Lee Hazlewood The LHI Years - Singles, Nudes & Backsides 1968-1971 (2-LP, Colored Vinyl, Ltd.)

(Light In The Attic) 17 tracks, colored vinyl (red/gold), limited edition, gatefold cover

•         Selections from important albums like Cowboy In Sweden
•         Includes duets with Suzi Jane Hokom, Ann-Margret and Nina Lizell
•         Audio remastered from original tapes
•         Unreleased song "I Just Learned To Run"
•         Extensive liner notes & unseen photos
•         Color vinyl pressed on red/gold wax

With his mustache and booming baritone, Lee Hazlewood was one of the defining stars of the late '60s. Though perhaps best known for his work with Nancy Sinatra (including the megahit "These Boots Are Made For Walking"), Hazlewood also did impressive work away from this particular glamour queen, finding later champions in Beck, Sonic Youth and Jarvis Cocker. Now, for Record Store Day 2012, we begin our excavation of the Lee Hazlewood archives with this anthology, Singles, Nudes & Backsides, collecting the best of Lee's solo songs and duets from his LHI (Lee Hazlewood Industries) imprint.

A true legend of the great American songbook and a rebellious pioneer who left a long trail of echolastic pop masterpieces, Lee's influence reverberates to this day. Between 1968-71, Hazlewood not only released his best solo works, but also produced numerous artists on LHI. From acid-folk and country-rock to pop-psych and soul, LHI released dozens of long-forgotten 45s and LPs. This series features material from LHI (remastered from the original analog tapes for the first time), along with Lee's releases for other labels, rarities and unreleased gems.

Check out the cover art: Surrounded by naked girls all sporting fake mustaches, Hazlewood wears a suit and slightly awkwardly plays the part of the '60s playboy. Just like the picture, the songs show a man in conflict; he's the tender romantic, the broken-hearted loser and the rough cowboy, all rolled into one. It's there in the Western swing of "Califia (Stone Rider)," the loneliness of "The Bed" and the somber beauty of "If It's Monday Morning." Hazlewood's quavering voice was made for duets (indeed, he wrote "Some Velvet Morning," one of the greatest of all time); here Suzi Jane Hokom, Ann-Margret and Nina Lizell play counterparts to his masculine tones.

In the wonderful liner notes written by British journalist Wyndham Wallace, the writer describes his friend Hazlewood as "a curmudgeonly, unpredictable type, as impatient with his own talent as he is with other people." The Hazlewood Wallace knew was puzzled by the growing interest in him during the last two decades of his life, which was ended by cancer at age 78. That late flicker of interest saw him perform at the Royal Festival Hall in 1999, his first ever solo appearance in Britain.

He fought in the Korean War, worked as a radio DJ in Phoenix, Arizona, founded Viv Records in the 1950s, worked as a producer in LA in the 1960s, signed Phil Spector to his Trey Records label, and announced his early retirement in the mid-1960s in the wake of the British Invasion. He didn't: Nancy Sinatra arrived, the hits began to flow, and he continued to produce characterful solo albums into the '70s, when he moved to Sweden. By 2007, Hazlewood was living in Las Vegas and reluctantly enjoying the great interest in his work. This groundbreaking compilation promises to create many more converts.