Darker Than Blue : The Harvest Years 1972-1975 Coffret

Description

Babe Ruth was formed in Hatfield in 1970 by guitarist Alan Shacklock and singer Janita "Jenny" Haan, bassist Dave Hewitt, and drummer Jeff Allen. Their unique brand of soul progressive rock quickly gained many fans, and in 1972, they signed a contract with EMI Records' progressive imprint, Harvest. By that time, Jeff Allen had left, and Dick Powell joined on drums. The band's lineup was also expanded with the arrival of keyboardist Dave Punshon.
Babe Ruth stood out from many of its label mates, partly due to Haan's voice and the band's ability to generate a soulful side in their music. Their first album, 'First Base' was released in 1972 and featured the classic tracks 'Wells Fargo' and 'The Mexican' (later covered by Jellybean Benitez in 1984), which gained considerable airplay in Canada (where the album achieved gold status) and the United States, but the record inexplicably failed to match that success in the UK.
The arrival of Chris Holmes on keyboards and new drummer Ed Spevock in 1974 saw them follow their debut with 'Amar Caballero', before the band's final album for Harvest in 1975, the self-titled 'Babe Ruth' which was a hit in the USA and Canada and featured the band's memorable cover of the theme from the film A Fistful Of Dollars and Curtis Mayfield's composition "We People Darker Than Blue." Shortly after the album's release, Alan Shacklock left the band (to be replaced by Bernie Marsden) and Babe Ruth transferred labels to Capitol Records.