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Oriphiel · 12-08-2014, 09:36 AM

Well, as recommended by Moss, here's Lee Hazlewood!

The LHI Years

I know it's redundant to post this picture, as Moss already did, but I have to put a picture of the album under the title! It's tradition!

A fairly recent compilation, this one was apparently issued in 2012 by Light in the Attic Records (who seem like a great independent label from Seattle, with a focus on reissuing vintage material).

According to my sources (especially his website, which has a nice biography: Homepage - Lee Hazlewood | Lee Hazlewood) Lee Hazlewood and his family moved around quite a bit in his youth. He tried his hand at multiple occupations, being a musician, soldier, and radio jockey. It was during his time as an energetic radio personality and disc spinner that he became friends with a young Duane Eddy (yeah, that Duane Eddy). They both loved the transformation of Country into Rockabilly, and quickly bonded over their shared musical interests. Together with Duane Eddy, Al Casey, and Sanford Clark, they created the song "The Fool", which became Hazlewood's first penned hit.

Lee Hazlewood. His moustache was busy in an interview elsewhere, and so sadly couldn't appear with Lee in this photo.

From there, Hazlewood became a professional song writer, eventually starting his own record label. Lee Hazlewood Industries, or "LHI", is the label he used to put out his solo albums, as well as producing the work of others. And yeah, he wrote Nancy Sinatra's hit. You know the one. I can't say the name, or else we'll all start singing it, and I'll never get around to finishing this thing.

So, you now know the general context of this album. It captures Lee Hazlewood's fairly brief solo career (brief compared to his song writing and producing career, anyway). Let's get to it!

Sid and Nancy eat your heart out! Nevermind that, here's Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra

1. "Califia Stone Rider" - Right from the start, I can already get a feel for Lee's sound. Definitely influenced by the popular music of the 60's. It was a time when Pop, Folk, Country, and Jazz were kind of a synonymous mash-up. Anyway, this one has a nice backing, with a beat-music drummer and a horn section. Lee Hazlewood's voice is a bit deeper than I expected, but it works fairly well in contrast with the voice of Suzi Jane Hokom, his partner in this duet. Not bad, but not fantastic (you know me. If it doesn't have at least three fuzz guitars, I get disinterested).

2. "The Bed" - Wow, and I thought his voice was deep in the previous track! This number tune-wise sounds like something someone would sing as the theme to one of those Western movies we all know and love (and if it was going to be a theme song, I personally think it would have worked better Ennio M. style, with a female power-vocalist, and a twangy and dirty Surf-esque guitar in the background). This one is good though, with the beat-drummer and horn section returning, as well as female vocalists in the background. And was that a sitar at the beginning, and popping up throughout the song?

3. "Sleep in the Grass" - A duet with Ann-Margaret. This one starts off as a slow Country ballad, before becoming a kind of Gospel stomper for the chorus. I like the string instrument that plays in the background during the bulk of the song (A mandolin? Or maybe just a guitar. I've never been good at identifying instruments). This one is kept interesting by Ann-Margaret's high to his low, which seems to be a good formula for Lee so far (being in a duet with a female vocalist), as well as the tempo/tone change of the chorus.

Warning! Standing within a mile of Lee Hazlewood will cause you to spontaneously grow a macho moustache!

4. "Leather and Lace" - A cool song with just the tiniest bit of a Folk/Psych feeling to it.Another duet, this one has vocalist Nina Lizell as Lee's partner in crime. Definitely the most compelling and haunting track so far, I think it benefits especially from the string section in the background.

5. "If It's Monday Morning" - Here Lee goes Cash style, giving us a baritone story accompanied by a guitar. It works pretty well, being kept very simple (there's no horn/string section here, and certainly no guest vocalist). Not bad, but I can imagine this song would be torture-fuel for someone who hates the "macho-voice + guitar" style of Country. And I might have misheard the lyrics, did Lee say he'd "probably get stoned"? Groovy.

6. "The Night Before" - Basically the last two tracks mashed into one. This one is a solid haunting number about a man who reflects on the night before, when he (presumably) got drunk and did something involving a woman that he now regrets. Another track going for the toned down feeling, with Lee singing alone.

7. "Bye Babe" - Similar to "If It's Monday Morning" in that Lee does the baritone blues with a guitar accompanying him. Only this time it's a bit faster and catchier, with drumming and organ work, as well as backing vocalists, in the background. Lee really loves depressing songs, doesn't he?

