"Life In 12 Bars: Official Soundtrack Companion To The Film" by ERIC CLAPTON (June 2018 UK Universal/UMC 2CD Set - Mark Showell Masters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...As I Am To You..."

In June 2018 - the Eric Clapton 'Best Of', 'Anthology', 'Retrospective' back catalogue market is a crowded place indeed and for die-hard fans another 2CD career haul is about as welcome as a cabbage dinner airing in a spacesuit. But clever sequencing, interesting choices and some rather cool newbees make this staggeringly dull-looking 2CD set just about worth having. Here are the Other Assorted Love Songs (and that fit bird "Layla")...

UK released Friday, 8 June 2018 - "Life In 12 Bars" by ERIC CLAPTON on Universal/UMC 673 212-9 (Barcode 602567321293) is the 2CD 'Official Soundtrack Companion Album To The Film' and offers 32-Tracks (29 by EC) covering 1964 to 1992.

Opening with one Big Bill Broonzy and two Muddy Waters originals - it then proceeds into EC's recordings with The Yardbirds, John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers, Cream, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Blind Faith, Derek & The Dominoes, George Harrison, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends and finally into his Solo career (the official licensing of The Beatles and George Harrison cuts are a first on someone else’s compilation). Four Tracks and Two New Mixes are Previously Unreleased and it all breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (75:42 minutes):

1. Backwater Blues - BIG BILL BROONZY (from the April 1961 US LP "The Big Bill Broonzy Story" on Verve MG-V 3000-5)

2. My Life Is Ruined - MUDDY WATERS (from the January 1966 US LP "More Real Folk Blues" on Chess 1511)

3. Got My Mojo Working (Live) - MUDDY WATERS (from the November 1960 US LP "Muddy Waters At Newport 1960" on Chess 1449)

4. I Wish You Would - THE YARDBIRDS (May 1964 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7283 - also on the June 1965 US LP ""For Your Love" on Epic BN 26167)

5. For Your Love - THE YARDBIRDS (March 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7499 - also on the June 1965 US LP ""For Your Love" on Epic BN 26167)

6. Steppin' Out - JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUESBREAKERS (from the July 1966 UK Stereo LP "Bluesbreakers" on Decca SKL 4804)

7. All Your Love - JOHN MAYALL & THE BLUESBREAKERS (from the July 1966 UK Stereo LP "Bluesbreakers" on Decca SKL 4804)

8. I Feel Free - CREAM (December 1966 UK 7" single on Reaction 591011 - also on the January 1967 US LP "Fresh Cream" on Atco SD33-206)

9. Strange Brew - CREAM (from the November 1967 UK Stereo LP "Disraeli Gears" on Reaction 594 003)

10. Sunshine Of Your Love - CREAM (from the November 1967 UK Stereo LP "Disraeli Gears" on Reaction 594 003)

11. Good To Me As I Am To You - ARETHA FRANKLIN (from the January 1968 US Stereo LP "Lady Soul" on Atlantic SD 8176)

12. Crossroads (Live At Winterland) - CREAM (from the July 1968 UK 2LP Stereo set "Wheels Of Fire" on Polydor 582 031/2)

13. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - THE BEATLES (from the November 1968 UK 2LP Stereo set "The Beatles" [aka The White Album] on Apple PCS 7067/8)

14. Badge - CREAM (from the February 1969 UK Stereo LP "Goodbye" on Polydor 583 053)

15. White Room (Live At Oakland Coliseum) - CREAM (from the March 1972 UK LP "Live Cream Vol. II" on Polydor 2383 119)

16. Spoonful (Live At LA Forum) - CREAM (recorded 19 October 1968 - Produced by Felix Pappalardi - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - 17:26 mins)

17. Presence Of The Lord - BLIND FAITH (from the August 1969 UK Stereo LP "Blind Faith" on Polydor 583 059 - features Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker)

Disc 2 (78:46 minutes):

1. Comin' Home (Live At Fairfield Halls) - DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS featuring ERIC CLAPTON (unreleased until the August 2010 4CD 'Deluxe Edition Box Set' of "Delaney & Bonnie & Friends On Tour with Eric Clapton" on Rhino Handmade RHM2 524797)

2. After Midnight (Eric Clapton Mix) - ERIC CLAPTON

3. Let It Rain - (Eric Clapton Mix) - ERIC CLAPTON (both 2 and 3 originally on the August 1970 "Eric Clapton" UK debut solo album on Polydor 2383021 - here presented as PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED EC Mixes)

4. High - DEREK & THE DOMINOES (recorded April/May 1971 during the band's London sessions for the second album - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

5. My Sweet Lord - GEORGE HARRISON (from the November 1970 UK 3LP Box Set "All Things Must Pass" on Apple STCH 639)

6. Thorn Tree In The Garden - DEREK & THE DOMINOES

7. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out - DEREK & THE DOMINOES

