Seventies Glam & Eighties Hair

As an interlude I'm going to put up a quick list of the Top 10 Glam Rock bands from the 70's and the Top 10 Hair Bands from the 80's (extra cheese warning). 

1954 Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings

Info: Chet Baker (1929-1988) is described in 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die as the Monet of the music world as "a master of mists and gentle inflections". Dropping out of high-school at 16, he joined the army and was sent to Berlin in 1946 for 2 years where he played in the 298th Army Band, following another stint in the army in the early fifties Baker started playing trumpet with various bands and performers before going solo in July, 1953. The following year the above album, Chet Baker Sings, was released, having traditionally been solely a trumpet player, many of Baker's fans who were jazz purists were alienated by him singing on the album as well, indeed as observed in the liner notes of the album, "Is Baker a trumpet player who sings, or a singer who plays trumpet?". Key tracks are; 'My Funny Valentine', 'My Ideal', 'But Not For Me' and 'Time After Time', above. Baker became addicted to heroin in the 1950's, and it started to really impact on his career by the 1960's, he was imprisoned many times in different countries, particularly West Germany and France where he spent much of his time, he also began accepting any recording offer that was put before him, merely to feed his addiction, which sadly diluted the quality of his output. Baker died in Amsterdam in 1988 when he fell from a window at the Hotel Prins Hendrik,  following a cocaine and heroin binge, a plaque in his honour (below) can be seen at the entrance to the hotel.

Track Listing:

1 That Old Feeling

2 It's Always You

3 Like Someone In Love

4 My Ideal

5 I've Never Been In Love Before

6 My Buddy

7 But Not For Me

8 Time After Time

9 I Get Along Without You Very Well

10 My Funny Valentine

11 There Will Never Be Another You

12 The Thrill Is Gone      

13 I Fall In Love Too Easy

14 Look For The Silver Lining

1953 Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown

Louie Bellson incredible drum solo from Skin Deep, 1957 (below)

Info: It is widely accepted that Duke Ellington is the greatest jazz composer of all time. The son of a White House butler, he first learned the piano aged 7 and would go on to become a mainstay of the jazz music scene from the 1920's, right through to his death from cancer and pneumonia in 1974, when his son Mercer took over the Ellington band. Ellington Uptown is ranked #2 for 1953 on RYM and 4.5/5 stars on www.allmusic.com. The standout tracks for me (granted there are only 5) are 'Skin Deep' above, mainly for Louie Bellson's amazing drum solo  and evolutionary double-bass drum technique, which begins at 3.15 in the video of the song, however, I also came across a video of him performing the same solo just to get a better appreciation, he would have strolled into McFly that lad. The second song I particularly liked was 'Take The "A" Train', which features vocals from Betty Roche, who regularly appeared with Ellington's band in the early 50's. For background music or maybe when cooking a 15 minute meal, track 4, 'A Tone Parallel to Harlem (The Harlem Suite)' fits the bill.

Track Listing:

A1   Skin Deep                                                         

A2   The Mooche                                                        

A3   Take the "A" Train                                               

B1    A Tone Parallel to Harlem (The Harlem Suite)      

B2    Perdido