Ann-Margaret and Lee prepare for the most dramatic tea party ever.

8. "Victims of the Night" - Another duet with Ann-Margaret, this one is an upbeat Country Pop tune. It has pretty catchy and fun instrumentation, with an acoustic guitar doing it's thing and a harmonica coming in now and then. The light vocal harmonies that come in the background around the minute and a half mark onward are a really nice touch, as well. All in all, a fun and solid number!

9. "Chico" - Yet another duet with Ann-Margaret (i'm starting to see a trend here), it isn't quite as fun as the last track, but I do like the guys doing the soul-scream Mariachi style about a minute and ten seconds in (right after Ann-Margaret finishes her bit). Also, I find it kind of funny that this is the second song I've heard so far in this journal where a girl pines over a guy named "Chico" (the first was "Chico's Girl". Man, people just can't resist that Chico). Lee keeps it simple, while Ann-Margaret hits with a good amount of balladic power.

10. "Hey Cowboy" - Nina Lizell returns for another duet with Mr. Hazlewood. With that trademark smooth Jazz feeling that a lot of 1960's Pop has, this one is another decent track. I like the analogue/echo effect on their voices, as it adds just the slightest bit of dirtiness/roughness that the song needs to help balance out the sweetness of it.

11. "No Train to Stockholm" - A smooth number with the same Country/Folk influence that most of the tracks on this album share. Driven along by Lee and a solid bass line, there's also a male backing vocalist (who comes in for the chorus).

Unable to resist the urge any longer, Suzi Jane Hokom attempts to devour Mr. Hazlewood in order to gain his powers.

12. "Won't Tell You Your Dreams" - Another Cash style guitar and vocals number, this one also borrows the bass line and male backing vocalist of the last song. Good, but a bit unremarkable. Man, can Lee Hazlewood really depress you. His voice is like what teardrops would sound like if they had vocal chords.

13. "Nobody Like You" - Suzi Jane Hokom is back for the attack! This time both she and Lee basically stay in the background and repeat the chorus, and let what sounds like the Creature From The Black Lagoon take the foray with occasional vocal flourishes. Joking aside, i'm guessing that's Lee with a groovy sound effect layered over his voice?

14. "Trouble Maker" - Another sad song, this time about a ne'er-do-well hippy who screws around while everyone around him is working hard. Sounds like a groovy guy! Unfortunately for him, he gets arrested. Why? The song never says, but I'll assume it's vagrancy. Anyway, he goes to court and gets... Uh, sentenced to death. And then they hang him from a tree. Meanwhile Lee basically, with a tear in his eye, raises the American flag and salutes a bald eagle. All in all it's not a bad song, but it's definitely got a cheese factor to the lyrics.

15. "What's More I Don't Need Her" - Very influenced by the Folk scene, this one is fairly catchy with the backing of it's talented string section. And is that a Harpsichord in the background? What's with Lee Hazlewood and random background instruments that I can't quite identify? Anyway, this one is pretty good, and sounds like it came from the soundtrack of a movie about a grand adventure.

Nancy and Lee, looking as cool as someone can without sitting on a motorcycle.

16. "Come On Home To Me" - This one opens with Lee Hazlewood telling the audience like it is, before a guitar and bass come in to accompany him. Right around a minute and ten seconds in, the song speeds up while Lee says "Come on", and it sounds like things are about to get exciting... but then the song goes back to the original beat. Honestly, I think it would've improved the song if they'd kept speeding things up instead of slowing them down.

17. "I just Learned to Run" - The finishing track of the album, and we're treated to... another sad song. And of course, there is some weird instrument in the background that I can't quite identify, although I think it may just be a keyboard/electric organ this time.

Well, we've reached the end of this one. I can honestly say that, before this album, I had never listened to a Lee Hazlewood song before. While he's definitely outside of my whole Garage Rock comfort zone, I can understand the appeal in his music. While I find many of his solo tracks a bit too slow and similar sounding, I have to admit that I had fun with his duets (especially when he's teamed up with Ann-Margaret). If you love guys with macho-voices and acoustic guitars, and can't get enough of ballads, then you really should check this one out. Alternatively, if neither of those types of songs interest you, then this album might literally kill you if you listen to it in it's entirety.