8. Bell Bottom Blues - DEREK & THE DOMINOES

9. Layla (Full Version) - DEREK & THE DOMINOES (tracks 6 to 9 all from the November 1970 UK 2LP set "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs" on Polydor 2625 005)

10. Little Wing (Live At Fillmore East) - DEREK & THE DOMINOES (recorded 24 October 1970 at The Fillmore East in New York - featuring Bobby Whitlock - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

11. Got To Get Better In A Little While - DEREK & THE DOMINOES (unreleased until the March 2011 '40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition' for "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs" - Bobby Whitlock's keyboards recorded 2010 especially for the track)

12. I Shot The Sheriff (Full Length Version) - ERIC CLAPTON (originally on the July 1974 LP "461 Ocean Boulevard" - this is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED at 6:50 minutes)

13. Little Queenie (Live At Long Beach Arena) (recorded 20 July 1974 in California - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Chuck Berry cover)

14. Mainline Florida - ERIC CLAPTON (from the July 1974 UK LP "461 Ocean Boulevard" on RSO 2479 118)

15. Tears In Heaven - ERIC CLAPTON (from the January 1992 US Soundtrack Album "Rush" on Reprise/Duck 9 26794-2)

The 12-page booklet is an underwhelming affair with track-by-track details being all you get - no new liner notes, no photos, no stills from the film, not even a photo of our guitar hero - zip. A typically lazy-assed Universal reissue you might say. Hell even the picture on the cover has been used on both discs and the rear inlay on the inside is blank.

But a secret weapon comes in the form of mastering by MARK SHOWELL that was done at Abbey Road Studios. These overly familiar tracks are superb – wonderfully alive and given a new lick of paint - so there is that at least. And as you can see from the playing times, each disc has a generous quotient – so no complaints there either. Let's get to this overall listen...

With only "Tears In Heaven" from the Nineties and nothing from the late Seventies or Eighties (or indeed later into the 00’s and 11’s) – this 2CD set concentrates on 1964 to 1974 almost exclusively especially on his peripheral activities and collaborations. Looking at the tracks initially – you might think what in God's name is a Big Bill Broonzy track doing opening up a Clapton compilation! But its truly gorgeous Acoustic Blues clarity and wonderful feel is likely to knock your socks off – as it no doubt did a young EC. The stripped back unplugged feel continues with “My Life Is Ruined” from the mighty Muddy Waters ably assisted by Little Walter on Harmonica and Jimmy Rogers on Guitar – a cool Chess chugger first issued in early 1966. That's followed by an explosive live cut from the "Muddy Waters At Newport" LP of "Got My Mojo Working" which in turn leads thematically into the equally incendiary Yardbirds version of Billy Boy Arnold's "I Wish You Would" – Eric on attacking Guitar with Keith Relf giving it some updated British R&B shouting and Harmonica warbles. Future 10cc songwriter and frontman Graham Gouldman provided The Yardbirds with the hit "For Your Love" – a song I can safely say I never want to hear again (even if it does have Brian Auger on Harpsichord).

But John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers is another matter – their instrumental version of "Steppin' Out" with Eric letting rip is fantastic and in Stereo too. Guests include Fleetwood Mac's John McVie on Bass and Johnny Almond on Saxophone while the equally cool cover of the Otis Rush classic "All Your Love" is another inspired choice and a gorgeous kicking-mule transfer to CD. Although again it's overly familiar – having "I Feel Free" is another clever sequencing choice – Eric stepping up the microphone while Jack Bruce and Pete Brown do the songwriting. The boys go 60ts Weird and colour their Psych pallets with the classic Cream numbers "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine Of Your Love". Cleverly breaking up the pace – Aretha Franklin slinks into a slow sexy soul groove with "Good To Me As I Am To You" – the first decidedly hissy track (all feel, no audiophile). Following the beautifully remastered "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with the decidedly low-key "Badge" just about works – but a live version of "White Room" from Cream is tedious. Better is a near eighteen-minute Blues workout of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" that is an unreleased live version – while Disc 1 ends on the magisterial "Presence Of The Lord" with Stevie Winwood provided Soulful vocals over EC’s playing.

After a great live cut of "Comin’ Home" from Delaney & Bonnie where EC is clearly on fire when he plays – we get what some might feel is a bizarre EC mix of "After Midnight" complete with opening studio chatter. Having heard this so often over the decades – the ultra-amped mix comes at you like a freight train with his vocal more echoed and the brass brought out of the mud too. "Let It Rain" is the same – a few moments of the band limbering up and we’re off – another amped-up mix with the vocals strangely out of kilter. I’d honestly have to hear these a few more times before I’d say I actually like them. But I’m digging big time "High" – the unreleased Derek & The Dominoes cut that is clearly a backing track which never had vocals added on to finish it off. The recording quality is ace and the acoustic guitar change of pace halfway through is very Layla – what a neat find. Cleverly followed by the huge acoustic strums of George Harrison’s gorgeous "My Sweet Lord" – you’re reminded of how much EC added to other people’s songs.

