Rate-a-Waite, The Babys

Thanks to Igniter David Ketels for compiling all of this information!
(David's personal comments are included here.)

The album certainly didn't set the world on fire to most people's way of thinking. Some of the following theories were suggested: That this studio album (their last) and Anthology may have finalized their obligations with Chrysalis in a six record deal...the band knew this was their last effort and underlying tensions may have been present owing to a disappointing result (similar to Bad English's Backlash). But others indeed loved the album. We had a 91% approval from one Igniter (Edeldrum) and others way into the mid 80% approval range.

1/ Darker Side Of Town - We almost had an all time new Number One for this one (or so it looked) as it was rating particularly high in the beginning. Subsequent low votes ensured this dropped back to the pack somewhat. A very high number of ten perfect scores proves that it is a much loved song, however a couple of 4.5's and a 5.5 saw it finish like this. 164/190 Avg. 8.63

2/ Turn And Walk Away - It looked like an average performer in the beginning. Seven later perfect 10's helped it to second overall placing on the album. Considering a 6 was the lowest it got, it deserves to be up there by virtue of it being a consistent performer and a mere 1.5 votes away from 1st spot. 162.5/190 Avg. 8.55

3/ Rock n Roll Is Alive And Well - When this was averaging a lowly 6.62 after the first four votes you wouldn't think it would end up so high. But six subsequent perfect 10's and the same number of 9's see it end up a creditable 3rd. Two 5's and two 6's were the least favourable scores that it got. 158/190 Avg. 8.31

4/ She's My Girl - Just the three perfect 10's, plenty of 8.5's and 8's saw it end on 152/190 Avg. 8.00

5/ Gonna Be Somebody - This only got a couple of perfect 10's but also had 9.5, 9's and a bunch of 8.5's going its way. Its low point was a 4.5. 149.5/190 Avg. 7.86

6/ Postcard - A lot of raters liked this one - it started very strongly but ultimately got dragged down the list. The three perfect scores didn't stack too well against some low scores from 5 and up. 142/190 Avg. 7.47

7/ Downtown - Similar to "Postcard" but only one 10. Three 5's eventually saw this one ranked below its stablemate. 137/190 Avg. 7.21

8/ Sweet 17 - It copped a bit of a caning but still managed two perfect 10's. Others weren't so kind with a 3.5 in there. Fours, 5's, 6's and 7's abounded. 123.5/190 Avg. 6.50

9/ Love Won't Wait - It's not surprising that a song with lead vocals by someone other than John Waite would take a bit of a beating. This one took a bit of beating and then some. To say this was unanimously given the thumbs down would be an understatement. Ignition was loud in its derision of this one. (And the next.) To have any song achieve under a 5.00 average is almost venturing into uncharted waters. Its one saving grace is that it doesn't end on the bottom of this album or the all-time list. But only just! No perfect scores (which is rare with any song rated to date) - two 8's were the best. Twos, 3's, 4's and 5's were the norm. This one makes the all-time Worst Five. 94.5/190 Avg. 4.97

9/ Too Far Gone - Well this title pretty summed up our overall feelings for this one. It is evident - if John Waite don't sing it - forget it! This couldn't muster anything better than a couple of 7's. Twos everywhere sent this one packing. Last on this album and second last (to "I'm So Lonesome") on the all-time worst list. 85/190 Avg. 4.47

Well, that's how we saw On The Edge. 1368 total votes out of a possible 1900 for an average approval rating of 72.00%. This our least favourite John Waite album of all, but it would have likely placed higher if two John Waite-sung tracks could have replaced the two Jonathan Cain-sung tracks.

Union Jacks saw "Back on My Feet Again" at the very end of voting draw level with the title cut. To break the tie, the song with the most perfect scores wins. And that one is....