12-08-2014, 09:36 AM	#24 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,354	Well, as recommended by Moss, here's Lee Hazlewood! The LHI Years I know it's redundant to post this picture, as Moss already did, but I have to put a picture of the album under the title! It's tradition! A fairly recent compilation, this one was apparently issued in 2012 by Light in the Attic Records (who seem like a great independent label from Seattle, with a focus on reissuing vintage material). According to my sources (especially his website, which has a nice biography: Homepage - Lee Hazlewood \| Lee Hazlewood) Lee Hazlewood and his family moved around quite a bit in his youth. He tried his hand at multiple occupations, being a musician, soldier, and radio jockey. It was during his time as an energetic radio personality and disc spinner that he became friends with a young Duane Eddy (yeah, that Duane Eddy). They both loved the transformation of Country into Rockabilly, and quickly bonded over their shared musical interests. Together with Duane Eddy, Al Casey, and Sanford Clark, they created the song "The Fool", which became Hazlewood's first penned hit. Lee Hazlewood. His moustache was busy in an interview elsewhere, and so sadly couldn't appear with Lee in this photo. From there, Hazlewood became a professional song writer, eventually starting his own record label. Lee Hazlewood Industries, or "LHI", is the label he used to put out his solo albums, as well as producing the work of others. And yeah, he wrote Nancy Sinatra's hit. You know the one. I can't say the name, or else we'll all start singing it, and I'll never get around to finishing this thing. So, you now know the general context of this album. It captures Lee Hazlewood's fairly brief solo career (brief compared to his song writing and producing career, anyway). Let's get to it! Sid and Nancy eat your heart out! Nevermind that, here's Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra 1. "Califia Stone Rider" - Right from the start, I can already get a feel for Lee's sound. Definitely influenced by the popular music of the 60's. It was a time when Pop, Folk, Country, and Jazz were kind of a synonymous mash-up. Anyway, this one has a nice backing, with a beat-music drummer and a horn section. Lee Hazlewood's voice is a bit deeper than I expected, but it works fairly well in contrast with the voice of Suzi Jane Hokom, his partner in this duet. Not bad, but not fantastic (you know me. If it doesn't have at least three fuzz guitars, I get disinterested). 2. "The Bed" - Wow, and I thought his voice was deep in the previous track! This number tune-wise sounds like something someone would sing as the theme to one of those Western movies we all know and love (and if it was going to be a theme song, I personally think it would have worked better Ennio M. style, with a female power-vocalist, and a twangy and dirty Surf-esque guitar in the background). This one is good though, with the beat-drummer and horn section returning, as well as female vocalists in the background. And was that a sitar at the beginning, and popping up throughout the song? 3. "Sleep in the Grass" - A duet with Ann-Margaret. This one starts off as a slow Country ballad, before becoming a kind of Gospel stomper for the chorus. I like the string instrument that plays in the background during the bulk of the song (A mandolin? Or maybe just a guitar. I've never been good at identifying instruments). This one is kept interesting by Ann-Margaret's high to his low, which seems to be a good formula for Lee so far (being in a duet with a female vocalist), as well as the tempo/tone change of the chorus. Warning! Standing within a mile of Lee Hazlewood will cause you to spontaneously grow a macho moustache! 4. "Leather and Lace" - A cool song with just the tiniest bit of a Folk/Psych feeling to it.Another duet, this one has vocalist Nina Lizell as Lee's partner in crime. Definitely the most compelling and haunting track so far, I think it benefits especially from the string section in the background. 5. "If It's Monday Morning" - Here Lee goes Cash style, giving us a baritone story accompanied by a guitar. It works pretty well, being kept very simple (there's no horn/string section here, and certainly no guest vocalist). Not bad, but I can imagine this song would be torture-fuel for someone who hates the "macho-voice + guitar" style of Country. And I might have misheard the lyrics, did Lee say he'd "probably get stoned"? Groovy. 6. "The Night Before" - Basically the last two tracks mashed into one. This one is a solid haunting number about a man who reflects on the night before, when he (presumably) got drunk and did something involving a woman that he now regrets. Another track going for the toned down feeling, with Lee singing alone. 