Probably many people’s favourite on the "Layla" double – Bobby Whitlock’s quivering and delicate vocals give us a beautifully mastered "Thorn Tree In The Garden" – a discovery for everyone. The trio of "Nobody Loves You...", "Bell Bottom Blues" and the monster "Layla" with EC and Duane Allman shining hammer home what a great flurry of brilliance the whole Derek & The Dominoes project was. But I suspect that the big prize here for true EC fanatics will be a lovely yet powerful cover of the Jimi Hendrix masterpiece "Little Wing" – the band cooking as EC and Bobby Whitlock share the vocals. His playing is really something here. That’s supported by another genius follow – the 2010 version of "Got To Get Better In A Little While" from the 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Box Set of "Layla" where Whitlock added keys to finish off the track (a brilliant little song that was tucked away on a single B-side as I recall). At 6:50 minutes the "Full Length Version" of "I Shot The Sheriff" is claiming to be Previously Unreleased but I’d swear it’s been out before (the superb vocal-less extended end portion is more of a Funky Guitar workout than a Reggae cover – I think DJs may even sample this). The 461 Ocean Boulevard band tear through an all-dancing, giggling and rocking cover of Chuck Berry’s "Little Queenie" and I can so hear why this unreleased piece of EC was used here – the vocals may waver but his playing is great. It ends on a double-whammy of styles – the overdubbed guitar blitz of "Mainline Florida" and the memory of his son’s loss beautifully remembered in the moving "Tears In Heaven".

Sure it dips inevitably in places and I wish the packaging was way better, actually celebrating his contributions to the Blues genre and all manner of other people's projects (docked a star for that). But the sequencing, the great audio and the quality of some of the unreleased stuff make this a genuine winner - and best of all - perhaps even a nice surprise to die-hard fans who've been milked on these kind of CD reissues for decades now.

You may not feel the urge to spray paint 'Clapton Is God' on an Islington wall after wading through the 2CD set "Life In 12 Bars" - but I suspect you will be impressed and maybe even more moved that you'd expected. 

Well done - and recommended to those who want their EC a little off the beaten track...

"There's A Dream I've Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971 - STANDARD EDITION" by LEE HAZLEWOOD (November 2013 Light In The Attic 4CD/1DVD1FLEXI Reissue - John Baldwin Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Pastel Dreams..."

Outside of Lee Hazlewood's alternate chart career with Nancy Sinatra and Reprise Records (dealt with in a now rare and deleted May 2008 American 2CD set called "Strung Out On Something New: The Reprise Recordings" on Rhino Handmade RHM2 07754 - Barcode 603497775422) – one of Pop’s great songwriters, social chroniclers and true musical eccentrics has had sporadic reissues of his own label stuff on LHI (Lee Hazlewood Industries).  Bits and bobs really – and with so-so sound too - that is until now...

Seven years in the making and with no doubt some hair and nerve loss along the way - to say that November 2013's "There's A Dream I've Been Saving..." is a 'nice' retrospective is like saying Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are not bad really (if only he could paint). Whether it’s the STANDARD EDITION of 4CDs/1DVD and 1FLEXI (this review) or the 7-Disc DELUXE EDITION with even more discs and memorabilia - let's be blunt here - this Light In The Attic reissue is a gobsmacking thing to behold and look at - lavish in a way that perhaps only Box Set reissues from Bear Family or Ace or Revenant get near. But even with the fantastic audio - musically it’s a tale of two cities – Lee on Discs 1 and 2 (mostly good) but almost all the peripheral LHI acts on Disc 3 feel like derivative 60ts pap that died for a reason (Disc 4 saves the day). And no matter how pretty the package may be (something LITA are charging you a pretty penny for) – the overall listen can very quickly become a chore instead of a joy. Barely any of this charted and it’s so easy to hear why.

Having said that collectors will eye the guest musicians list with a quickening of the heart - Ry Cooder, Jack Nitzsche, Glen Campbell, James Burton, Sonny Curtis, Donnie Owens, Dr. John, Nicky Hopkins, Big Jim Sullivan, Gram Parson and Chris Ethridge of The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Byrds in the International Submarine Band - not to mention groovy girlies like Ann-Margret, Suzi Jane Hokum and a quartet of beauties in Honey Ltd.. There's a whole lotta striding cowboy on offer here. So once more my hipster boot-walking ladies and sheepskin-coat moustache-hugging men into the saddle of lurve - Swedish style (and that's just the stirrups baby)...

