Lee Hazlewood Albums (21)
'Cake or Death'
Release Date 11/27/2006
Tracks 13
Label Sony / BMG Import
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It's supremely fitting that Lee Hazlewood would greet his impending death from renal cancer with an album that expresses a healthy dose of cheery fatalism, the same nature that has kept the listeners of several generations tuned in to his every word. It's also fitting that Hazlewood goes out on his own terms, with no celebrity cameos but help from plenty of unknowns, family members, and old friends. (One of the latter gets a full vocal feature since, in Lee's words, "He literally saved my life some time ago, so this is a promise given and a promise kept.") Hazlewood entered no name studio, allowed no adoring producer or musician from a recent generation onto his record, and shows virtually no patience for writing or producing the type of album that many of his fans -- who are doubtless looking for a snapshot of Lee Hazlewood circa 1967 -- will want to hear. The opener, "Nothing," comes closest, with a suitably wry vocal -- "I took the time to say nothing to her/She took the time to say nothing to me/And in the time I said nothing to her, she said...nothing." Fans will recognize echoes of different Hazlewood eras in these songs, like the stark, proud political/social statement "Baghdad Knights" (a cousin to "José") and a slick weeper named "Please Come to Boston" along the lines of his mid-'70s countrypolitan records (complete with an overripe vocal from Lee's female duet partner). Also, several guests are European, as was Hazlewood himself for a good portion of his post-'60s career. In sound and execution, Cake or Death is a modern-day roots rock record (with the polished touch of Nashville), and Hazlewood's studio team finds no trouble moving from loping (Western) swing to red-hot rock & roll. Two of his biggest production hits get new airings as well; "Boots" has a jaunty bounce to it, but the ragged guitar and upright bass definitely mean business (that's none other than Duane Eddy on six-string). The other is his eerie anthem to the twilight, "Some Velvet Morning." Although it begins as powerfully as the original, it's only a minute and a half long, and it's included only because Hazlewood's granddaughter Phaedra thought it was written for her and wanted to sing it on his album. That's Lee Hazlewood to the core -- no concessions to his past or music's present, and no worries about the future. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
One of the rarest of Lee Hazlewood's original LPs, 13 is a surprisingly swinging album completely indicative of the year of its recording, 1972. But though it's undeniably a period piece, in many ways it's dated in all the right ways. The opener, "You Look Like a Lady," is a gem, complete with soaring horn section, a roving bassline, and scads of wah-wah guitar. Oddly, over-production never hurt Hazlewood's gravelly, off-key delivery, and though the arrangements here aren't always sympathetic to the songwriting ("Tulsa Sunday" is particularly jarring), they're usually entertaining. "She Comes Running," a song originally recorded for 1968's Love and Other Crimes, makes another appearance, though with a much more commercial production. The lyrics are vintage Hazlewood, and "Ten or 11 Towns Ago" is a highlight: "Met a girl in Baltimore / Nothing less and nothing more / She was rich and I was poor / So I let her take me on a small vacation" and "One week in San Francisco, existing on Nabisco / Cookies and bad dreams / Sad scenes and dodging paranoia." Not all of the songs are up to Hazlewood's level; "Toocie and the River" and "Rosacoke Street" are both, relatively speaking, duds. But Hazlewood fans will love to hear these songs, especially since none have been collected on the quasi-legal compilations available at the nation's better record stores. Out of print for decades, 13 returned in early 2000 thanks to a reissue campaign by Smells Like Records. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
'Requiem for an Almost Lady'
Release Date 9/14/1999
Tracks 10
Label Smells Like
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Requiem for an Almost Lady is the rarest of Lee Hazlewood's albums because it was released in 1971 exclusively in Sweden (where Hazlewood also completed his cult classic Cowboy in Sweden album) and the United Kingdom. The album is one of the most beautifully agonizing breakup records to ever hit wax, culled from a composite of Hazlewood's relationships gone wrong. Spoken word introductions precede each of the ten brief songs and reveal Hazlewood's poetic soul, while the songs themselves are full of longing and witty, clever cynicism coupled with a sad-eyed idealism that paints the music as even more visceral and grievous. Hazlewood spares none of his past loves. Requiem is often cutting, even harsh, as is evident with songs such as "I'd Rather Be Your Enemy" and "I'm Glad I Never..." (as in never owned a gun), but there is an underlying feeling of tenderness, as if Hazlewood is only talking tough to hide his own deep hurt. The album creates an impossibly cavernous warmth, with only acoustic guitar and electric bass backing provided by Jerry Cole, Donnie Owens, and Joe Cannon. Although there are hints of Hazlewood's cowboy sound on "L.A. Lady" and "Must Have Been Something I Loved," Requiem actually steers much closer to folky psychedelic pop territory, particularly the sound of California at the end of the '60s. The subject matter is sophisticated and somatic, but the tone of the music veers much more toward the mystical, existential, and hippie-ish. Hazlewood is meditative without seeming overly fragile. His perspective is world-weary, but it doesn't stop him from tossing in a campy sense of humor to leaven his obvious passionate disappointment, and it makes the album that much more lyrical, intelligent, and emotionally poignant. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide
'Farmisht, Flatulence, Origami, ARF!!! and Me...'
