Track Listing

1. The Thrill Is Gone
2. But Not For Me
3. Time After Time
4. I Get Along Without You Very Well
5. There Will Never Be Another You
6. Look For The Silver Lining
7. My Funny Valentine
8. I Fall In Love Too Easily
9. Daybreak
10. Just Friends
11. I Remember You
12. Let's Get Lost
13. Long Ago And Far Away
14. You Don't Know What Love Is
15. That Old Feeling
16. It's Always You
17. I've Never Been In Love Before
18. My Buddy
19. Like Someone In Love
20. My Ideal

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7551 in Music
• Released on: 1989-08-04
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com essential recording
Once Chet Baker arrived in California from his native Oklahoma, his career exploded. After landing gigs with Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan, Baker soon found himself a solo star and bandleader. Not long after that, he also found himself whispering love songs into a microphone. Baker was not gifted with the most robust voice of the day. Indeed, listening to pure singers like Nat "King" Cole or Johnny Hartman can expose Baker's weaknesses, but what Baker did, he did well. By choosing wistful, so-young, so-in-love tunes, Baker was able to pour his heart into the material, sketching soft, romantic moods and painting himself as the broken-hearted innocent. The effect can be devastating, as Baker's voice clings to the melody, threatening to disintegrate at any moment. Many of his best tunes--"I Fall in Love Too Easily," "But Not for Me," "Let's Get Lost"--are collected here, and as such, there is no better place to begin an appreciation of Baker's unique singing. --S. Duda

Customer Reviews

Simply the best out there
Now, admittedly I'm not a fan of too much jazz music, but that's mainly because I can't handle the self-indulgence of long solos or the arrogance of many jazz musicians. In fact, if you look back on Chet's career, releasing this album killed his credibility in the jazz scene. He went from being a hip trumpet player to being a pop singer, basically. Personally, I think its the smartest move he's ever made.

This album is amazing. I like it more than any other jazz album I've ever heard, and despite what I said earlier, I do listen to quite a bit of jazz (how can you hate an entire style?). So that being said, why do I like this album? Because Chet has an incredibly seductive, relaxing voice. These songs are beautiful and he sings them with a croon that rivals Sinatra for originality and beauty. He was a serious heroin addict and at one time was followed around by all of the newspapers like some celebrities are today. However, he got too far into it and eventually ended up committing suicide by jumping out of a hotel room window (though its disputed that he might have fallen while under the influence of heroin).

Like many other of my favorite singer/songwriters (Elliott Smith, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, Brad Nowell) Chet had a lot of pain in his life when he wrote his songs. For whatever reason, this tends to lead musicians to sound more emotionally authentic in their music. Chet's music has relaxed me and brought me near tears before by virtue of its being so emotionally honest and raw. It helps that the songs are great already and Chet sings them like they're his. This is the best relaxation cd out there, period, and Chet is one of the best vocalists, jazz or otherwise, that I've ever had the pleasure to be exposed to. Go on, listen for yourself.

Chet get's his set
Chet Baker was a fine trumpet player, had a cool West Coast jazz style that fit well in the clubs and was well respected among his contempories. He blew sweet and short, not necessarily long blown out improvisation. For those younger, he was like George Harrison, he hit the right notes at the right time with a sense of melody and a knowing of the song. He didn't have to strut, he strolled the street like he owned it, happy as could be.

What happened was, Chet was asked to sing a tune or two. He got drunk, sang, and was as flat as a soaked Manhattan coaster on a two drink minimun table for two. He sang off key, off the shoulder, off the edge, and weary eyes blinked. Couples snuggled. She kicked her shoes off under the table, her "friend" threw dollars at the waiter and they both knew somethin' new. Possibly another drink or two...

Chet sang in a smokey voice, winked at them, coughed and sang...
"My Funny Valentine" worse than boyfriend could as he whispered...eager and excited and as "whoops" as the snap of his H C major coda.

This CD is a fine introduction...
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Mellow and Romantic
Don't listen to this album after a bad break up! Most of the tracks are about being lonely and heart broken. Great cool jazz sound with Baker's unique singing voice. Although his voice didn't have much of a range and he misses a few notes here and there, it's still a great album.