Union Jacks [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Babys

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 13, 2001)
• Original Release Date: January 1980
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: One Way Records Inc
• ASIN: B000059T85
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #211,955 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
1980 release fronted by John Waite. Re-mastered. Featuring, 'Back On My Feet Again', 'Midnight Rendezvous' & 'Love Is Just A Mystery'. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TRUE LOVE..., February 22, 2002

By	Michael Courtney "exiled01" (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's hard for me to rate a Babys album, because I like everything they've done and would still love to find CDs of 3 albums I've got that seem to be unavailable. On UNION JACKS, the Babys expanded to a 5 piece band and allowed John Waite to front the band and give up his bass playing duties. I actually enjoyed seeing him play and sing live, which I was able to do 3 times. Without all the effects and extravagant stage shows the Babys were alive with excitement. Their sound was as sharp live as on the albums.

With this disc, Ricky Phillips stepped in on bass and Jonathan Caine came aboard to play keyboards and guitars in concert, since many of their songs had a distinct 2 guitar sound when Michael Corby was with them. Jonathan Caine also brought an immense song writing talent with him, as well as an excellent voice. There isn't a Baby's recording that has a bad song on it. The measure has always been how many great songs there were and this disc just didn't stack up to HEAD FIRST or BROKEN HEART. It probably deserves better than 4 stars, though!

The best tracks are "Midnight Rendevouz", "True Love, True Confessions", "Back on My Feet Again', and "Union Jacks". These should have all been hits, but Chrysalis [failed] in their support of the Babys! Other strong tracks include "Jesus Are You There", "Turn Around in Tokyo", and "Anytime". As with all Babys releases, the music is straight forward and without gimmicks, which is what makes is so good. It's just not cluttered up with nonsense! UNION JACKS will play over and over on your stereo and you'll wonder why you never heard more of it before. Prove to yourself that the best music doesn't always make it to the radio; become a Union Jack.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On An Roll with "Union Jacks", April 26, 2004

By	Bill Appel (Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

After the extemely successful 1978's "Head First", The Babys continued their growing success as a band with 1980's "Union Jacks". Adding extremely talented songwriter and keyboardist Jonathan Cain along with bassist Ricky Phillips, the group delivered a solid 9-song album that had the huge hits "Back On My Feet Again" and "Midnight Rendezvous" constantly blaring from FM radio stations.

John Waite again shines brightly with his vocal prowess and shows continued versatility throughout as this album differs just a bit from the previous as it takes a very successful, overall harder power pop posture primarily dominated from the masterful keyboard power of the talented Cain. That combined with a growing maturity in their songwriting helped with the inclusion of Cain as well as Phillips proved "Union Jacks" another winner!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars British Music at its best, May 23, 2001

By A Customer

I have always been a fan of british music, eg UFO Sweet Def Leppard, and The Babys were one of my favourites. I ordered their CDs through a music shop in Australia about ten years ago only to find out they had recently been deleted and were unavailable. Imagine my delight to see they had all been released again. The new liner notes are excellent as are the photos, my only gripe is, that unlike many rereleased CDs these days, there are no "bonus track" such as demo versions or alternate versions of tracks off the CD or dare we hope a track or two which previously never saw the light of day. All I need now is Rovers Return and Mask of Smiles and my John Waite collection will be complete. Its just a shame that such a brilliant band as The Babys only gave us 5 albums.