Lee Hazlewood - "Trouble Is A Lonesome Town" (1963)

Lee Hazlewood is a cool guy who in periods has been one of my favorite artists. I'm not a big fan of Country & Western, but Lee's version of this music is really enjoyable. It has often been described as Cowboy Psychedelia or psychedelic Country & Western, a description that often fits pretty good with what he created. His music is often quite beautiful with a dark sense of humor that makes the listening a remarkable experience.

Best known to the world is probably Lee's classic song These Boots Are Made For Walking, which he wrote and produced for Nancy Sinatra. The two made a lot of beautiful music together and the lover of psychedelic music problably knows the great song Some Velvet Morning, one of the best songs coming out from the 60s.

Trouble Is A Lonesome Town was Lee's first solo album. During the 50s he had started to write and produce music for other artists, including a lot of work with Duane Eddy. The music on Trouble... is relatively simple. Besides his deep baryton voices the listener rarely gets to hear more that a couple of acoustic guitars and a bass. Here and there a harmonica pops up. The songs begin with Lee telling a story about some character in the town of Trouble, an imaginary town loosely based on Lee's own birthplace. His narrative is quitely accompanied by a guitar playing some blues chords. Thereafter, the song starts in which we get an in-depth description of the events surrounding the described character.

Already the opening song Long Black Train the listener gets an example on (in my opnion) Lee's funny humor, in his description of the drama concerning his wild friend Jim:

And so I cut my friend

Twelve men covicted him

Ninety nine years is what he got

I'll bet it seems like a hundred to Jim

And so continues the record with Lee's narrative and the following, somewhat twisted, country & western songs. It's a good album and an impressive solo debut. But later in the 60s and the 70s I think Lee made even more interesting music where the twisted psychedelic touch were even more visible. Especially a lot what he did with Nancy Sinatra is really enjoyable. Overall Trouble... is relatively "normal" album where Lee still shows what to expect in the future. Other highlights from the album is We All Make The Flowers Grow and Look At That Woman, the latter again with a text which makes me smile.
 

Look at that woman standin' there

Look at that woman ain't he fair

Look at that woman seems so nice

Lord I wish that woman was anybody else that mine

Anybody else but mine

She can't cook and she can't love

and she ain't worth a dime

And Lord I wish that woman was anybody else but mine

Now, isnt' that humor?

In the 70s Lee lived quite a long time in Sweden where he did some work together with Torbjörn Axelman. The copy of Trouble... in my possession is a swedish cover, a reissue from 1971.

In summary, I recommend this album, it's a good way of gettinig to know Lee. But I also recommend the reader to explore his other work, if this has not already been done. There's a lot to discover, often music with a dark, but humorous, twist.

Tracklist

Side A
1. Long Black Train 2:23
2. Ugly Brown 3:24
3. Son Of A Gun 2:53
4. We All Make The Flowers Grow 1:50
5. Run Boy Run 2:19

Side B
1. Six Feet Of Chain 1:40
2. The Railroad 1:38
3. Look At That Woman 2:33
4. Peculiar Guy 2:17
5. Trouble Is A Lonesome Town 3:46