Release date: June 15, 1973
Label: Harvest Records
Producer: Alan Shacklock
Length: 35:47
Genre: progressive rock/hard rock/art rock
Rating: 7/10
The relatively obscure English art rockers Babe Ruth, led by the brilliant guitarist and producer Alan Shacklock, earned their place in prog rock history mainly thanks to the cult track »The Mexican«, which was covered countless times later on (one version even turned into a dance hit), and their excellent debut »First Base« (1972). Babe Ruth always walked a fine line between prog rock and hard rock sonically, and for their second album »Amar Caballero« they swapped out the drummer and the keyboardist, then tried and failed to repeat the winning sonic formula of that outstanding debut.
Ed Spevock on drums and keyboardist Chris Holmes were talented musicians, but they didn’t manage to add anything extra. Despite some terrific moments where Shacklock shone with his guitar wizardry and singer Jenny Haan joined him in the occasional vocal duet, »Amar Caballero« marked the gradual decline of one of the most promising English art rock outfits of the early seventies.
Already on the opener »Lady«, which does have lovely symphonic arrangements and a passionate vocal performance from Haan, you can tell the energy in the band had shifted and that their sound had gotten slightly more commercial compared to the debut. Despite Haan’s bluesy vocals, Shacklock and the rest of the instrumentalists were increasingly drawn to assorted jazz and funk influences. Every now and then some of that ‘frontier’ atmosphere of the ‘Wild West’ that defined their debut comes back, like on the ballad »Broken Cloud«, which has gorgeous orchestral arrangements and the ethereal singing of the ‘chameleon’ Haan, who could swap between a masculine and a girlish singing style as if it were nothing.
On the slow-paced blues/hard rocker »Gimme Some Leg«, which drags on for at least two minutes too long, the vocal diva once again turned into a slightly more conciliatory version of Janis Joplin. »Baby Pride« was a short but sweet acoustic ballad with folk rock elements. The funk rock-leaning »Cool Jerk«, with its r’n’b vocal bits, came out sounding very ‘American’, but it found no commercial response whatsoever. »We Are Holding On« is yet another ballad soaked in splendid symphonic arrangements, with some ‘Mexican’ Latin melos that always suited Babe Ruth well.
»Doctor Love« was a pretty forgettable funk rocker with unfunny horn bits. The album’s peak is the epic closing suite in three sections, »El Caballero De La Reina Isabella b.) Hombre De La Guitarra c.) El Testament De Amelia«, where Shacklock’s crew successfully blended Latin rock, funk, hard rock and folk, showing clearly that with a bit more luck and better business decisions they could have ranked among the best in their genre.
»Amar Caballero« couldn’t live up to the standards Babe Ruth set with »First Base«, but it’s still a solid effort, and these days it’ll appeal mostly to prog rock fans who like a quality female lead vocalist. After »Amar Caballero«, Babe Ruth made three more studio albums, each one weaker than the last. On »Kid’s Stuff« (1976), a mockery of their former achievements, there wasn’t a single official member left, and a breakup was unavoidable. After twenty years they came back to life in 2006 with the new album »Que Pasa« (2009), though when it comes to live shows they’re still mostly inactive.
by: Peter Podbrežnik
tracklist:
1. Lady
2. Broken Cloud
3. Gimme Some Leg
4. Baby Pride
5. Cool Jerk
6. We Are Holding On
7. Doctor Love
8. Amar Caballero:
– a. El Caballero De La Reina Isabella
– b. Hombre De La Guitarra
– c. El Testament De Amelia
Babe Ruth:
Janita ‘Jenny’ Haan – lead vocals
Alan Shacklock – guitar, backing vocals, percussion, keyboards, production
Dave Hewitt – bass guitar
Ed Spevock – drums
Chris Holmes – keyboards on “Baby Pride”
