This double CD is just what it says: all three of the albums
Lee Hazlewood
recorded for
MGM
in 1965-1967, with the addition of three instrumentals attributed to
Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks
(two of which came out on a 1966 single, the third of which,
"Batman,"
was previously unissued). His first two
LPs,
The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood
(released in 1966) and the far more imaginatively titled
Lee Hazlewood-ism: Its Cause and Cure
(1967), together comprise the 22 songs presented on the first disc. In tandem, these two LPs arguably represented the peak of
Hazlewood
's mighty long and checkered career as a solo artist, containing some of his finest compositions; sympathetic production and arrangements combining
pop
,
easy listening
orchestration,
rock
country
cowboy
music, and
folk
; and a unique fusion of droll humor with
hooks, storytelling, and even some genuine romantic sentiment. There are some silly throwaways, to be sure, but there are also some real standouts, like his 1966 duets with
Suzi Jane Hokum
on
"Sand"
and
"Summer Wine"
(which predate the far more famous duets of those tunes he recorded with
Nancy Sinatra
); the bullfighting epic
"Jose"
; the Native American narrative
"The Nights"
; his own comic version of
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"
; the almost morbidly fascinating moping
ballad
"My Autumn's Done Come"
; and neglected gems of brooding, sumptuously orchestrated melodramatic
like
"Your Sweet Love,"
"For One Moment,"
"I Am a Part."
It's a little strange, and perhaps distracting to those who own the original LPs, that these 22 songs don't follow the sequence from the original vinyl (and switch back and forth between those albums), but everything's here. Most of the second disc is devoted to
Something Special
, recorded (save for one song) in 1967 but not released for two decades (and then only in Germany). Sadly, this is far less worthwhile than his prior two
LPs, sounding like an eccentric
lounge
-
jazz
singer, with (except for
"Shades"
) none of the full orchestrated arrangements that had distinguished his prior
output, the material boasting far fewer
hooks (if just as much oddball lyrics). The set finishes with the three
instrumentals, which though rare are throwaways, combining generic
pop/rock
with cheesy
mariachi
flourishes. In truth, almost all of the memorable songs on here can be found on the single-disc
Lounge Legends
compilation, which has almost everything from
, though the peppy, catchy
"When a Fool Loves a Fool"
(from
) somehow escaped inclusion on
. But for those willing to spend a little more money and time, this two-disc anthology covers all the bases of
's
era, augmented by detailed liner notes and an
sessionography. ~ Richie Unterberger