Some of the finest
jazz
artists of the 1960s and early '70s could do good "sell out" albums with mass
pop
appeal without actually selling out.
Wes Montgomery
,
Grover Washington, Jr.
, and
Herbie Mann
come to mind. But these diverse musicians had a funky, groove-driven side to them that
Chet Baker
just doesn't possess.
Blood, Chet & Tears
is legendary for being one of the most shameful releases in his catalog, but the reality of the album isn't quite as bad as the legend behind it. Yes, the title is a groaner and, yes, this is an
easy listening
album of late-'60s
soft rock
hits, but to be fair -- the album isn't that bad. It's actually better than some of the
Herb Alpert
releases of the same era that inspired it. But the difference is that
Alpert
was just being himself, while
finds
Baker
trying to sound like somebody else and that's the worst thing about the album. It literally sounds like
is hiding his true musical personality rather than expanding upon that personality. And when you come right down to it, that really is selling out as opposed to what
George Benson
and others were doing during this same period. That said, except for a bizarre version of
"You've Made Me So Very Happy,"
the album stands up as kitschy
. Interestingly enough, the same version of
"Come Saturday Morning"
that appears here was the theme song to
The Sterile Cuckoo
, a coming-of-age teen romance.
ended up being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. That fact, along with the one that
sang over the credits to a major Hollywood movie at this stage in his career, seems to have been expunged from the
story entirely. ~ Nick Dedina