1/ Union Jack- Put simply, if more than half of the sample voted it a perfect 10, it must be some song. It goes to near the top on the all-time list and leapfrogs "Missing You" in the process. On top of the eleven perfect 10's, it got healthy 9.5's, 9's and some in the 8's. On the down side - a 7 and a 6.5 saw it finish on 185.5/200 = Avg. 9.27

2/ Back On My Feet Again - Rarely in this ratings history has a song polled so consistently well. Eight 10's and everything in between with a low of four 8's. This song pushes "Missing You" down another spot on the all-time list. 185.5/200 = Avg. 9.27

3/ Midnight Rendezvous - Another very consistent performer and if it wasn't for the 5 it got, it would have been rivaling the previous two tracks for top spot. As it was, it finished just three votes behind the equal 1st songs. Significantly, it was the seconded highest performer in the "perfect scores" category with a remarkable ten out of twenty and just behind "Union Jack's" 11. 182/200 = Avg. 9.10

4/ True Love True Confession - The four songs that make up Side A of this album rated the highest. Again a strong show with 40% of the sample group giving it the perfect thumbs up. A couple of 6's was the lowlight on its report card, though. 178/200 = Avg. 8.90

5/ In Your Eyes - Another 40% gave this one the ultimate vote of confidence. In many ways though, some similar lower scores for this one like "True Love" with a 5 and a 6.5. 174.5/200 = Avg. 8.72

6/ Anytime - A similar pattern emerges with the songs that open up the second side of the album. Just six perfect 10's and plenty of 6's and 7's. 165.5/200 = Avg. 8.27

7/ Love Is Just A Mystery - Sadly those of you (five out of twenty) who absolutely raved about this one did not have their thoughts agreed upon by the rest of the sample. It fared quite well, but a 5 and plenty of 6's ultimately held it back. I suspect because it is preceded by the two worst tracks on the album that a lot of people really haven't heard this one enough as the needle or stylus (for those of you lucky enough to have it on CD) just never made it to track 9 too often. 154/200 = Avg. 7.70

8/ Jesus Are You There? - Evidently not, as not one of us rated this higher than a 9 - so it takes its places with not too many other tunes that didn't raise a single perfect 10. But after a very slow start it got a flurry of straight 9's (five consecutive and a couple later) to see it finish with at least a respectable score. 144/200 = Avg. 7.20

9/ Turn Around In Tokyo - Yet another low score that we can blame on Jonathan Cain's vocal. This runt of the litter comes in as the third worst song rated to date. It got an 8 in there, but also scored a solitary 1. 91/200 = 4.55

To the album... Union Jacks had a total of 1460 out of 1800, making for a final approval rating of 81.1%.

We had a full complement of Igniters (23 in all) that rated Head First and sent it skyrocketing to the top of our all time album list and seriously reshaped the all-time singles list as well.

IF YOU THINK YOUR VOTE DOESN'T COUNT OR AMOUNT TO MUCH... THINK AGAIN! The highest rated song scraped home by one solitary point! Even the lowest rated track here finished with an approval rating of 8.47. One-third of the album's tracks were tied and their ranking had to be decided on a count back of perfect scores.

1/ Head First - Really solid perfect scores - fifteen in all firmly places this one in the top10 all-time list - it ties with "The Choice." The lowest it got was an 8 and three 8.5's. 220/230 Avg. 9.56

2/ Every Time I Think Of You - This smash single was unlucky to finish just one point behind "Head First" as it got more perfect scores - 70% of the sample (sixteen) gave it unanimous support. What ultimately proved its downfall was a 7 and three 8's. But it does place in the top 10 of the all-time list . 219/230 Avg. 9.52

3/ You (Got It) - This got ten perfect 10's out of the first 11 votes recorded and was destined for really big things. It finished with a staggering sixteen perfect 10's which equals "Every Time I Think Of You's" perfect mark. But a 6, a 7 and a 7.5 in such exalted company will have your average tumbling if you are fighting it out for top marks. 214.5/230 Avg. 9.32

4/ Please Don't Leave Me - This song only won on a count back from the songs that finished in positions 5 and 6 by virtue of a higher aggregate of perfect scores. This one got eleven in all. (They all finished on 202.5) It did get a 5 as its lowest, a 6 and a few 7's. 202.5/230 Avg. 8.80

5/ California - Ten perfect 10's saw it lose in an unlucky count back to "Please Don't Leave Me." A couple of 6's were this song's low point. 202.5/230 Avg. 8.80

6/ Love Don't Prove I'm Right - Nine perfect tens, which put it in third place after the tiebreaker between it and "California" and "Please Don't Leave Me." Even though this one ultimately ranked sixth on the album, 8.80 is still a very respectable score. 202.5/230 Avg. 8.80

