Ancient Medicine
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Album Summary
Baby Grand, the New York-based rock and soul outfit, brought 'Ancient Medicine' to life in 1978, a period when the band was carving out their own corner of the late-seventies rock landscape with a sound that blended melodic pop sensibility with a gritty, street-level energy. Released on Arista Records, the album captured the band in a moment of genuine artistic ambition, with production that leaned into the warm, layered textures that defined the era's best studio work. The eight tracks spread across both sides of the vinyl reflect a group that had been road-tested and ready, drawing on the kind of lived-in musical instincts that only come from years of paying dues on the club circuit.
Reception
- 'Ancient Medicine' arrived during a fiercely competitive moment in rock, and while Baby Grand were respected among those who knew the New York scene intimately, the album did not break through to mainstream chart prominence in a significant way.
- Critics who took notice of the record tended to highlight the band's tight ensemble playing and the emotional range on display across tracks like 'Runner In The Rain' and 'Flame In The Wind,' recognizing a group with genuine craft even if widespread recognition remained elusive.
Significance
- Baby Grand occupied a meaningful space in the late-seventies New York rock scene, and 'Ancient Medicine' stands as a document of that era's restless energy — a time when bands were pushing melodic rock toward something more emotionally sophisticated and soulful.
- The inclusion of 'Walk Away Renée,' the classic originally penned by Michael Brown, speaks to the band's willingness to honor their pop and soul roots while filtering those influences through their own hard-won sensibility.
- Tracks like 'All Night Long' and 'Right Here, Right Now' reflect the era's tension between rock immediacy and polished studio craft, making 'Ancient Medicine' a genuine artifact of a transitional moment in American rock music.
Tracklist
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A1 All Night Long —
4:11
-
A2 Much Too Much —
4:19
-
A3 Weekend In New Jersey —
3:25
-
A4 Runner In The Rain —
5:57
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B1 Walk Away Renée —
5:09
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B2 Right Here, Right Now —
5:00
-
B3 Flame In The Wind —
4:26
-
B4 It's Not A Figure Salon —
4:51
Artist Details
Baby Grand was a soulful rock trio out of New York City that came together in the mid-1970s, blending gritty R&B grooves with hard rock muscle in a way that made you feel like they were cooking something special right there in the studio. They recorded for Arista Records and released a couple of albums — Baby Grand in 1977 and Voyeur in 1978 — that showcased tight musicianship and a raw, urban energy, even if mainstream radio never quite gave them the full shine they deserved. They remain one of those underdog acts from the era whose sound captured the sweaty, funky edge of late-70s New York, a city that was rough around the edges and absolutely alive with musical possibility.