7. "Bye Babe" - Similar to "If It's Monday Morning" in that Lee does the baritone blues with a guitar accompanying him. Only this time it's a bit faster and catchier, with drumming and organ work, as well as backing vocalists, in the background. Lee really loves depressing songs, doesn't he? Ann-Margaret and Lee prepare for the most dramatic tea party ever. 8. "Victims of the Night" - Another duet with Ann-Margaret, this one is an upbeat Country Pop tune. It has pretty catchy and fun instrumentation, with an acoustic guitar doing it's thing and a harmonica coming in now and then. The light vocal harmonies that come in the background around the minute and a half mark onward are a really nice touch, as well. All in all, a fun and solid number! 9. "Chico" - Yet another duet with Ann-Margaret (i'm starting to see a trend here), it isn't quite as fun as the last track, but I do like the guys doing the soul-scream Mariachi style about a minute and ten seconds in (right after Ann-Margaret finishes her bit). Also, I find it kind of funny that this is the second song I've heard so far in this journal where a girl pines over a guy named "Chico" (the first was "Chico's Girl". Man, people just can't resist that Chico). Lee keeps it simple, while Ann-Margaret hits with a good amount of balladic power. 10. "Hey Cowboy" - Nina Lizell returns for another duet with Mr. Hazlewood. With that trademark smooth Jazz feeling that a lot of 1960's Pop has, this one is another decent track. I like the analogue/echo effect on their voices, as it adds just the slightest bit of dirtiness/roughness that the song needs to help balance out the sweetness of it. 11. "No Train to Stockholm" - A smooth number with the same Country/Folk influence that most of the tracks on this album share. Driven along by Lee and a solid bass line, there's also a male backing vocalist (who comes in for the chorus). Unable to resist the urge any longer, Suzi Jane Hokom attempts to devour Mr. Hazlewood in order to gain his powers. 12. "Won't Tell You Your Dreams" - Another Cash style guitar and vocals number, this one also borrows the bass line and male backing vocalist of the last song. Good, but a bit unremarkable. Man, can Lee Hazlewood really depress you. His voice is like what teardrops would sound like if they had vocal chords. 13. "Nobody Like You" - Suzi Jane Hokom is back for the attack! This time both she and Lee basically stay in the background and repeat the chorus, and let what sounds like the Creature From The Black Lagoon take the foray with occasional vocal flourishes. Joking aside, i'm guessing that's Lee with a groovy sound effect layered over his voice? 14. "Trouble Maker" - Another sad song, this time about a ne'er-do-well hippy who screws around while everyone around him is working hard. Sounds like a groovy guy! Unfortunately for him, he gets arrested. Why? The song never says, but I'll assume it's vagrancy. Anyway, he goes to court and gets... Uh, sentenced to death. And then they hang him from a tree. Meanwhile Lee basically, with a tear in his eye, raises the American flag and salutes a bald eagle. All in all it's not a bad song, but it's definitely got a cheese factor to the lyrics. 15. "What's More I Don't Need Her" - Very influenced by the Folk scene, this one is fairly catchy with the backing of it's talented string section. And is that a Harpsichord in the background? What's with Lee Hazlewood and random background instruments that I can't quite identify? Anyway, this one is pretty good, and sounds like it came from the soundtrack of a movie about a grand adventure. Nancy and Lee, looking as cool as someone can without sitting on a motorcycle. 16. "Come On Home To Me" - This one opens with Lee Hazlewood telling the audience like it is, before a guitar and bass come in to accompany him. Right around a minute and ten seconds in, the song speeds up while Lee says "Come on", and it sounds like things are about to get exciting... but then the song goes back to the original beat. Honestly, I think it would've improved the song if they'd kept speeding things up instead of slowing them down. 17. "I just Learned to Run" - The finishing track of the album, and we're treated to... another sad song. And of course, there is some weird instrument in the background that I can't quite identify, although I think it may just be a keyboard/electric organ this time. Well, we've reached the end of this one. I can honestly say that, before this album, I had never listened to a Lee Hazlewood song before. While he's definitely outside of my whole Garage Rock comfort zone, I can understand the appeal in his music. While I find many of his solo tracks a bit too slow and similar sounding, I have to admit that I had fun with his duets (especially when he's teamed up with Ann-Margaret). If you love guys with macho-voices and acoustic guitars, and can't get enough of ballads, then you really should check this one out. Alternatively, if neither of those types of songs interest you, then this album might literally kill you if you listen to it in it's entirety. Last edited by Oriphiel; 12-08-2014 at 04:11 PM.