US released 26 November 2013 - "There's A Dream I've Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971 - STANDARD EDITION" by LEE HAZLEWOOD on Light In The Attic LITA 109 (Barcode 826853010993) offers 107 Tracks Remastered onto 4CDs, the "Cowboy In Sweden" Film from 1970 digitally transferred in HD from the master negative onto DVD with Remastered Sound, a coloured 7" single 'flexi' featuring unheard studio chatter, a reproduction of the LHI business card and over 150 rare and unseen photographs, discographies, 27-artist profiles in a 172-page album-sized clothbound hardback book (5 random copies contain a 'Golden Ticket' to Light In The Attic's Lee Hazlewood Archive Series). Discs 1 and 2 contain every Lee Hazlewood recorded for LHI including duets with Suzi Jane Hokum and Ann Margret (all 45s and albums) with some Previously Unreleased - whilst Discs 3 and 4 offer key-songs from the LHI stable of artists which includes 14 Previously Unreleased tracks. It breaks down as follows...

Disc 1 "Woke Up Sunday Morning With My Head Full Of Pain" (76:53 minutes, 27 Tracks):

1. Pray Them Bars Away [Side 1]

2. Leather And Lace (with Nina Lizell)

3. Forget Marie

4. Cool Hard Times

5. The Night Before

6. Hey Cowboy (with Nina Lizell)

7. No Train To Stockholm [Side 2]

8. For A Day Like Today (with Suzi Jane Hokum)

9. Easy And Me

10. What's More I Don't Need Her

11. Vem Kan Segla (Who Can Sail Without The Wind?) (with Nina Lizell)

Tracks 1 to 11 are the Lee Hazlewood album "Cowboy In Sweden" - released 1970 in Sweden on LHI Records LHI 3101

Musicians include Sonny Curtis, Donnie Owens and Carol Hunter on Guitars with Craig Doerge on Keyboards

12. Trouble Maker

Track 12 is the non-album A-side to a November 1969 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-20 (the B-side "Greyhound Bus Depot" is Track 5 on Disc 2)

13. Califia (Stone Rider)

14. Alone

15. I'll Never Fall In Love Again

16. No Body Like You

17. First Street Blues

Tracks 13 to 17 are all Lee Hazlewood and Suzi Jane Hokum

Tracks 13 and 16 are the non-album A&B-sides of a US 7" single released February 1970 on LHI Records LHI-21

Track 14 is the non-album B-side to the Suzi Hokum single "Same Old Songs" (Track 10 on Disc 4) released October 1969 on LHI Records LHI-19

Track 15 is the non-album B-side to the Suzi Hokum single "Reason To Believe" (Track 11 on Disc 4) released 1969 on LHI Records LHI-14

Track 17 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (recorded USA, May 1970)

Session musicians for 13 to 15 include Ry Cooder, Russ Titelman and Clarence White on Guitar with Jack Nitzsche on Keyboards

Session musicians for 17 include Carol Hunter on Guitar and Craig Doerge on Keyboards

18. I'm Glad I Never... [Side 1]

19. If It's Monday Morning

20. L.A. Lady

21. Won't You Tell Your Dreams?

22. I'll Live Yesterdays

23. Little Miss Sunshine (Little Miss Rain) [Side 2]

24. Stoned Little Child

25. Come On Home To Me

26. Must Have Been Something I Loved

27. I'd Rather Be Your Enemy

Tracks 18 to 27 are the Lee Hazlewood album "Requiem For An Almost Lady" - released 1971 in Australia on LHI Records SLHI-934, 430  - it was also released 1971 in the UK on Reprise Records K 44161. Session musicians include Joe Cannon on Guitar and Harmonica, Jerry Cole on Bass and Donnie Owens on Guitar

Disc 2 "I Was Born Running Wild The Victim Of A Woman Child" (76:05 minutes, 25 Tracks):

1. Sleep In The Grass

2. Chico

Tracks 1 and 2 are a Lee Hazlewood & Ann-Margret non-album US 7" single from 1969 on LHI Records LHI-2 - arranged by Jimmie Haskell

3. Am I That Easy To Forget? [Side 1]

4. Only Mama That'll Walk The Line

5. Greyhound Bus Depot

6. Walk On Out Of My Mind

7. Hangin' On

8. Victims Of The Night

9. Break My Mind [Side 2]

10. You Can't Imagine

11. Sweet Thing

12. No Regrets

13. Dark End Of The Street

Tracks 3 to 13 are from the Lee Hazlewood and Ann-Margret album "The Cowboy & The Lady" - released 1969 in the USA on LHI Records LHI S-12007. Arrangements by Jimmie Haskell and Charlie McCoy

14. It Was A Very Good Year [Side 1]

15. The Bed

16. Paris Bells

17. Wait Till Next Year [Side 2]

18. September Song

19. Let's Burn Down The Cornfield

20. Bye Baby

21. Mary

Tracks 14 to 21 are the Lee Hazlewood album "Forty" - released 1969 in the USA on LHI Records LHI 12009. NOTE: Side 1 of the original "Forty" LP has 5 tracks and not 3 – the list above is missing two titles. Place "What's More I Don't Need Her" and "The Night Before" (Tracks 10 and 5 on Disc 1) after the first song "It Was A Very Good Year" to get the Side 1 proper running order (Side 2 is as listed above). They are not repeated here for duplication reasons. Musicians included Nicky Hopkins on Piano and Big Jim Sullivan on Guitar - Produced by Shel Talmy

