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Made For Walkin': Lee Hazlewood's MGM Albums Are Newly Reissued By Light in the Attic

December 7, 2015 By Joe Marchese 2 Comments

Lee Hazlewood - Very Special WorldSince 2012, the Light in the Attic label has been mining producer-creative maverick Lee Hazlewood's LHI label for gems recorded by Hazlewood himself as well as artists like Honey Ltd. and The Kitchen Cinq.  A 2013 reissue turned its attention to Hazlewood' 1963 cult-classic Mercury LP Trouble is a Lonesome Town, and now, LITA is looking in the direction of his MGM recordings originally released between 1966 and 1968.  The label has just reissued all three of Hazlewood's MGM Records albums on CD and vinyl.  The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure, and Something Special have all arrived in newly remastered and expanded editions.

When Lee Hazlewood joined MGM, he was coming off a period of huge success at Reprise Records where he had produced and/or written hits for artists including Dino, Desi, and Billy, Dean Martin, and Nancy Sinatra; he had also continued his solo recording career at Reprise.  For his first MGM LP, The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood, the singer-songwriter-producer was in his familiar bag blending pop, country, lounge, rock, and mariachi into an offbeat sound all his own.  Recording in late 1965 and early 1966, he revisited Dino, Desi and Billy's "Not the Lovin' Kind" and Nancy Sinatra's "So Long Babe" and "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," and previewed songs he would record with Nancy like "Sand."  The album shared much in common with his Reprise sides, featuring the same arranger (guitarist Billy Strange), arranger (Eddie Brackett) and studio (United) for a big, produced sound with Hazlewood's quirky half-spoken, half-sung vocals at its center.  LITA's reissue adds one bonus track: Lee's duet with Suzi Jane Hokom on "Summer Wine."

Lee Hazlewood - Lee HazlewoodismThe unusually-titled Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure followed in 1967.  It was even more eclectic than its predecessor, with the rollicking honky-tonk of "Suzi Jane's Back in Town," the western epic "The Nights," the affecting "The Old Man and His Guitar," the bullfighting fantasy "Jose," and more.  If the LP detailed "the cause" of Lee Hazlewoodism, it also advised the cure: "Buy the damn album!"  LITA's reissue gains three bonus instrumentals recorded by "Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks": "Frenesi," "Muchacho" and the originally-unissued "Batman."

Lee Hazlewood - Something SpecialIn February and March 1967, the ever-prolific Hazlewood returned to the studio to cut a third LP.  Something Special would take a different approach than the two albums that preceded it.  On all but one track ("Shades," which had been recorded earlier), Hazlewood was accompanied by a four-piece combo (including Strange on guitar and Don Randi on piano) rather than a full band or orchestra.  The songs were more surreal, too, and decidedly non-commercial including the autobiographical "Fort Worth" and "Mannford, Oklahoma." (It did, however, include "This Town" which Frank Sinatra would soon make his own.) Something Special was only released in Germany - even as the Hazlewood co-production of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's "Something Stupid" was climbing to No.1 and Nancy's "Love Eyes" was enjoying Top 20 success.  The Nancy and Lee LP on Reprise went on to sell a million copies in 1968 as Something Special faded into obscurity.  LITA's reissue has two bonus tracks, "Moochie Ladeux" and "The Lone Ranger Ain't My Friend Anymore" recorded in June 1967 and once thought lost.

Ultimately, Hazlewood's MGM Records served a purpose for the artist: "Record companies used to call and ask you to do 'writers' albums,' as they were called in those days. If you happened to have a hit or two at that time, you'd throw them in. I consider them good, expensive demos paid for by major record companies. It saved me from taking stuff around to other people. They'd just get the next LP and record some of it."  But demos or not, these albums are filled with the fascinating sounds for which Hazlewood was known.  All of this material save "Moochie Ladeux" and "The Lone Ranger" was previously released by Ace in 2002 on the CD These Boots Are Made for Walkin': The Complete MGM Recordings, but Light in the Attic's reissues promise new liner notes and the kind of deluxe packaging consistent with other releases in the label's Hazlewood series.

All three titles are available now, and can be ordered at the links below!

Lee Hazlewood, The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood (MGM SE-4362, 1966 - reissued Light in the Attic, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada)

  1. For One Moment
  2. When a Fool Loves a Fool
  3. Not the Lovin' Kind
  4. Your Sweet Love
  5. Sand
  6. My Autumn's Done Come
  7. These Boots are Made for Walkin'
  8. I Move Around
  9. So Long, Babe
  10. Bugles in the Afternoon
  11. My Babe Cried All Night Long
  12. Summer Wine - Lee Hazlewood and Suzi Jane Hokom (Bonus Track) (MGM single 13364, 1967)

Lee Hazlewood, Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure (MGM SE-4403, 1967 - reissued Light in the Attic, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada)

  1. The Girls in Paris
  2. Jose
  3. The Old Man and His Guitar
  4. The Nights
  5. I Am a Part
  6. Home (I'm Home)
  7. After Six
  8. Suzi Jane is Back in Town
  9. In Our Time
  10. Dark in My Heart
  11. Frenesi (Bonus Track) (MGM single 13474, 1966)
  12. Muchacho (Bonus Track) (MGM single 13474, 1966)
  13. Batman (Bonus Track) (first issued on Ace CDCHM2 860, 2002)

Lee Hazlewood, Something Special (MGM (Germany) LP 665104, 1968 - reissued Light in the Attic, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon Canada)

  1. Shades
  2. This Town
  3. Child
  4. Stone Cold Blues
  5. Little War
  6. Them Girls
  7. Fort Worth
  8. Hands
  9. Mannford, Oklahoma
  10. Summer Night
  11. Moochie Ladeux (Bonus Track)
  12. The Lone Ranger Ain't My Friend Anymore (Bonus Track)

Categories: News Formats: CD, Vinyl Genre: Pop Tags: Lee Hazlewood, Suzi Jane Hokom

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Zubb says

    December 7, 2015 at 3:29 pm

    I am ordering these for sure. Light In The Attic is a fantastic label reissuing true buried treasures. We are so fortunate to have reissue labels like LITA, Real Gone Music and of course, Second Disc!

    Reply
    • Avatar photoJoe Marchese says

      December 8, 2015 at 1:49 pm

      Thanks as always, Zubb!

      Reply

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