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
MGM 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
pop 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
pop like
"Your Sweet Love," "For One Moment," and
"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
MGM LPs, sounding like an eccentric
lounge country-
jazz-
pop singer, with (except for
"Shades") none of the full orchestrated arrangements that had distinguished his prior
MGM output, the material boasting far fewer
pop hooks (if just as much oddball lyrics). The set finishes with the three
Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks 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
The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood and
Lee Hazlewood-ism: Its Cause and Cure, though the peppy, catchy
"When a Fool Loves a Fool" (from
The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood) somehow escaped inclusion on
Lounge Legends. But for those willing to spend a little more money and time, this two-disc anthology covers all the bases of
Hazlewood's
MGM era, augmented by detailed liner notes and an
MGM sessionography. ~ Richie Unterberger
