SPILL MUSIC PREMIERE: STEVE BASKIN AND THE FOURTEENS – “PLEASANT VALLEY SUNDAY”

STEVE BASKIN AND THE FOURTEENS – “PLEASANT VALLEY SUNDAY”

A SPILL EXCLUSIVE MUSIC PREMIERE

Steve Baskin and the Fourteens’ new album, Love Is Hard, is the kind of sophisticated, soulful statement of a record that comes only with decades of hard-earned experience—at life and love and music.

“Having been around the block a few times, Love Is Hard is a set of songs that brings a grownup perspective on love and relationships from just about every angle,” Baskin says. “It deals with marriage, family, community, losing a close friend, and our divided world.”

Musically, the eclectic Love Is Hard meanders from California country to folk, roots rock, jangle pop, blues and soul, the latter a staple since a young Baskin cut his teeth on the road playing guitar for legendary artists such as Sam & Dave’s Sam Moore, Percy Sledge, Carla Thomas and The Shirelles.

Providing some levity midway through the record, Baskin and the Fourteens’ breezy new take on “Pleasant Valley Sunday”–made famous by Baskin’s childhood favorites The Monkees–is a jangly and undeniably fun hit of Paisley Pop / classic R&B fusion that will leave you grinning ear to ear.

ARTIST QUOTE

“My introduction to rock & roll was The Monkees. They were on television every afternoon and, as a kid, they were the coolest thing I’d ever seen in my life. I just loved everything about them. And ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ has always been one of my favorite Monkees tunes. That it’s a Carole King song was also a bonus. The beat, the groove on our version is very different from what The Monkees did originally. Some of the vocal ideas are different, and we brought some horns in—it’s what the song might have sounded like if they’d come up with a horn arrangement for it in the ’70s.”

Steve Baskin And The Fourteens
Love Is Hard
(Independent)
Release Date: April 12, 2024

Artist Links