TRACK #281:

Jack O’Lantern by Babe Ruth

Welcome back…anybody…to another swinging season on The Shindig. Hope you’re all ready for another macabre month of cuts to carve your pumpkin to, ’cause here it comes.

And speaking of orange gourds with grins, we’re gonna kick off 2021 with a song called Jack O’Lantern from 70’s British rockers, Babe Ruth.

While it does speak of Halloween, the song itself isn’t about actual Jack-O-Lanterns, but rather a fella named Jack who happens to have a very seasonal nickname, and a very felonious game.

You see, one Halloween, Jack dressed up in his dad’s clothes and went peeping through the windows of all the young girls around town. The squealers saw him and called the cozzers. But, alas! Jack’s father was the one who ended up in cuffs for the dirty deed. Clever girl.

Babe Ruth make this rhythmic entreaty for Jack to change his ways and spare his Mother some shame. Yeah, ya pervert! It’s not bad enough you goin’ around peepin’, but you gotta frame your own father while you’re doin it? That’s pretty low bruh.

Now granted, we don’t know much about Jack’s father. Maybe he was a real pervert too, and the whole thing wasn’t terribly out of character for him, thus leading to his swift arrest. Maybe Jack, as the old anti-marijuana ad of my youth once proclaimed, learn it from watching dear old dad.

We also don’t have much in the way of information here regarding their relationship. Maybe Jack’s dad was a just a dick, and a little pay back from Jack was just what the doctor ordered. We may never know.

What we do know is that Babe Ruth never became a big hit over here in the States. They saw a modicum of success in the beginning, ultimately finding their niche in certain prog rock circles. However, not experiencing much airplay, they never quite gained the kind of longevity some of their contemporaries have enjoyed.

Based on this tune alone, I’m a little surprised, cause this is a rocker, for sure. But listening through their catalog, it isn’t totally shocking. Despite some solid compositions, exceptional musicianship, and the undeniable vocal sex-swagger of lead singer Janita Haan, Babe Ruth lacks a certainly something we’ve come to associate with the more popular acts of the era. I’m not sure whether to say their music isn’t rockin’ enough, or that it’s just not catchy enough, but there’s definitely an X factor missing here which has almost certainly led to their relative obscurity.

Either way, your band throws down with a jammer called Jack O’Lantern and say “Halloween” a bunch, then your wider acclaim is a non-starter for us here in The Hole. Onto the Shindig you shall go!

Happy October 1st everybody. Let’s commence to rockin’ your pumpkins off with Jack O’Lantern!

Here’s to 2021!