CoronaVinyl Day 87 (Power Pop): Head First by The Babys

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is power pop, which, if you don't know or couldn't figure out from its descriptive title, is a genre of music that is basically harder rocking pop music.  While the term was coined by The Who's Pete Townshend in the late '60s, power pop's popularity would pick up steam in the early '70s and peak in the mid '70s to early '80s, with acts like Badfinger, Big Star, Cheap Trick, The Raspberries, Nick Lowe, and The Knack leading the way.

Another great, yet underrated, power pop band is The Babys.  They were a mainly British band that put out five studio albums between 1977 and 1980.  They had middling success, with 8 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, including three that hit the Top 40 and two that hit #13 (1977's "Isn't It Time" and 1979's "Every Time I Think of You").  

The Babys are perhaps most famous because several of their members went on to larger fame after the band broke up in 1981.  Lead singer John Waite became a solo star in the '80s, hitting #1 in 1984 with "Missing You."  Keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who joined the band in late 1978, left in 1981 to join Journey (and play, among other things, the legendary intro to "Don't Stop Believin'").  Waite, Cain, and bassist Ricky Phillips (who joined The Babys at the same time as Cain) would reunite in the late '80s, along with Journey guitarist Neil Schon and rock drummer Deen Castronovo, to form hair band supergroup Bad English.

I have the band's third studio album, 1979's Head First, on vinyl.  It was their highest-charting album in the U.S., reaching #22 on the Billboard album charts.  Head First is a great example of power pop, with songs that are both catch, but still rock.  It features the aforementioned "Every Time I Think of You," which features vocals by Myrna Matthews along with Waite.  The title track also charted in the U.S., going to #77.  If you like good rock and roll, and you're not already familiar with the band, check the album out.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Love Don't Prove I'm Right"
The first track on the album is a good one.  It has kind of a Bad Company feel to it, and drummer Tony Brock has some delicious fills that complement the riff and Waite's impassioned vocals.  Lyrically, the song appears to be a repentant song, where the singer is telling his lady that, just because he's in love with someone else now, it doesn't make how he treated her right, but he's going to try to be better.  Typical male.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Head First"
The title track is my favorite song by The Babys.  While it didn't light up the charts, it's a damn good power pop song about jumping into a relationship.  The song starts off with a driving beat and a nice little riff, and then Waite shows his vocal prowess as a rock singer.