Customer Reviews

Something Special

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is another Lee Hazlewood reissue I bought before there was a track listing posted here. And as with Lee Hazlewood-ism: Its Cause and Cure, all the songs on Something Special turned out to be on the Complete MGM Recordings which I already own. So if you own that you won't need this. But if you don't own that CD, then you might consider buying Something Special because it contains some of Hazlewood's more atypical compositions. Much of this CD is rooted in jazz and blues rather than the alt-country/lounge style with which he is usually associated. That's not to say that Hazlewood's wry wit and world-weary cynicism don't pervade the lyrics, its just that he takes them down a new musical path.

My favorites are: Shades, the only song on the CD that doesn't fit the mood of the rest; the gritty This Town; the depressed vibe of Stone Cold Blues which features some excellent piano; the enigmatic Little War;, the saucy Them Girls; and the haunted blues of Hands.

Those who purchase this reissue are treated to several pages of informative liner notes written especially for it. I like most of what Lee Hazlewood has done to some degree. This is my favorite one of the albums he did for MGM. Early on, he was committed to doing things his way despite what the suits wanted and that may have hurt him in the short term. But in the long term his mulish dedication to his singular vision served to make him a cult legend. And the roots of that legend can be heard right here.

I keep reading how the original vinyl version of this album of Lee's was delayed by over a decade, yet I bought it in the late 60s here in Australia - 68 or 69 at a guess.

The only thing that stops this from being classic Lee is the backing which makes this more a jazz club style album, lacking the lush orchestral sounds of "The Very Special World of..." and "Lee Hazlewoodism..."

Love the cover photo though, as its quintessential Lee, so that has always boosted this album for me.

Lee delivers that slow downn home cooking feeling you would expect to get from bushe's baked beans or a long day of huffing gass. All senses and senstations as you learn what it's like when you give a war and no one comes and when you are left in fort worth. Songs of Lee's caliber prepare us from a baritone armageddon against the high tenors of the auto tune garbage that is being mass produced like McDonald's cheeseburgers against the down home greens that is Lee Hazlewood. I know what I'm going to do child next to you child as you lead me to the promise land Lee!