Happy Birthday, Ruthy
Baby: McGuinness Flint
[Capitol, 1971]
Rating: 8
Review: In the early 1970s, Capitol had both The Band and McGuinness Flint on
their roster, with both bands producing the best work of their careers. Like The
Band, McGuinness Flint excelled by ignoring current trends in rock music and
drawing on styles with deeper roots. Also like The Band, Happy Birthday Ruthy
Baby is a follow-up that often surpasses an exceptional debut album. Where Dylan’s
former backup band was making the cover of Time magazine, though, McGuinness
Flint remained largely unknown outside their native
Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby, with solid production by
Glynn Johns and the gifted Nicky Hopkins on piano, expands on the rustic tone
of the band’s first album. The title track is a rousing pub-rock tribute to one
of the band’s supporters, a touching picture of life as a struggling musician.
Jazz influences permeate the propulsive Reader To
Writer and Fixer, with its stunning trombone solo.
Beginning to end, Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby is a gem,
full of promise for the group. It’s unfortunate that the album, and the band,
were not more widely appreciated. Principle songwriters
Gallagher and Lyle left after this album. Although McGuinness Flint rebounded
in style with Lo and Behold, lead singer Dennis Coulson soon started a solo
career, and the band folded in 1975. – James A. Gardner, All Music Guide