Search - Lee Hazlewood :: 13

Stealin' poor Hobo Jack's shoes...

boeanthropist | Cambridge, MA | 03/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"More than anyone else I can think of -- more than Johnny Cash's most overproduced moments, more than Neal Diamond back in the days when he wrote real songs, more than Scott Walker(! ), more than 1960s Tom Jones, more even than the hypothetical offspring of some unholy union between Rod McKuen and Tom Waits -- this album mixes sleaze and kitsch, the serious and the absurd, into a mad funky stew of snide itinerant scumball noir lyrics sung by LH with a boyish mad exuberance, over Stax'd-out Memphis arrangements, endless gratuitousness of bright shiny horns and rhythms as ardent as the wagging of a dog's tail. I laughed for three weeks straight when I first got it, then krazy-glued it into my girlfriend's car stereo until its knotty contagions infected her as well, and I caught her humming the sad and seedy tale of the aptly named Toocie Brown to herself when she thought no one was listening. Perhaps I'll infect my grandparents with it next. By dint of the completely bizarre contrast between the songs' subject matters and their arrangements, "13" is even more perversely amusing than "Scott Walker 2." The best of the Smells Like reissues of Hazelwood albums thus far -- hope they keep it up."

Hej Me I'm Laughing

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 09/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been on a Lee Hazlewood revival kick for the last several years and so have picked up most of his CD reissues. But when I read that 13 was Hazlewood's disco album, I was reluctant to even give it a shot as I just can't abide disco music. I finally did cave and bought it, prepared for the worst. Instead I got a very pleasant surprise.

About the only song that can remotely be considered disco on 13 is the opener You Look Like A Lady. After that its a melange of blues, big band stylings, and horn heavy jazz. I was lukewarm on it at first as it is so different from other Hazlewood offerings, but after listening perhaps a dozen times I reached the conclusion that 13 is perhaps the overall best recording he has made.

When you listen through a couple of times, it quickly becomes apparent that the industry hack who had proclaimed this disco must have listened only to a few bars of each song, if that. My favorites here are a brassy, jazzy Tulsa Sunday, the blues-drenched and slightly lewd Toosie and the River, another jazz-noir tune in Rosacoke Street, an upbeat version of I Move Around (which I never liked until now), the melodramatic And I Loved You Then, and the hilarious Hej Me I'm Riding.

Throughout this all too brief recording the listener gets the distinct feeling that Hazlewood is having a great time with this recording. I certainly had a lot of laughs as it is loaded with a wry and often cynical humor.

If you like Hazlewood's sometimes cheesy, sometimes sordid, and sometimes cynical style, then I recommend this. You can't go wrong. Start laughing today!"

Hazlewood goes bubblegum...and it works...

Grigory's Girl | NYC | 07/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really dig Lee Hazlewood. Many have said this is his most polarizing album. Most of Lee's work seems to do that. You either get Mr. Lee or you don't. I got him from day one. This album is one of his more intriguing efforts, but, most importantly, it's damn good. Lee goes bubblegum with a brilliantly arranged horn section, or disco, as some have said. I prefer bubblegum. The horns are arranged by Larry Marks, who has done music for Saturday morning cartoons. You hear Larry on many tracks howling, or as Lee puts in it in the liner notes, a "descent into uncontrolled lycanthropy". I really like this album a lot. I love bubblegum music, and Lee's voice really works well in this setting. The best songs are You Look like a Lady, Hej Me I'm Riding, and Ten or Eleven Towns Ago. It's a short album (only 25 minutes), but it's a great 25 minutes with no bad songs. Another gem from Hazlewood."