This album is certainly worth buying, although in my opinion it is uneven. It's a double disk that combines two albums that were previously released seperately, YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN (a commercial album put together by Don Sebesky), and THE BEST THING FOR YOU, (a more informal album with some of the players from the sebesky date, ie Kenny Baron and Ron Carter). The orders of the tracks are all a bit mixed up...they're not in the order they were on their original LPs.

The material from YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN is disappointing. Chet sounds like a Miles Davis impersonator and the arrangements are cheesy. THE BEST THING FOR YOU, however, is absolutely spellbinding and breathtaking. From what I understand this was the Paul Desmond's last session before he died, and to hear him play so melodically, but with a weak tone is tear jerking. Similarly, Chet also sounds physically weak, but the spirit and agression in his playing is indescribably inspiring. I've listened to How Deep is The Ocean almost every day for the past six months...it obviously stands as my favorite recording of the tune. For the tracks that were on THE BEST THING FOR YOU alone, this double disc really is essential if you're a big fan of Chet and Paul.

I have been waiting for this album to come out on CD for 15 years. I've got a lot of Baker stuff, but somehow this is his most haunting and meaningful work. Worth it for some of the tunes that simply could not be played with this much soul by anyone else.

This is by no means Chet at his zenith. In fact, this is when Chet was in his worst stage of his heroin addiction, However, he still manages to utter some beautiful yet painful experiences and his voice is just the same - full of sorrow and lament. Check out "Oh, You Crazy Moon" and "How Deep is Your Ocean", and you'll know what poignant sounds are really like. This is also the only time Chet gets the chance to jam with such jazz greats as pianist Kenny Barron and bassist Ron Carter, as far as I remember. Though in his worst shape, this is the same Chet we know, listen and love. Chet Baker is not a person. He's a sage, an immortal phenomenon that never dies with time. He's jazz at its best. In fact, he is jazz. Jazz is he...