MGM Records expected Lee Hazlewood to duplicate his success as a producer and songwriter when he stepped to the forefront as a solo artist, but his first two albums for the label -- 1966's The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood and 1967's Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure -- were purposefully quirky efforts that had all but nothing to do with rock & roll and soon sank without a trace. Hazlewood's tenure with the label came to a close with 1968's Something Special, and despite the strength of the performances, this ...
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MGM Records expected Lee Hazlewood to duplicate his success as a producer and songwriter when he stepped to the forefront as a solo artist, but his first two albums for the label -- 1966's The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood and 1967's Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause and Cure -- were purposefully quirky efforts that had all but nothing to do with rock & roll and soon sank without a trace. Hazlewood's tenure with the label came to a close with 1968's Something Special, and despite the strength of the performances, this sounds like a contractual obligation album if there ever were such a thing. Billy Strange's elaborate orchestrations were gone (except on the opening track, "Shades," a leftover from the Lee Hazlewoodism sessions), and instead Hazlewood was backed by a small combo (dominated by pianist Don Randi and bassist Chuck Berghofer) playing late-night blues changes with a jazz undertow, while Hazlewood's easygoing vocals, half hipster recitation and half rootsy twang, hovered over the top. As always, Hazlewood seemed to be doing just what he felt like at the moment, and though the scale is smaller, the execution clearly reflects his laid-back, crushed-velvet-on-denim persona, and Don Randi's gravel-voiced scatting (which suggests Tom Waits time traveling into Los Angeles in the late '60s) is a creative line in the sand that will either engage or alienate listeners. Something Special is too expert to sound tossed off, but it certainly doesn't sound fussed over, and the fact it was knocked out in four evenings sounds about right, though the skill of Hazlewood's accompanists allows this to sound expert and spontaneous at once. MGM saw little commercial potential in Something Special and didn't give it an American release in 1968, making it available only in Germany and Scandinavia, but it received a belated U.S. debut in the 21st century, and it's a modest but fascinating piece of the puzzle of Hazlewood's career as a headliner. [Light in the Attic gave Something Special a remastered reissue in 2015, in a new edition with liner notes by Hunter Lea and two bonus tracks recorded during the same sessions, "Moochie Ladeux" and "The Lone Ranger." The bonus tunes are a bit goofy but performed with the same skill as the rest of the album, and the remastered audio is clear and strong; Hazlewood obsessives will find this to be a rewarding listen.] ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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Add this copy of Something Special to cart. $45.11, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2015 by Light In The Attic: LITACD 133.