super group Bad English which included lead guitarist Neil Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, bassist Ricky Phillips and drummer Deen Castronovo. Bad English scored three hits, \u201cWhen I See You Smile\u201c, \u201cPrice Of Love\u201c and \u201cPossession\u201c. John has maintained a solo career up to present time, releasing \u201cIn Real Time\u201d this year through Frontiers Records.<\/p>\n

The Babys never achieved mass commercial success. The punk movement had entered into the picture. The Babys\u2019 timing had been wrong. John Waite said it best\u2026 \u201cWe were out of sync, we were out of time. If we came out now, with a different name, we\u2019d be huge. Because it\u2019s so long ago, sometimes you forget the things you achieved, but we had teeth. We were a good band.\u201d Gonzo says, \u201cWrong or right, if you\u2019ve got the time, jump in head first and check out The Babys!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/a>(CDs) \u201cUnion Jacks\u201c and \u201cOn The Edge\u201d
\n(Songs) If You\u2019ve Got The Time, I Love How You Love Me, Wrong Or Right, Give Me Your Love, And If You Could See Me Fly, Broken Heart, Every Time I Think Of You, Head First, Back On My Feet Again, True Love True Confession,
\nMidnight Rendezvous, Anytime, Turn Around In Tokyo, Sweet 17, She\u2019s My Girl,
\nRock \u2018N Roll Is (Alive And Well), Postcard, and Too Far Gone<\/strong><\/p>\n

[youtube v\/jx6yLjI9P1Q?fs]<\/p>\n

\n

To Send \u201cGonzo\u201d A Suggestion For An Article On Your Favorite Musician or Group<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertise Now On RSR<\/a><\/p>\n

Purchase Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales By accident, I stumbled across the The Babys in 1982, one year after the band had broken up. It was a bright sunny day and I was at a yard sale rummaging through cassette tapes in a big box marked \u201c$2 each\u201d. I picked up a cassette by \u201cThe Babys\u201c entitled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1312,1980,1981,1979,1978,522,1977],"class_list":["post-5233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-1312","tag-cassette","tag-gonzo-gems","tag-i-love-how-you-love-me","tag-john-waite","tag-music","tag-the-babys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5233"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5377,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5233\/revisions\/5377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}