7/ Run To Mexico - No less than eleven perfect scores - so that even this song which is rated number 7 out of 9 tracks finishes with almost half of the sample giving it the ultimate thumbs up! Just finishing one half a point behind the tracks that finished number 4, 5 and 6 with the scoring so tight at the top that if it received just one extra vote it would have finished in fourth spot. As scores were 7 and higher, except for a 5. 202/230 Avg. 8.78

8/ I Was One - Normally it's bad news here in the respective album wrap ups...tracks 8 onward usually end up a long way back from the pack...but this is testimony to the fact that there are no dogs to be found on Head First. "I Was One" still received six perfect 10's but also two 6's to see it end up here. 198.5/230 Avg. 8.63

9/ White Lightening - I credible nine perfect scores amongst a 4, 5, 5.5 and a 6 so see it finish in last place on Head First. It started off with a bang - five perfect 10's straight out of the gate, but from there it got worse. 195/230 Avg. 8.47

If the lowest rated track scores an 8.47, you don't have to be a Rocket Scientist to realize that the album is going to figure pretty high up on the all time list. Head First's aggregate score was 1856.5 out of 2070. The album finishes with a particularly high overall approval rating of 89.68%. This far and away makes Head First our favourite John Waite album. (Note that this is also the only Babys album where John sings lead on every song.)

The album that introduced most of us to the music of The Babys and ultimately John Waite and Bad English is a much loved album which has produced A BRAND NEW ALL-TIME FAVOURITE song. <drum roll, please>

1/ Isn't It Time - Our new all-time favourite was the first song that really launched them on to the world stage. It reached Number 1 in Australia and goes to the same position on our all-time list. And most deserving considering it received sixteen out of twenty perfect scores. The other four recorded two 9.5's, and 9 and a 7.5 (Bit harsh there, Patrick!) An incredible run at Number 1 for "Sometimes" comes to an end. An incredible 195.5/200. Avg. 9.77

2/ Broken Heart - Almost a full half point behind the first place getter but the next highest tally of perfect scores - eleven out of twenty voted this title track the highest possible. It slips in nicely with such gems as "Union Jack" and "Back On My Feet Again" from the Union Jacks album on the all time list. A 6, a 7 and a couple of 8's held its final rating back, but currently it sits in the Top 10 of all-time, making it a must for those compilation tapes! 185.5/200. Avg. 9.27

3/ Wrong Or Right - The bronze medal of Broken Heart goes to "Wrong Or Right" - wrongly or rightly! Almost half of the sample (nine) rated it 10 out of 10 and a couple of 7's was the lowest this song scored. But any song that averages 9.00+ must be rated a classic. 181.5/200. Avg. 9.07

4/ The Golden Mile -This song won fourth place on a count back over its album buddy "Give Me Your Love." It got eleven perfect 10's, so it got the 4th spot. It did get a couple of 6's, though, so it wasn't universally loved. But it just sneaks in with a 9.00 average so officially, this one is a classic! 180/200. Avg. 9.00

5/ Give Me Your Love - An unlucky 5th spot owing to this losing on a count back with 10 perfect scores to "The Golden Mile's" eleven. It also got a 5 and a 6 in there which didn't flatter this song too much. But finishing on 9.00 makes this one a classic as well. 180/200. Avg. 9.00

6/ I'm Falling - This song lived up to its name. It started out with three perfect scores out of three in the beginning only to see some of those nasty 5's and 6's appear in later posts. Eight perfect 10's overall. The one bright note is that this one won another tight count back over "A Piece Of The Action" with one additional perfect score. A classic? Not quite in the end, sadly. 175/200. Avg. 8.75

7/ A Piece Of The Action - This one lost in a tie-breaker to "I'm Falling" since it had equal votes but one less perfect score (seven). A couple in the 7's and even a 4 saw it settle here. 175/200. Avg. 8.75

8/ And If You See Me Fly - Just five people or 25% of the sample gave it the perfect score and consequently the lowest number of perfects of any tracks on this album. But higher averages saw it beat two others in the pecking order. It did have to suffer a 3, a 5, and a couple of 6's along the way. It was really the Broken Heart album devotees that got this one up there to finish higher than 9th or 10th position. 167/200. Avg. 8.35

