Stealin' Home
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Album Summary
By 1975, Babe Ruth had journeyed through lineup changes and label shuffles, landing with Harvest Records to lay down what would become 'Stealin' Home' — a record that found the British rock outfit stretching their sound into smoother, more polished territory. Produced with an ear toward accessibility without abandoning the band's adventurous instincts, the album was tracked as the mid-seventies rock landscape was shifting beneath everyone's feet, with arena rock and soft rock pulling audiences in competing directions. Jenny Haan's powerhouse vocals remained the emotional anchor of the project, and the band brought a tighter, more refined studio sensibility to these nine tracks, reflecting both the pressures of the commercial market and a genuine artistic maturity that had been hard-earned on the road.
Reception
- The album received a modest commercial reception, failing to break Babe Ruth through to mainstream chart success in either the UK or the US despite the band's loyal cult following.
- Critical response was mixed, with some reviewers appreciating the smoother production approach while others felt it represented a softening of the raw energy that had defined the band's earlier work.
- The record did little to reverse the commercial fortunes of the group, and Babe Ruth would dissolve not long after its release, leaving 'Stealin' Home' as something of a quiet final statement from a band that deserved a much bigger stage.
Significance
- Babe Ruth stood as one of the most distinctive British rock bands of the early-to-mid seventies, blending hard rock, jazz-influenced arrangements, and progressive textures in a way that few of their contemporaries attempted, and 'Stealin' Home' represents the final chapter of that singular artistic identity.
- Jenny Haan's vocal performances across tracks like 'Fascination' and 'Can You Feel It' serve as a testament to her status as one of the most underappreciated lead vocalists of the entire decade, a woman who could go toe-to-toe with anyone on either side of the Atlantic.
- The album captures a band navigating the tension between artistic integrity and commercial survival in the mid-seventies rock market, making it a culturally honest document of what it meant to be a cult rock act trying to find footing in a rapidly changing musical landscape.
Tracklist
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A1 It'll Happen In Time 110
5:33
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A2 Winner Takes All 132
3:56
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A3 Fascination 129
5:56
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A4 2000 Sunsets 114
3:46
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B1 Elusive 120
6:40
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B2 Can You Feel It 181
4:13
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B3 Say No More 128
2:41
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B4 Caught At The Plate 119
2:54
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B5 Tomorrow (Joining Of The Day) —
5:02
Artist Details
Babe Ruth was a British rock band formed in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, in 1971, led by vocalist Jenny Haan alongside guitarist Alan Shacklock, who served as the primary songwriter and musical architect of the group. Their sound blended hard rock with progressive rock, jazz, Latin, and funk influences, creating an eclectic and adventurous style that set them apart from many of their contemporaries. They are perhaps best known internationally for their 1972 song The Mexican, which featured a sample-worthy brass riff that would later become one of the most sampled pieces in hip-hop history, appearing in tracks by artists such as A Tribe Called Quest and countless others. Despite achieving moderate commercial success with albums like First Base and Amar Caballero, the band struggled to break through to mainstream stardom and disbanded in 1976, later reforming briefly in the 1990s. Their lasting cultural significance lies largely in The Mexican's profound influence on hip-hop and electronic music, cementing their legacy as an unlikely but important bridge between 1970s British rock and the development of modern urban music.
