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Hey there Sorry Staters! March is behind us, but the madness continues. Today is April Fool’s Day as I write, but doesn’t it feel like every day someone is playing a joke on us? Life in the world has always sucked for many people and animals sadly, but today increasingly many are being negatively affected by the reckless, immoral and illegal actions of our current leaders. It’s tough living right now. Which makes indulging in fun activities seem trivial. At least that’s what my brain tells me. I must counter that line of thinking before it downward spirals by purposely doing something that brings me joy. The quickest and easiest and the most tried-and-true method for me is to slap a record on. We discussed here previously how sometimes staring at thousands of records looking for something to play can be difficult, and that’s not because the records aren’t good, but more because the vibe doesn’t hit the mood. However, when your mood isn’t good, it’s not always the best idea chasing that feeling. The thing to do is go in the opposite direction. That’s precisely what I did this week, and it worked out well.
For a few weeks now since it hit the floor, we’ve had a 25th anniversary edition of Sweet Baby’s It’s A Girl album here at the store. It didn’t sell in our new used arrivals and found its way to the used S section, where it sat staring at me. Or rather I kept staring at it. Main reason being that the cover art used was taken from the demo tape that the band first had out and circulating when they started. It featured a cartoon basset hound playing a bass guitar, looking cool with a cig hanging out of his mouth and the text “Never mind the Bassets, here’s The Sweet Baby Jesus.” They had used or altered the image from a comic strip called Fred Basset that appeared in one of the British newspapers. Growing up, I loved reading Fred Basset and had several of the annual comic collections that were compiled each year. Fred was a cheeky and smart character that hung out with his doggy pals and had interactions with the humans in his world and the other neighborhood dogs. A bit like Peanuts if it was always about Snoopy. I’m not sure, but the Fred Basset strip might still be going. Anyway, it’s him on the front of the album and the main reason that I gave it a spin.
After a few weeks of “serious” music listening, I needed the complete opposite. I needed pop. This album is pop punk in all its glory. Short, fast, loud songs about girls, with guitars. Heck yeah! Isn’t that what it’s really all about? This reissue comes pressed appropriately on bubblegum pink vinyl. I’ve given it a lot of spins this week and love it. Just what I needed.
The band, originally called Sweet Baby Jesus but shortened to Sweet Baby, were only around for a few short years, in which time they managed to break up, reform and have their debut album released and become part of the legendary lore of the East Bay punk scene centered around the Gilman Street Project. Without going into a deep dive about that now, as most of you are probably more than aware of that moment in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which saw the birth of Lookout Records and bands like Operation Ivy and, of course, Green Day. The latter having changed their original name from Sweet Children, so as not to be confused with Sweet Baby, who at the time had a bigger profile.
The story of Sweet Baby is worth reading about if you are not familiar, but on the back of the jacket for the reissue, main man Dallas Denery, gives a pretty good and detailed rundown of the band’s story and explains why they broke up and then reformed on the back of the album being picked up by Ruby Records, a subsidiary of Slash Records, the subsequent tour of that album, and the final indignity of losing out to a lame band at the BAMMYs, the Bay Area Music Magazine’s annual award ceremony. This after being dropped by the label and the band having disintegrated, again.
I’m a Johnny-come-lately to the SBJ party. Another one that had passed me by. Not that I or anyone could be blamed for missing out on these guys. If you were not around the Bay Area scene at the time or hadn’t gone to one of the shows on that tour they did to support the album, you wouldn’t have heard about them until years later when people started to look back and document those years. Certainly, the album art for the Ruby Records release doesn’t leap out and catch the eye, in my opinion. It’s another cartoon drawing, but of a boy and a girl dancing this time. They probably feared a lawsuit or something if they had used the Fred Basset hound cover, but it’s way cooler looking.
As for the tunes? Pop punk perfection. No deep poetry here or political commentary. It’s songs about girls and love, with only one coming in anywhere close to the three-minute mark. Hard to pick a favorite, but I like Gotta Get A Girl and She’s From Salinas and The Way She Gets Around. They’re all good, though. A fun and highly recommended listen.
Apparently, the deluxe edition of the reissue came with a bonus 7” which featured recordings from their very first show where they were getting heckled by some sections of the audience despite most of the crowd having a good time. I’ll have to look out for that. Probably be just as difficult to spot as that Ruby Records pressing of the album from 1989. I don’t recall seeing one of those, and a quick look online suggests it will continue to be tough. And expensive. Glad I snagged this repress.
Okay, well thanks for taking the time to read, and if like me you needed something to blow the depressive cobwebs out of your head and give you a blast of something fun, go give It’s A Girl a spin. Click here for a link.
Cheers – Dom