9/ Rescue Me - Just rescued, I'm afraid, from the shame of 10th spot. It can hold its head up high, though, because it still managed a respectable eight perfect 10's. It had a 2 in there on its downside and sits among "Restless Ones," "Encircled," and "Wild Life" on the all time list with the same score. 166.5/200. Avg. 8.32

10/ Silver Dreams - There always has to be a loser, and, not surprisingly, the last track on this Babys album is not sung by John Waite either. I hope when John reads the total wrap up he'll get a chuckle over the songs not sung by him that suffered at the hands of the critical Ignition lot. He won't see this one down at the bottom of the all-time list, though, because it finished with a very respectable seven perfect scores. (Perhaps that's because John does sing the second verse?) Uh oh.. a 2 and a 3 and a 4 I also have to report. While Tony Brock is not a recognized signer, he would be at least pleased that this one finished a whole lot better than Jonathan Cain's vocal efforts. 159/200 Avg. 7.95

This is one of those albums where so many perfect scores were recorded that it is quite evident that this album is another real favourite of the good folk of Ignition. This album had no "dogs" and even the lowest rated song (once again, one not sung by John) managed a healthy 7.95 approval. Those who voted gave the album a total of 1765 votes out of a possible 2000. Broken Heart finished with an approval rating of 88.25%.

Thanks to the 18 Igniters who gave their time and thoughts on wrapping up the ratings game. We'll again crank it up for the follow-up to When You Were Mine. We rated John's albums in reverse order, so here's what we thought of his very first recording.

1/ Laura - This ballad received very high votes generally. Seven out of eighteen gave it full marks and saw it finish atop the list on this album but by a very small margin in the end. To finish at 8.58 is very creditable but doesn't qualify it for classic status. The people that voted it at a 5 or 6.5 didn't think so either! 154.8/180 Avg. 8.58.

2/ Dying Man - The first "epic" from the fledgling Babys was almost the favourite off its album but was just pipped by a point by "Laura." Though more people (eight out of eighteen) voted it perfect marks, no doubt it can be seen as a very good song. It would have won if only for a score of 2 that it got. Aside from that and a 6.5 it fared very well. 153.5/180 Avg. 8.52.

3/ I Believe In Love - A solid showing from this track that saw its album being voted amongst the poorest rated. It got five perfect 10's and a 5 and a couple of 6's on the down side. 151/180 Avg. 8.38

4/ Rodeo - Five out of eighteen gave it thumbs up "10" for a song that is acknowledged as a very good tune, if what exactly the lyrics were/meant no one really knew or said. 147/180 Avg. 8.16

5/ Looking For Love - An average showing for an opening track of any album rated to date. The openers usually end up higher than this one, which in the end saw it rate a 2 amongst five perfect 10's. We Igniters can be a tough bunch sometimes! 146/180 Avg. 8.11

6/ If You've Got The Time - This original version has had its knockers along the way. A few folks questioned its inclusion on the Anthology album. Just two of us gave it a 10, but really no lower than a 5. 145/180 Avg. 8.05

7/ Read My Stars - The four Ignition members who gave this full marks won't be pleased that it rated seventh out of ten tracks on The Babys album. This is because of a 5 and a 6 recorded against it. 141/180 Avg. 7.83

8/ I Love How You Love Me - Four out of eighteen gave it thumbs up "10" but a lot of 4's, 5's and 6's didn't help its overall ranking. 132.5/180 Avg. 7.36

9/ Wild Man - Just one Igniter thought this one has the goods and gave it a 10. A 2, 4's, 5's and 6's made sure it didn't rise too high up the scale for the songs rated on The Babys. 131/180 Avg. 7.27

10/ Over And Over - We've said it before and we'll say it again...Ignition just never seems to like songs not sung by John Waite - why mess with perfection anyway? But this one fared a lot better than others in that category. Tony Brock's effort on this one did manage to get one "10" but I'm sorry to report that a 1and a 3 got in there, as well as some other unflattering scores. 125.5/180 Avg. 6.97

The album scored a total of 1427 vote out of 1800. it finishes with an overall approval rating of 79.27% as a consequence.

The above was compiled by David Ketels.
David met John for the first time in January of 1998.
Follow this link to see the picture and read the story

Many thanks to Patrick (Pprwait@aol.com) for providing me with many of the CD cover scans that you see in Rate-A-Waite.

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