22. For Once In My Life

23. I Just Learned To Run

24. Me And The Wine And The City Lights

25. Nothin's Gonna Blow My Mind

Tracks 22 to 25 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - the cover of "For Once In My Life" is an outtake from the "Forty” album sessions

Disc 3 "Ol' Zeus Is Running Loose Again" (77:20 minutes, 28 Tracks):

1. Rose Colored Corner - LYNN CASTLE with LAST FRIDAY'S FIRE

(Non-Album B-side to "The Lady Barber", a February 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 17003)

2. Need All The Help I Can Get - THE KITCHEN CINQ

(From the 1967 US album "Everything But...The Kitchen Cinq" on LHI Records 12000)

3. You Better Go - RAUL DANKS & JON TAYLOR

(Non-Album A-side, a December 1966 US 7" single on LHI Records 17002 - Glen Campbell on Guitar)

4. I Can't Help The Way I Feel - LAST FRIDAY'S FIRE

(Non-album B-side to "What Is She Thinking", a March 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 17007)

5. Tomorrow Your Heart - HONEY LTD.

(A March 1968 US 7" single A-side on LHI Records LHI 1208 - also on the US album "Honey Ltd." on LHI Records LHI 120002)

6. Come On Sunshine - SUZI JANE HOKUM - Recorded April 1967 - PREVIOUS UNRELEASED

7. Little War - SUZI JANE HOKUM - Non-album B-side to "Good Tyme Music", a May 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 17014

8. If You Climb On The Tiger's Back - DANNY MICHAELS

(Non-album B-side to "Angel Of The Morning", a December 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 1202)

9. The Street Song (New York's My Home) - THE KITCHEN CINQ

(Non-album A-side of a July 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 17015 - B-side is "When The Rainbow Disappears" - not on this Box Set)

10. I Want You - THE KITCHEN CINQ - Recorded June 1967 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

11. Puppetry - RAUL DANKS & JON TAYLOR - Recorded June 1967 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

12. Pastel Dreams - MICHAEL GRAM (Non-album B-side to "Talkin' To You", a June 1968 US 7" single on LHI Records 1212)

13. And They Are Changing - DANNY MICHAELS (Non-album B-side to "Valentine Grey", a March 1969 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-4)

14. Does Anybody Know - A HANDFUL [The Kitchen Cinq] (Non-album A-side, a December 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI 1201)

15. Wasn't It You - A HANDFUL [The Kitchen Cinq] - Recorded October 1967 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

16. Silk 'N' Honey - HONEY LTD.

(Track 16 is the B-side of "Eli's Coming", a February 1969 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-3 - also on the "Honey Ltd." LP)

17. Invisible People - HAMILTON STREETCAR

18. Flash - HAMILTON STREETCAR (Tracks 18 and 17 [note order] are the A&B-sides of an August 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 17016)

19. Maharishi - THE AGGREGATION (An April 1968 A-side to a US 7" single on LHI Records 1209)

20. Flying Free - THE AGGREGATION (Taken from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Mind Odyssey" on LHI Records S 12008)

21. Something's Happening - LAST FRIDAY'S FIRE (Non-album A-side to a September 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 17019)

22. You Turned My Head Around - ANN-MARGRET

23. It's A Nice World To Visit (But Not To Live In) - ANN-MARGRET

(Tracks 22 and 23 are the non-album A&B-sides of a November 1968 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-1)

24. Sam - ANN-MARGET - September 1968 recording - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

25. New Way Home - THE SURPRISE PACKAGE (from the US 1969 Stereo LP "Free Up" on LHI Records S 12005)

26. The Lady Barber - LYNN CASTLE with LAST FRIDAY'S FIRE (see Track 1 on Disc 3)

27. When We're Talked About Tomorrow - COLLEEN LANZA (Non-album A-side to a July 1968 US 7" single on Morph Records M-1001)

28. Sunshine Soldier - ARTHUR (from the 1968 US Stereo LP "Dreams And Images" on LHI Records S-12,000)

Disc 4 "Whistling For A Dog Named Kindness That You'll Never Find" (76:58 minutes, 27 Tracks):

1. The Black Widow Spider - SANFORD CLARK

(Non-album B-side to "The Song Of Hickory Holler's Tramp", a December 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 1203 - and on the 1968 US Stereo Album "Return Of The Fool" on LHI Records S 12003)

2. Dying Daffodil Incident - A HANDFUL [The Kitchen Cinq]

(Non-album B-side to "Does Anybody Know", a December 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 1201)

