Baby Huey - The Baby Huey Story

[Ed S]

Holy smokes!

This record absolutely kicks ass. Soul with some pretty deep funk grooves, bluesy, psychedelic, somewhat "jazzy", and very 60ish - in the best way possible.

I ordered this a while ago and it came to me along with the shipment of Grant Greens that I bought from CD Universe. I have not yet gotten to the Greens because Baby Huey has monopolized my player for the last few days. As mentioned above, there's a lot of styles evident but overall, it's soul - and some of the best I've heard.

This disc must be played at ear busting decibel levels for full effect, BTW and IMO, is a mandatory purchase. Great, great stuff and a lot of fun

I actually was hipped to this some time ago in the water records thread and finally decided to pull the trigger. Here's what Lon had to say about it:

The Baby Huey is very interesting to me, a lot of the bands I saw in Chicago in the period of '73 to '76 had the sound one way or another that Baby Huey and the Baby Sitters came up with. It's a blend of the sort of sounds that James Brown and Buddy Miles Express and Howlin' Wolf and many another band (including a bit of Santana) had at the time. . . well, it's black music and it's very powerful and trippy. I'm enjoying it a lot; the jazzy bits, and the dramatic bits that Huey injects. . . he was a great singer, it's a tight band, it's fun music.

I liked it so much I thought I'd bring it up in its own thread. Besides, I'm very enthusiastic about what Water has been doing reissue-wise both in selection and packaging and it's nice to support them if this stuff is at all your cup of tea.

Edited May 14, 2005 by Ed Swinnich

[BFrank]

I heard this in the used record store a few months ago and thought it sounded pretty smokin' at the time. Maybe I should pick it up next time I'm in there. I think they still have it featured on the wall, actually.

[Soul Stream]

Thanks for the endorsement. I've often wondered about this record and now looks like I'm gonna hafta get it...

[Ed S]

Definitely worth picking up. Used or new. I very rarely use the "mandatory purchase" endorsement, just so you know. This record is a blast!

[jazzbo]

I really enjoy this Water Records reissue as well. Usual excellent production from Water, and this music is so fun; brings me back to my college days at UofC where many of the local Chicago bands that you might see at a bar or a party were playing a similar blend of musical influences, though none quite as tight and energizing as Baby Huey and the Baby Sitters!

[BFrank]

I picked it up today. B-)

They still had several copies on the shelf.

[Kalo]

I got this from Dusty Groove a few months back, and I'm sorry to say that it's not a great album, in my opinion. Too much filler, and Huey's vocals, while charming, are frequently off pitch. It doesn't live up to the hype.

However, as a document of a first-class journeyman R&B group from that era, it is a valuable recording.

I'm kind of allergic to flute in this musical context, so factor that into the equation.

All that being said, after my initial disappointment, I find myself putting it on occasionally and listening with enjoyment, having ratcheted my expectations down a few notches. And there's something loveable about Huey himself . Also, I totally understand why hip-hoppers have mined this baby for samples.

Water's CD packaging is very nice, too, though I've never seen the original LP and can't say how much is a carryover from that.

So, all that being said, if you absolutely love the genre, by all means go for this. If you're not up to speed on soul and funk, however, it's far from essential.

Just one man's opinion.

Edited May 15, 2005 by Kalo

[BFrank]

Something I notice missing: names of the bandmembers.

[Ed S]

I got this from Dusty Groove a few months back, and I'm sorry to say that it's not a great album, in my opinion. Too much filler, and Huey's vocals, while charming, are frequently off pitch. It doesn't live up to the hype.

However, as a document of a first-class journeyman R&B group from that era, it is a valuable recording.

I'm kind of allergic to flute in this musical context, so factor that into the equation.

All that being said, after my initial disappointment, I find myself putting it on occasionally and listening with enjoyment, having ratcheted my expectations down a few notches. And there's something loveable about Huey himself . Also, I totally understand why hip-hoppers have mined this baby for samples.

Water's CD packaging is very nice, too, though I've never seen the original LP and can't say how much is a carryover from that.

So, all that being said, if you absolutely love the genre, by all means go for this. If you're not up to speed on soul and funk, however, it's far from essential.

Just one man's opinion.

Different stroke for different folks.

A very nice review and voicing of your opinions, btw. FWIW, I liked your style of dissent.

[Kalo]

''...and so on, and so on, and dooby dooby dooby."

Call Me "the Diplomat."

Thanks Ed Swinnich. in return.

I also note BFranks's notice of the missing names of the bandmembers. Does this mean, as I suspect, that the Babysitters (great name, BTW, given Huey's nom de funk), were, to Huey's mind, just a rotating aggregation of the best-available players on the Chi-town R&B scene?

Just wondering.

It's clear to me that the loyalty to individual players that such as Sly Stone had can add to the individuality and distinction of a band. Surely there were better trumpet players available to Sly Stone in the entire Bay Area than Cynthia Robinson. Yet not a one, I suspect, could have added to the elan of the Family Stone Band as Cynthia did, with her distinctive, shrill and raspy vocal responses to Sly's calls. I would have to say that I am a big fan of Cynthia, given the audible results.

Give me some time with Huey and I may come to love the record.

Still allergic to flute, however.

Sorry about that.

Edited May 15, 2005 by Kalo

[Kalo]

There IS something fascinating about this record; as though it's a little time tunnel into the era it represents.

For one thing, it seems very un-mediated: there's little I can discern of Curtis Mayfield's shaping hand in the production. Thus, I assume, this is Huey and the Babysitters as nature intended.

As I implied in a previous post: this is an invaluable document as to what a premier R&B band in a major metropolitan area sounded like at this pivotal point in history. As such, it's a keeper.

Also, props to Huey for the Sam Cooke cover, "A Change is Gonna Come."

Still not a "GREAT" album.

Edited May 15, 2005 by Kalo

[JSngry]

Bought it a few weeks ago, and finally got to hear it yesterday.

I think it's a good document of a band that was probably killer live. But that works both for and against the effectiveness of it as an "album"

Baby Huey himself seems like a very fun-loving, charismatic individual, but he also comes across as a guy who, had he lived, would probably ended up working the lounge/casino circuit. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you.

Definitely can hear the sample-worthiness of the whole thing, though.

[BFrank]

Just giving this another spin.

Sounds more like Sly & the Family Stone than anything else, to me (so far).

[Brandon Burke]

I remember really liking this several years ago. Good stuff to be sure, but it's far from consistent. I mean, would you really like it that much if it didn't have "Hard Times"...?

[Noj]

I was very enthusiastic about this one at first--but I agree with Brandon that "Hard Times" is by far the best track, while the rest is so-so.