Lee Hazlewood - "Movin' On" (1977)

Lee Hazlewood is always a safe bet when it comes to music. Dark, psychedelic, humorous, twisted country is never wrong. And Lee always delivers. Or does he?

Well, barely. Looking at his career, Movin 'On is not Lee's best moment, but contains enough gems to justify a spin on the turntable. The album was recorded at the end of Lee's stay in Sweden, he would later move on to Germany and Spain. Contributing to the album is the famous Swedish guitarist Janne Schaffer, he says of Lee (quote stolen from Acerecords website):

"Lee was a good guy," says Janne Schaffer, one of the guitarists who appeared on the record. "I'd previously played on another session for him [possibly 1976's "20th Century Lee "] and admired him a lot because of his work with Duane Eddy. He was a very cool guy, very sophisticated. He didn't speak Swedish so everything was done in English but I don't recall him saying a lot. He had a special kind of charisma - let's say an authority - and that's my abiding memory of working with him."

The album contains, as usual, lots of songs that had appeared on previous records (to be exact, half of them). Of the album's twelve songs, Lee has written two, the rest are covers. Movin 'On has the dubious quality to include many fairly ordinary country songs, without that dark twist Lee usually has the ability to create. The opening song Mother Country Music might as well have been sung by Kris Kristofersson.

The album's highlight is the closing number on side A, the druggy Let's Burn Down The Cornfield, written by Randy Newman. It's For My Dad is also a nice song, a song that in my dream world my children are singing in my honor after my death.

There's a man who always stood right by me

Tall and proud and good when times were bad

Too much heart, is the only fault that I see

This song's not for you folks

It's for my dad

Almost too cheesy.

Another cool song is Kung Fu You, mainly thanks to its more humorous character. But the biggest reason for me to own Movin 'On is not primarily the music. It is the fact that the LP was only released in Sweden, making it fairly unique in Lee's discography, and probably more desirable on the international market. Personally, I found it in Gothenburg, but has also seen in now and then in the record shops here in Uppsala. This is an album with a lot of valleys but also a few peaks. On the sleeve it says "Whatever your listening pleasure, you'll find something on this album you like." And I guess that's the way it is, out of twelve songs with Lee Hazlewood, I would be damned if you didn't find one you like.

In summary, a barely OK album, and not the one I would recommend spontaneously when it comes to Lee Hazlewood. Personally, however, I can bear with the music's somewhat lacking quality. The vain joy of owning a Hazlewood album which is a bit of a rarity, internationally speaking, outweighs.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Mother Country Music 2:34
2. I've Got To Be Movin' 3:29
3. The Rising Star 4:06
4. Come On Home To Me 2:35
5. It's For My Dad 3:07
6. Let's Burn Down The Cornfield 2:39

Side B
1. Hello, Saturday Morning 3:16
2. Wait For Next Year 3:35
3. L.A. Lady 1:59
4. Paris Bells 2:40
5. Kung Fu You 2:30
6. It Was A Very Good Year 4:14