3. Lady Bird - VIRGIL WARNER & SUZI JANE HOKUM - Recorded October 1967 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED VERSION

4. Summer Wine - VIRGIL WARNER & SUZI JANE HOKUM (from the US 1969 Stereo Album "Virgil Warner & Suzi Jane Hokum" on LHI Records S 12004)

5. Emmy - RAY CHAFIN (From the Promo-Only US 45 released August 1969 on LHI Records LHI-18 - was also to be on the unreleased LP "Home Grown West Virginia Soul")

6. Luxury Liner - INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE BAND

(A-side of the February 1968 US 7" single on LHI Records 1205 - also on the July 1968 US Stereo LP "Safe At Home" on LHI Records S 12001 - featured Gram Parsons on Guitar and Chris Ethridge on Bass both later with The Flying Burrito Brothers)

7. California Sunshine Girl - THE SHACKELFORDS

(Non-album A-side to an April 1967 US 7" single on LHI Records 17008 - James Burton, Donnie Owens and Al Casey on Guitars)

8. It's My Time - THE SHACKELFORDS

(Non-album A-side to a May 1968 US 7" single on LHI Records 1211 - James Burton, Al Casey, David Cohen on Guitars, Dr. John on Keyboards)

9. Hands - DANNY MICHAELS (Non-album B-side to a July 1969 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-16)

10. Same Old Songs - SUZI JANE HOKUM

11. Reason To Believe - SUZI JANE HOKUM

Track 10 is the non-album A-side to an October 1969 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-19 - the B-side is "Alone" (Track 14 on Disc 1)

Track 11 is the non-album A-side to July 1969 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-14 - the B-side is "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" (Track 15 on Disc 1)

12. The Man I Was Yesterday - VIRGIL WARNER - Recorded June 1968 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

13. Dusty Roads - EVE (Non-album B-side to "Anyone Who Had A Heart", a May 1970 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-25)

14. Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham - EVE (from the 1970 US LP "Take It And Smile" on LHI Records 3100, Track 13 also on this album - James Burton on Guitar)

15. Warm Miami Sunshine - JOE CANNON

16. Lonesome Wheels - JOE CANNON

17. Cold Hard Times - JOE CANNON (Tracks 15 to 17 taken from the 1970 US LP "Cold Hard Times" on LHI Records/Bell Records 6056)

18. Peppermint Morning - RABBITT (from the 1970 US LP "Rabbitt" on LHI Records/Bell Records 6057 - Donnie Owens and Jerry Cole on Guitars)

19. Goin' On - PHOENIX-70 (Non-album Jimmie Haskell written and Arranged B-side to "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", a May 1969 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-6)

20. Friday's Child - BILLY DEARBORN (Non-album A-side to an April 1968 US 7" single on LHI Records 1210)

21. I Feel Love Comin' On - JON CHRISTIAN (Non-album A-side to a March 1970 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-24)

22. Ten Or Eleven Towns Ago - BARBARA RANDOLPH

23. Miracle On 19th Street - BARBARA RANDOLPH (Tracks 23 and 22 [note order] are the non-album A&B-sides of a July 1970 US 7" single on LHI Records LHI-30)

24. Cheap Lovin' - BARBARA RANDOLPH (Non-album B-side to "Woman To That Man", a December 1969 US Promo 7" single on LHI Records LH-22)

25. Chain Of Fools - DON RANDI - Recorded January 1968 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

26. Angry Generation - THE WOODCHUCKS (Non-album B-side to "Bo-Dacious", a Reissue 45 from 1970 on LHI Records LHI 1001. Originally issued in 1964 on Prince Records PR-6514)

27. The Start - LARRY MARKS - Recorded September 1970 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

DVD - "Cowboy In Sweden" - A Film Directed by Torbjorn Axelman (LITA 109, All Regions) :

1970 Movie, 60 Minutes, New Digital Transfer From The Original 16mm Master Negative at The Swedish Broadcasting Co.

Fully Restored in HD with Re-Mastered Sound - Region Free

1-Sided FLEXI DISC (LITA 45-030, plays at 33 1/3rd)

"LHI In Session 1966-1970" – Unheard Studio Chatter from “Play It Like A Cowboy” Song

All four of Lee's period albums are here - "The Cowboy & The Lady" and "Forty" (both 1969) with "Cowboy In Sweden" and "Requiem For An Almost Lady" (both 1971) - along with the guts of twelve non-album 45s. Eagle-eyed collectors will know that his debut album "Trouble Is A Lonesome Town" (originally issued in 1963 on Mercury Records) was also reissued in 1969 on LHI Records - but it is outside the remit of this Box Set so therefore not included. The Hardback Clothbound Book is a wonder to behold not just for the gorgeous full-page colour plates but for the impossibly rare info – bands like Texas’s The Kitchen Cinq or Phoenix’s Last Friday’s Fire, Hairdresser Lynn Castle or Scotland/England’s dropout duo Raul Danks and Jon Taylor – get whole pages of discography (27 Profiles in all). And there are pages of repro American 45s in full colour (must be over 100 of them) – everything you could imagine.

