Saturday, May 16, 2009

Babes in Toyland - Band Photos



These are a pair of band photos from Babes in Toyland, the great Minneapolis rock band of the 1990s. The first photo is of the original lineup - Kat Bjelland, Lori Barbero, and Michelle Leon. This trio released two spectacular underground rock albums that haven't lost a decibel of their power - Spanking Machine (1990) and To Mother (1991). Michelle Leon retired from music after the sudden and tragic death of her boyfriend, Joe Cole. In 1992, Maureen Herman assumed the bass duties, as the Babes signed to Warner Brothers and unleashed their most popular album, Fontanelle (1992). Painkillers (1993) quickly followed their tour on Lollapallooza. And Nemesisters (1995) saw the band at its most ferocious and refined. This second photo comes from the Nemesisters era, and it's really a spectacular photograph.

Babes in Toyland remains one of the great power trios in rock, and there was no wavering or middle ground with their music. You either loved it, or hated it. Me? I loved it. I still say this was the greatest of all the Minneapolis rock groups.

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