Format Details: Double CD Jewel Case
Release Date: 28 October 2002
Label: Ace Records
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 029667186025
Description
It's not quite rock, it's not quite country, not quite lounge - it's unique. It's Lee Hazlewood, that's what it is. This 2-CD set contains all his solo recordings for MGM from 1965-67, including the rare Something Special" LP, and comes with a fully illustrated 20-page biography." In the 1980s and 90s, Lee Hazlewood attracted a whole new audience drawn from a predominantly younger generation, who had chanced upon his music long after it had been recorded. His followers (or 'addicts' as he archly refers to them) are probably born that way. There is no middle way: you either get it or you don't. At the age of 73, the enigmatic and quirky Hazlewood has become a one man musical cult. A singer, songwriter, producer, occasional actor and seasoned raconteur, Hazlewood's voice is deeper and more expressive than Johnny Cash's. He pauses for effect in all the right places as an actor might, a legacy from his early training as a professional broadcaster. Characterised by their sombre and dramatic chord patterns, his songs frequently meander towards the depths, forming a bedrock for deceptively melodic toplines. There is weary resignation, laced with optimism, pathos and laconic humour, often all in the same song. He'll occasionally lapse into corn, probably because he grew up in the heyday of swing, burlesque and live radio entertainment and couldn't resist the temptation to throw a little of those influences into the mix. There is much of the cowboy in Hazlewood who hailed from the Oklahoma dustbowl, but he was never a redneck. In fact, he became something of an urbane Europhile who spent the 1970s and 80s living and performing in relative obscurity in Europe and Scandinavia. Incredibly, none of this was ever planned. The twists and turns of his career were governed entirely by chance, circumstance and intuition. Hazlewood didn't find his true vocation until he stumbled into the record business almost by accident, at the age of 26, in the mid-1950s and he didn't get around to making his first serious recording as an artist until he was 34. He was the Svengali behind Duane Eddy, a young guitarist whose simple but atmospheric 'Twangy' guitar instrumentals were easily the most advanced sound productions of their time. In the days before Beatlemania, Eddy was a very big deal indeed. His records sold in their millions and Hazlewood co-wrote and produced most of them. A few years later, Hazlewood worked the same magic for Nancy Sinatra. On those two counts alone, he was one of the most successful record producers of his day. At heart, Hazlewood was a frustrated performer with a recording persona, which had yet to be determined, if indeed it ever would be, its elusiveness being the key to his appeal. Short, physically unprepossessing and on the wrong side of 30 by a wide margin, Hazlewood was an awkward product to define. He was also a proud and stubborn man who was better suited to giving directions rather than taking them. He made his first LP, TROUBLE
Tracklisting
The Champs
Richard Thompson
Little Richard
Link Wray
Isaac Hayes
Elmore James
B.B. King
B.B. King
Lee Hazlewood
