“Babe” by Styx
Shazam'd by DLT on June 24, 2022. "Enjoy this fly, smoove thoe-back!" Overall rating: 4.0
Thanks, DLT, for your great comments below! I have an admission: I'd been struggling with how to approach this review. I have great admiration for Styx, because some of their songs—such "Mr. Roboto" and "Too Much Time on My Hands" are on my list of all-time favorite 70s/80s classics. Yet, "Babe" is not one of them.
Let's just say I'm not a "syrupy lyrics" type of guy. And I usually require a little more meat than this song offers, instrumentally and arrangement-wise, to really get hyped about the music. Even so, I will concede, just as you have noted, this song does one thing very effectively. It takes me back!
But first, for a little "rabbit hole" nourishment. From what I understand, even though the song was Styx's first #1, it was slightly controversial within the band. As the founder and lead singer, Dennis DeYoung, was trying to push the band in more of a pop direction—which is typical once a band has tasted some crossover success—"Babe" marked the beginning of creative tensions that would eventually cause "personnel changes," starting in the 80s. I can see it...
In any case, there are similar "soft rock" or "sugar pop" songs from that era that I truly love—such as "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel and "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. "Babe" can't be critiqued on the same music merit as those other songs. But so many decades later, it has the same emotional effect. Taking me back to a time in my life when music was still new and exciting, and each song felt like it was made just for my ears. (In our conversations, I’ve referred to this phenomenon as “magic.”) I want those days back.
"Babe" came out in 1979, on the cusp of so much glorious 80s tripe that followed—and we loved it all!
DLT’s rating: 5.0!
TG’s rating: 3.0.
To the right is a Spotify playlist inspired by “Babe.” An unapologetic, custom-curated list of pop and soft-rock songs from the 70s and 80s. What are your favorites?