Lee Hazlewood Cowboy in Sweden (2-LP Deluxe)

(Light in the Attic) 26 tracks, gatefold sleeve

Lee Hazlewood spent much of the late 1960s on a huge world tour, producing records and signing business contracts. A string of hits with Nancy Sinatra allowed him to build a mini media empire called Lee Hazlewood Industries (LHI) and tap into all kinds of resources for a while. By the end of the decade, LHI Records was broke, had worked with half a dozen distributors and still hadn't had the chart success that would have been expected after "These Boots Are Made For Walking". Lee was lucky that there was one place where business was still booming: Sweden. On the fringes of an LHI promotional tour in Stockholm, Lee met Swedish filmmaker Torbjörn Axelman. This led to a 38-year business partnership and friendship. This gave Lee the strength to carry on after LHI failed in Los Angeles.

Light In The Attic is now releasing an extended edition of "Cowboy In Sweden" as a continuation of the Lee Hazlewood series. "Cowboy In Sweden" was the soundtrack to the film of the same name, which became a cult classic and in which Hazlewood also starred. The psychedelic movie went well with the compilation of Hazlewood's best songs, which he had written during his three-year trip around the world. The album was produced in Paris, London, Los Angeles and Stockholm with a whole host of talented people.

"Cowboy in Sweden" is probably the purest expression of Hazlewood's sound, melancholic country-pop with a wink ("Pray Them Bars Away"), some disappointment ("Cold Hard Times"), beautiful female singers ("Leather & Lace" & "Hey Cowboy") and even a couple of anti-war songs to round it all off ("No Train to Stockholm" & "For A Day Like Today"). The orchestral pop song "What's More I Don't Need Her" arranged by David "Bitter Sweet Symphony" Whitaker and the Hazlewood classic "The Night Before" make it clear that this is absolutely the best album in the history of LHI Records - ironically, it was also the last on the label.