There’s a timeline at the bottom of the pages, discussions on the making of all four albums and interviews with all the key players especially Suzi Jane Hokum (artist and partner), movie Director Torbjorn Axelman and of course discussion of his relationship with one-time Elvis Presley squeeze and film starlet Ann-Margret. There are trade adverts, photos of billboards, in-the-studio black and whites and wads of colour photos from LH’s archives. I’m not sure who will enjoy (or even giggle at) Pages 10 and 11 where Lee in full-page colour splendour is surrounded by 10 naked women all adorned with moustaches in some sort of Electric Ladyland pastiche that feels ludicrously silly, pervy and uncomfortable - all at the same time (yikes). There’s even a perfect repro of the LHI Records embossed business card (actual size) centred in a die-cut groove on Page 3 opposite the four titled CDs over on Page 2 (the DVD film is centred on the back inner flap, the flexi is randomly found inbetween the pages). It’s beautifully done and reeks of pride, affection and staggering amounts of prep and work...

Despite having The Wrecking Crew as his basic backing band for most sessions and tight control over input (Drummers Earl Palmer and Hal Blaine, Guitarist Donnie Owens, Bassist Carol Kaye and Phil Spector’s arranger Jack Nitzsche) - musically the crass might say the words ‘unsuccessful vanity project’ jumps to mind. Because looking at Lee’s signings - very little catches the eye by way of Hitsville or success. Sure he roped in the hugely influential International Submarine Band with Gram Parsons and Chris Ethridge on the cusp of starting Country Rock – and the Ann-Margret stuff of course by virtue of her fame - but the rest? Most are footnotes now and even in knowledgeable circles not very well known ones at that. Still the upside is that the overall listen feels like everything is new to your ears. And loads of it is good, genre-diverse and even brilliant at times...

The AUDIO is fabulous – Analogue transfers remastered at 24-bit/96-kHz by JOHN BALDWIN at John Baldwin Mastering - 95% from original tapes – the rest mastered from mint vinyl. Meticulous the blurb tells us and they’d be right. Let's get to the music...

As the cello strings, clear bass and pinged glass smacks hit you on the opening ""Pray Them Bars Away" - the AUDIO is glorious - clean, airy and full of gorgeous presence. Then of course his caustic persona and clever lyrics hammer you - the Pop part schmaltz, part comedy, but so very 60ts in its yeah baby imagery. The "Cowboy In Sweden" album is a greyhound bus travelling in the sunshine smooch of an album - languid strums as Nina Lizell sexily duets with Lee on "Leather And Lace", "Hey Cowboy" and "Vem Kan Segla..." while Suzi Jane Hokum drops in for "For A Day Like Today". Lee is either pining for a woman, trying to forget one or wishing he could get a free ticket into her jodhpurs. Yet for all the fun and those Burt Bacharach/Mama’s and Papa’s happy-wappy jaunty melodies that fool you into thinking they’re lightweight musical soufflés - when he sings 'selling yesterdays dreams in tomorrow's papers' in the Fred Neil Bleecker and MacDougall acoustic vibe in "Cold Hard Times" where his brother has died back home from a needle in his veins - you know LH has lived life and is not just ambiguously commenting on it from the songwriter sidelines.

Fans will love stuff like "Trouble Maker" – a non-album B-side about a longhaired, establishment-rejecting, army-avoiding, sandal-wearing hippy that eventually gets nailed to an actual cross by the man. It’s just a throwaway song on the flipside of "Greyhound Bus Depot" – but it’s also utterly brilliant social commentary wrapped up in truth-telling lyrics few had the guts to say. "Califia", "Alone" and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" feature guitarists Ry Cooder, Russ Titelman, Clarence White and Spector’s arranger Jack Nitzsche. The first Previously Unreleased cut "First Street Blues" features Suzi Jane Hokum croaking through a piano song about booze and hate on the streets recorded May 1970 in the USA – quality and not a throwaway. Disc 1 ends with the whole of the "Requiem For An Almost Lady" album from 1971 – initially issued in Australia – the falling-apart relationship LP was also released by Reprise UK in late 1971. He talks like a ponderous Neil Diamond as he begins each song – times that were fun – times that were no fun – days that were all "...Monday Morning" (gorgeous Acoustic audio).

