Baby Whale was a widely acclaimed but little known folk rock band, scoring rave reviews in their debut at the 1972 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They went on to tour with Chuck Berry (1973) and seemed destined for fame and fortune, supporting many other bands including Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Fairport Convention, Pretty Things and Curved Air.
In 1973 they were signed to DJM Records and recorded "The Downhill Climb" at Wales's prestigious Rockfield Studios where they were produced by John Anthony (Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis, Queen, Roxy Music, Lindisfarne). But DJM went bust, the album was put on ice, and Anne Baker & Nick Barraclough left to form the fun-time folk outfit Telephone Bill & The Smooth Operators. Thirty years later the album finally came out on CD, though much of their excellent and ground breaking material remains in various vaults.
This version contains four bonus tracks, including a long-forgotten demo, a live track and a couple of recordings that didn't make it to the final album, though there's still enough material from their brief but prolific existence to warrant a couple more albums.
00:00 The Old Man & The Sea (Baker)
04:00 The Downhill Climb/The Cuckoo's Nest (Brooks/trad.)
08:00 Cornfields/The Cuckoo (Baker/trad.)
15:34 This Time (Brooks)
18:43 Circles & Circuses (Baker)
22:09 Dependable Spokes (Brooks)
24:52 Things Are Not Free (Brooks)
28:32 Evening Song (Baker)
32:21 This Ain't My Life (Brooks)
36:37 Cabin Town (Brooks)
41:54 Easy Feeling (Baker)
44:09 The Strangler (Brooks)
+bonus tracks:
48:30 Fisherman's Song (Baker)
53:27 The Jig (Baker)
57:03 Home Is Where I'll Stay (Barraclough) - demo
59:57 Morning In The City (Baker) - live
Anne Baker - vocals, guitar, percussion
Nick Barraclough - vocals, guitar, bass, banjo, piano, harmonium, mandolin
Steve Brooks - vocals, electric guitar, bass, harmonica, jaw harp
Adrian Kendon - vocals, fiddle, string bass
Lindsey Scott - fiddle
Brian Wren - drums, percussion
+ guest performer: BJ Cole - pedal steel on 'Things Are Not Free'