Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day... or Not

I try to keep an open mind about these things. If you're smiling today, go with the optimistic power pop of the underrated Elvis Brothers. If you're down and want to stay there, opt for the legendary Chet Baker. It's not really supposed to be so sad, but it sure is when Chet delivers it. No matter which song you choose, you're gonna get a hell of a listen.

The Elvis Brothers - "Valentine"
Chet Baker - "My Funny Valentine"

4 comments:

Chris said...

Both I didn't know and both I enjoyed. I should explore Chet Baker's music.

I love Valentine's Day by Bruce Springsteen, don't know if you are aware of that one? I was listening today to Billy Bragg's Valentine's Day is Over.

Brian said...

Hi Chris. Before this post, I did an iTunes search for the word "valentine." I considered the Bragg song, along with others by Bowie, ABC and a few others. I don't think Springsteen came up, but I may have that on the shelf. Will check that out. Thanks. If you liked the Baker song and haven't dug into his work yet, I would recommend the compilations the best of Chet Baker sings and the best of Chet Baker plays. I'm not at all sure if any of the Elvis Brothers' albums are still in print, but they were a tremendous band with a nice little following in Illinois where they formed and where I grew up.

Chris said...

@Brian: Those Chet Baker compilations sound like good places to start. I can see the focus is on his early work, specifically the pacific jazz years 1953-1957. Maybe there is a compilation of his later work as well? Thanks for the recommendations.

Brian said...

Chris, The Pacific Jazz years are the salad days. If you get the chance and want to know about Baker from those early years to the not so salad days, I recommend the documentary Let's Get Lost. By the conclusion you'll know whether you want to explore those later years.