Search - Various Artists :: Total Lee! The Songs of Lee Hazlewood

Alternative Hazlewood

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 09/15/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Lee Hazlewood's "Total Lee!" tribute could be subtitled "alternative artists discover Hazlewood." British label City Slang has put together an interesting mix of artists to showcase these songs. Other than Webb Brothers & Evan Dando, all the artists were new to me. The liner notes consist of a conversation with Hazlewood and come off as quite informal, sometimes helpful. Lambchop opens with a dense brief version of "I'm Glad I Never." Neal McNasty does a dense electronic reverb take on "Come On Home To Me." One of Lee's biggest hits with Nancy Sinatra, "Some Velvet Morning," is given an excellent update by Webb Brothers with vocals submerged under a guitar wash and synthesized keyboards. Valerie Leulliot & Calexico Feat tackle "Sundown Sundown" with a sound like a James Bond theme in Mexico. Johnny Dowd must be a band with its vocals on "Sleep in the Grass" split between male and female voices; the track is one of the less effective with corny accents. Nathan Bennet & St. Etienne do a sweet version of the Lee & Nancy song "Got It Together Again." My favorite track is St. Thomas' take on "The Railroad." Hazlewood compliments them as being better than the original artist! The vocal is enthusiastic; & the infectious percussion comes off like an alternative Tennessee Ernie Ford. Jarvis Cocker & Richard Hawley unearth an early 1956 Hazlewood hit, "The Cheat," with submerged snarling vocals and Stratocaster reverb. An acoustic "No Train to Stockholm" glides by Erlend Oye. Amazing Pilots do a very long, very spooky version of "Soul's Island." Lee's favorite is Kathryn Williams' take on "Easy & Me"; her beautiful voice with airy vocal flying above the acoustic guitars & the booming punctuation of drum. "My Autumn's Done Come" is a song about aging dreamily channeled by Tindersticks. Lee calls "We All Make the Little Flowers Grow" by Stephen Jones & Luke Scott "commercial as hell." It does have a happy bubbly rhythm. The familiar Lee & Nancy tune "Sand" is given a good reading by Calvin Johnson & Mark Pickerel whose voices alternate between a tenor and Johnny Cash-like bass. Sabrina Brooke & Evan Dando nail the spirit of "Summer Wine." "If It's Monday Morning" by Tim Keegan & Kid Loco concludes the CD with a rather strange arrangement of the song that even Hazlewood questions in the liner notes. "Total Lee!" is an adventurous look at an excellent songwriter's work. Most of it works well. His songwriting deserves to be honored. Enjoy!"

A Worthy Compilation

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 02/18/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For 30 years, whenever I heard the name Lee Hazlewood, all I could think of were the duets he did with Nancy Sinatra back in the sixties. I was a young teen then and considered them impossibly cheesy.
Over the years, my musical tastes have broadened considerably, so that when I read in a Nick Cave biography that he looked on Lee Hazlewood as one of his musical heroes, I decided to have a listen and hear what I've been missing. While searching the racks for Hazlewood CDs, I stumbled on this and decided to give it a shot.
I really had no idea what to expect as I was vaguely familiar with only two of the songs, but after three listens I was hooked. My favorite is the splendid interpretation of Summer Wine by Evan Dando and Sabrina Brooke, but I also really enjoyed The Webb Brothers on Some Velvet Morning, St Thomas on The Railroad, Erlend Oye on No Train To Stockholm, The Amazing Pilots' rendition of Soul's Island, and Kid Loco's take on If Its Monday Morning. Other songs are good too, and overall this recording features a smorgasbord of styles that give it broad appeal.
The songs selected were not all hits by any means, but are representative of the breadth of Hazlewood's writing. The CD comes with an informative booklet that features Hazlewood's commentary on each of the songs and is sprinkled with goofy pictures of him in various poses.
If you are at all musically adventurous, buy Total Lee! It is truly a worthy compilation."