Release Date 4/20/1999
Tracks 11
Label Smells Like Records
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Some may be disappointed that Lee Hazlewood's first album in over 25 years is a collection of standards, but given time, Farmisht, Flatulence, Origami, ARF!!! and me... will work its considerable charms. Essentially an outgrowth of Al Casey's Sidewinder project, which featured Hazlewood's vocals on a pair of tracks, Farmisht is a laid-back, jazzy affair, with Hazlewood contributing surprisingly supple and inventive readings of such standards as "Honeysuckle Rose," "It Had to Be You," "She's Funny That Way," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," and "Am I Blue." The album is as much Casey's as it is Hazlewood's, since his small group strikes a wonderful balance of jazz, pop, and country; it's loose but never sloppy, sophisticated but never pretentious. Thanks to Casey's fleet leadership and Hazlewood's rich vocals -- which weathered far better than anyone could have predicted -- Farmisht is one of the few standards albums that actually works, since it is faithful to the songs while creating an identity of its own. It's a modest achievement, but it's not a bad way to return to recording at all. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Cowboy in Sweden'
Release Date 4/20/1999
Tracks 11
Label Smells Like Records
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
At the turn of the '60s, Lee Hazlewood decided to leave America for Sweden. He had already spent time in the country, appearing as an actor in two television productions, so his decision wasn't completely out of the blue -- especially since he had become close with the Swedish artist/filmmaker Torbjörn Axelman. The year that he arrived in Sweden, he starred in Axelman's television production Cowboy in Sweden and cut an album of the same name. Judging by the album alone, the film must have been exceedingly surreal, since the record exists in its own space and time. At its core, it's a collection of country and cowboy tunes, much like the work he did with Nancy Sinatra, but the production is cinematic and psychedelic, creating a druggy, discombobulated sound like no other. This is mind-altering music -- the combination of country song structures, Hazlewood's deep baritone, the sweet voices of Nina Lizell and Suzi Jane Hokom, rolling acoustic guitars, ominous strings, harpsichords and flutes, eerie pianos, and endless echo is stranger than outright avant-garde music, since the familiar is undone by unexpected arrangements. Though the songs are all well-written, Cowboy in Sweden is ultimately about the sound and mood it evokes -- and it's quite singular in that regard. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Released in the same year as his swan song, Back on the Street Again, hearing this initially feels like as a bit of a letdown. Newly composed Hazlewood originals do not appear and overall the album comes close to a not-so-greatest-hits collection. The only two songs by his own hand are taken from the impressive concept album Requiem for an Almost Lady. Alas, out of their context and bereft of their superbly funny spoken-word introductions ("And you wake up one morning and you say: I feel good, I don't miss her, I can live without her/And you soon learn: that time will come, but it wasn't that day"), they make less sense. Furthermore, including four songs from 1969's career peak, Forty, while leaving out "The Bed" and "Bye Baby" makes you wonder whether Hazlewood had any influence on this at all. Does this turn Movin' On into a disappointing experience for longtime fans as well? Thankfully not, for there's still the other half of the album with songs selected by the man himself. You'll find it amazing how well the hilarious "Kung Fu You" matches his own repertoire. In fact, Hazlewood does it so well, you actually picture him getting in position before being hit black and blue with his own black belt. Like the previous 20th Century Lee, part of Movin' On suffers from over-production. Though some of the studio musicians are, in