Search - Lefty Frizzell :: That's The Way Love Goes: The Final Recordings Of Lefty Frizzell

Here's what 1972 held in store for one of honky tonk's greatest practitioners: obesity, alcoholism, separation from Alice (his wife of 27 years), and the termination of his contract with Columbia (his label of 22 years). However, the true great ones always rise above, and these 16 cuts prove that Frizzell still had the charms of his youth--most importantly, a delectable, anguished, emotion-ridden voice. As a whole, this material--recorded for ABC from December 1972 to October 1974--isn't quite as consistent as his 1950s Columbia work, but his vocal performances at least match up and often surpass his earlier work, filled with attractive nuances and deep passion. Frizzell's original title track would become a hit for Johnny Rodriguez and, 10 years later, Merle Haggard. Other Frizzell compositions such as "I Never Go Around Mirrors" and "I Can't Get over You to Save My Life" rank with his best work; "I Love You a Thousand Ways" revisits a song he wrote (as a teenager in prison) for Alice in the late 1940s. He also tackles a song each from Haggard and the unlikely team of Jerry Jeff Walker and Jimmy Buffett. --Marc Greilsamer