VA - Califia, The Songs Of Lee Hazlewood [2010]

LEE HAZLEWOOD

VA - Califia, The Songs Of Lee Hazlewood [2010]

A gold mine for the devoted followers of Lee Hazlewood, and a good set compiling chart-minded pop of all stripes, Califia: The Songs of Lee Hazlewood spans the mid-'50s breakthrough of pop/rock that Hazlewood helped spark with his Duane Eddy productions all the way to the early 70's -- a mere dozen years in chronology, but an epoch in popular music. Hazlewood was one of the first and best producers of the rock age, a man whose innovative sounds on Eddy brought a young Phil Spector to Arizona in the late 50's to learn at his feet. Fans of Lee Hazlewood have ensured that nearly all of his solo recordings have been reissued at least once, but his flood of songwriting and production for various labels and artists between the mid 50's and early 70's has never been surveyed like this. Although his only number one hit is not included here (Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"), the material is uniformly good. Granted, since Hazlewood was usually aiming for the charts with these productions (as opposed to his solo material), it leans toward the pedestrian, but for those who've spent a lot of time listening to pop music of the 60's, it's easy to hear how the innovative productions elevate these songs and performances above the mediocre and to a higher level. The emphasis is on the range of artists he produced, so associated acts like Nancy Sinatra, Sanford Clark (who recorded the only big hit here, 1956's "The Fool"), Duane Eddy, Suzi Jane Hokom, and the Shacklefords are given only two tracks each at the most, with more time accorded for one-shots from artists both famous (Ann-Margret, Dusty Springfield, B.B. King) and not so much (the Darlenes, the Wildcats, Don Cole, and studio-drummer extraordinaire Hal Blaine). (AllMusic Review by John Bush)

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Track list

01 Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood Lady Bird 3:02

02 Suzi Jane Hokom Need All The Help I Can Get 2:20

03 Dusty Springfield Sweet Ride 2:02

04 Dino, Desi & Billy The Rebel Kind 2:32

05 Sanford Clark with Al Casey The Fool 2:44

06 The Sharps Have Love, Will Travel 2:20

07 Don Cole with Al Casey Snake Eyed Mama 2:16

08 Lee Hazlewood with Duane Eddy & His Orchestra The Girl On Death Row 2:48

09 Hal Blaine & The Young Cougars The Dip 2:20

10 Sanford Clark Houston 2:41

11 Ann-Margret You Turned My Head Around 3:21

12 The Shacklefords The City Never Sleeps At Night 2:49

13 Duane & Miriam Eddy Guitar On My Mind 2:42

14 Lee Hazlewood & Suzi Jane Hokom Califia (Stone Rider) 2:43

15 Duane Eddy & The Rebelettes My Baby Plays The Same Old Song On His Guitar All Night Long 2:25

16 The Hondas Twelve Feet High 2:25

17 The Darlenes (I'm Afraid) You'll Hurt Me 1:57

18 Rose & The Heavenly Tones These Boots Are Made For Walkin' 2:59

19 The Wildcats What Are We Gonna Do In '64? 2:16

20 The Barker Brothers You Can't Stay Here 1:43

21 Dino, Desi & Billy Not The Lovin' Kind 2:05

22 Al Casey & The Bats (Got The) Teen-Age Blues 2:25

23 B.B. King Don't Look Now, But I've Got The Blues 2:42

24 Al Casey with The K-C-Ettes Guitars, Guitars, Guitars 2:03

25 Peggy March Das Ist Zauberei (And I Loved You Then) 2:57

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