First Base was the album by the rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 group Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth (band)

Babe Ruth are a rock music group, primarily active through the 1970s, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Their characteristically 'heavy' sound is marked by powerful vocals from Janita Haan and full arrangements by Alan Shacklock...

. Produced by Alan Shacklock

Alan Shacklock

Alan Shacklock is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer who currently lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee...

 and Nick Mobbs, released in 1972.

The album went gold in Canada, sold well in the US, but had disappointing sales by comparison in the UK. The song "The Mexican

The Mexican (song)

"The Mexican" is a piece of music on the album First Base by the 1970s British band Babe Ruth.The song is based on the whistling from the music soundtrack by Ennio Morricone for the film For a Few Dollars More...

" has been covered and mixed many times. Among them, it was covered in 1984 by John "Jellybean" Benitez with vocals by the original singer, Janita Haan. "The Mexican" was mixed into the third track of The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One

The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One

Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One is a 1999 solo mix album by Liam Howlett of The Prodigy , and it was initially produced for BBC Radio 1's mix show The Breezeblock....

by Liam Howlett

Liam Howlett

Liam Paris Howlett known as Liam Howlett , is a member of the English band The Prodigy, occasional DJ, and a music producer.-Life and career:...

 of The Prodigy

The Prodigy

The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...

 in 1999.

The sleeve design, painting and photography were by Roger Dean. Engineered by Tony Clark and Kete Go at EMI Studios, Abbey Road between June and September 1972.

Track listing

1. "Wells Fargo" (Alan Shacklock) – 6:14
2. "The Runaways" (music: Alan Shacklock, words: David Whiting) – 7:12
3. "King Kong" (Frank Zappa
   Frank Zappa
   Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
   
   , side 4 of Uncle Meat
   Uncle Meat
   Uncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released in 1969. It is billed as a supposed "soundtrack" to a film by The Mothers of Invention which was, in the end, never made. The front cover, designed by Cal Schenkel, included the words ""...
   
   ) – 6:40, recorded in one take, no overdubs
4. "Black Dog" (Jesse Winchester
   Jesse Winchester
   Jesse Winchester is a musician and songwriter who was born and raised in the southern United States. To avoid the Vietnam War draft he moved to Canada in 1967, which is where and when he began his career as a solo artist. His highest charting recordings were of his own tunes, "Yankee Lady" in 1970...
   
   ) – 8:03
5. "The Mexican
   The Mexican (song)
   "The Mexican" is a piece of music on the album First Base by the 1970s British band Babe Ruth.The song is based on the whistling from the music soundtrack by Ennio Morricone for the film For a Few Dollars More...
   
   " (Alan Shacklock) – 5:45, interpolates Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu (For a Few Dollars More
   For a Few Dollars More
   For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 Italian spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonté. German actor Klaus Kinski also plays a supporting role as a secondary villain...
   
   , music by Ennio Morricone
   Ennio Morricone
   Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
   
   )
6. "Joker" (Alan Shacklock) – 7:42
7. "Wells Fargo" (single version, CD only; Shacklock) – 3:35
8. "Theme from For a Few Dollars More" (CD only; Morricone) – 2:19

Personnel

• Janita (Jennie) Haan: vocal power
• Dave Hewitt: bass guitar
• Dick Powell: drums, percussion
• Dave Punshon: electric piano, piano
• Alan Shacklock: all guitars, vocals, organ, percussion

Others

Gasper Lawal: congas, bongoes, kabasa; Brent Carter: saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

s; Harry Mier: oboe; Peter Halling: cello (leader); Clive Anstee: cello; Manny Fox: cello; Boris Rickleman: cello; Jeff Allen

Jeff Allen

Jeff Allen is an English rock and blues session drummer. Allen is best known for his work with East of Eden, Babe Ruth, Snowy White, Bonnie Tyler, Mick Taylor and Van Morrison....

: drums (on "The Runaways" only).

Releases

• 1972 LP USA/Canada, Harvest SW-11151
• 1972 LP UK, Harvest SHSP 4022
• 1972 LP Spain, EMI/Harvest 1J 062-05.159
• 1972 LP Italy, EMI/Harvest 3C 064-05159
• 1972 LP Japan, Odeon
• 1991 CD Canada, One Way 57343
• 1995 CD Germany, Repertoire REP 4554-WP
• 2001 CD Repertoire REP4554
• – One Way 12206
• ---- CD Canada, Harvest SW 11151
• ---- CD Canada, Capitol/EMI C2 26587

Reference: http://www.united-mutations.com/b/babe_ruth_fb_dp.htm

External links

• Well written amateur reviews