fact, the guys who would make ABBA famous in years to come, they opt for a kind of cheesiness that surpasses even Hazlewood in his own territory. Only incidentally do they hit the right mark, with "The Rising Star" and "It's for My Dad" being done in a tasteful manner and carefully suited to the sort of mourning Vegas act Hazlewood turned himself into on 1973's Poet, Fool or Bum. In a helpful mood, he performs both without a hint of irony. A nice Peterbilt truck on the album cover might serve to support a careful recommendation. ~ Quint Kik, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Regarded as one of his more obscure albums, this is the soundtrack to one of the many television movies Hazlewood made as a recluse in early-'70s Sweden. Directed by his friend Torbjörn Axelman, A House Safe for Tigers is accompanied by some of his strongest material. Filmed in documentary style, the movie finds Hazlewood and Axelman embarking on a nostalgic trip through their childhood days and contemplating the meaning of life. True, most viewers with a general education might be hard-pressed figuring out any meaning whatsoever, since considerable parts of A House Safe for Tigers are spoken in Swedish and sometimes even recited in Latin. Hazlewood makes up for this by offering some marvelous anecdotes, completely in line with his songwriting skills. The story about the bum who one day visited his parents' house and helped a youthful Hazlewood to get rid of his stutter is especially insightful. The movie derives its title from Swedish folklore, wherein everyday life is kept safe from "tigers" (problems, misfortune) by the peculiar practice of throwing flowers around the house. Cultish pretensions left alone, the accompanying soundtrack to A House Safe for Tigers could be viewed as the mirror image of 1973's sublime Poet, Fool or Bum. While the latter partly dealt with Hazlewood's hectic experiences touring the Las Vegas circuit in the early '70s, the former focuses on enjoying his laid-back, newly found life in Sweden. There's a beautiful ode to Gotland, the island Hazlewood fell in love with during the shooting of the television movie Cowboy in Sweden. Its breathtaking orchestral arrangements and never-ending fade-out lends "Souls Island" an epic quality. Axelman's words to a second version even add further fuel to the myth of the "cowboy in Sweden." Next to it there's a mixture of old songs (curiously, a version of the Shacklefords' "Our Little Boy Blue" is included here) and a couple of new ones of which the bravado of "Lars Gunnar and Me" and the moving title song are worth mentioning. The music and images of Hazlewood singing to Axelman's family, running the Gotland marathon, and convincing Swedish children to take sides against Nixon turn both movie and album into a celebration of the enduring friendship between artist and director. ~ Quint Kik, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Known best (if at all) for Charles Shaar Murray's one-word review in the NME ("Bum."), Poet, Fool or Bum caught Lee Hazlewood in a sentimental, chagrined mode that didn't compare well to his earlier hard-bitten material. The production didn't help either; Hazlewood said he allowed Jimmy Bowen to produce it because Bowen needed the money, and there's no trace of Hazlewood's cunning production finesse. His songs weren't all bad, though. Alongside one song each from Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, Hazlewood sounded much more contented than he had in the past ("Heaven Is My Woman's Love," "Feathers," "Come Spend the Morning"), but allowed himself some room for his road-weary persona ("Nancy and Me," "Wind, Sky, Sea and Sand," "Think I'm Coming Down"). ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Another dearth of Hazlewood originals in lieu of medircre showtunes ("It Was a Very Good Year," "September Song"); nonetheless the hardcore downer "The Bed" and his dark, turgid, but almost saucy take on Randy Newman's "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield" are stellar. ~ Kurt Wolff, All Music Guide