Over on Disc 2 there's almost a whole page's worth of discussion on the almost total sales failure of the stand-alone 45 for Lee and Ann - "Sleep In The Grass" b/w "Chico" (the opening lyrics from "Chico" title the CD). Apparently big things were expected of "Sleep In The Grass", it received wads of one-the-hour Radio Play on both major stations and independents - but the public refused to buy it no matter what (they keep talking of maybe seven copies sold). Frankly on hearing it now - I can hear why - the cheese-factor way too high. Better is the 1969 LH album with Ann-Margret "The Cowboy & The Lady" featuring Jimmie Haskell and Charlie McCoy arrangements. Very much like a Nancy Sinatra album of the period - harmonica strollers come in the shape of the four-in-the-morning "Greyhound Bus Depot" where time passes slow (she's with him, bet they ain't passing slow) - or the echoes of her cheatin' footsteps that he wishes would "Walk On Out Of My Mind" (awesome audio) while Ann reassures Lee that they were only "Victims Of The Night" in a pool of acoustic guitars and foot-tapping high-hats. Ann then starts to have second thoughts – can’t stand to hear those jet engines whine in "Break My Mind" (oddly Lee is feeling the same and urges sexy Ann to take her suitcase off those weighing scales). Ann gets 60ts coquettish on "You Can't Imagine" - talking and luring - eyelashes a-blinkin' - lipstick a-smackin' (you get the picture). Lee ponders the consequences of messing around on "Sweet Thing" - but Ann puts him right by telling Lee he'd better have something in his eye and not be squinting at that cute little waitress down at the cafe (watch out waitress cuties). His cover of the Tom Rush classic "No Regrets" is superb - a very cool Fred Neil-ish take on the song - but it would of course be The Walker Brothers who would make it a global smash in November 1975.

"It Was A Very Good Year" opens the "Forty" album but not in a good way. It's a Lee-melodrama too far - a huge orchestra and brass section making a dog's dinner of Ervin Drake's song (mostly made famous by Frank Sinatra). Randy Newman gets two songs covered - "Wait Till Next Year" and the hard-hitting guitar heavy "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield" - their sarcastic lilt suiting LH. Who Producer and owner of the UK-based Mod record label Planet Records Shel Talmy gets a rare co-writing credit on "Bye Baby" with Jon Mark who would later form the bands Mark-Almond and Sweet Thursday. Danny Kortchmar (who would form The City with Carole King and become an integral part of James Taylor's sound and band) gets a cover on "Mary" - a very Jimmy Webb melody ending a strange album that only half works in my opinion. As if to hammer home the directionless mess that the "Forty" album was - the previously unreleased season outtake turns out to be a truly dire cover of Stevie Wonder's "For Once In My Life" - better is the Johnny Cash strum and humour in "I Just Learned To Run" where he's glad he's an exit from her sick and twisted heart-breaking ways. Another goody amongst the unreleased is the genuinely witty "Nothin's Gonna Blow My Mind" where our hero is protected by his baby's love from 1969 social turmoil.

Disc 3 begins the other artists on LHI. The problem is that so much of it is so dreadfully ordinary and you can hear why little of it stuck on any chart wall. Glen Campbell fans will appreciate the very-Monkees vibe of  "You Better Go" by the obscure Raul Danks and Jon Taylor (from Scotland and England). 60ts Pop continues with "I Can't Help The Way I Feel" while the fabulous four-way harmonies of Honey Ltd. (they continued later as Eve when Alex Sliwin left) clearly goes after The Mama's & Papa's market with "Tomorrow Your Heart" - the four gorgeous gals getting some serious full-page shows including a newspaper report of their trip to the Far East to tour soldier camps (Pages 118 to 122). Californian Sunshine Pop comes in the form of the first Suzi Jane Hokum unreleased track "Come On Sunshine" while her "Little War" gets a bit more serious about love and relationships and 'the game'.  The unreleased "Puppetry" from Danks and Taylor is awful while Michael Gram's weedy "Pastel Dreams" isn't much better. Regulars on the Sunset Strip - Hamilton Streetcar had backed The Doors, Buffalo Springfield and Love - so had the Psych-Rock credentials (there's is one of the few pictures in the book where an artist is shown on an actual stage giving it some). Their two singles here show why Lee signed them - the wild fuzzed-up guitars of "Invisible People" and the keyboard-trippy "Flash" – great stuff.

The Aggregation was the house band at Disneyland's 'Tomorrowland' theme park - and signed by an intrigued LH - got to make a whole concept album their way (not surprisingly called) "Mind Odyssey". If only the instrumental and subsequent tune were discoveries. Generously described in the book as one of LHI’s most fascinating acts – it's a shame the voice-of-the-universe twiddle music doesn't live up to the premise. With the multi-talented Mike Condello at their core however - way better is Last Friday's Fire and their cool "Something's Happening" track – a keyboard driven discovery groove that smacks of West Coast summers and helpful tablets. Surprisingly good too is the Previously Unreleased Ann-Margret outtake "Sam" followed by "New Way Home" from The Surprise Package - a funky little guitar/organ number with an early Steppenwolf feel. Daughter of Mario Lanza - a 19-year old Colleen Lanza gives it some girly suggestive on the very Bacharach derivative "When We're Talked About Tomorrow" and like the insipid "Sunshine Soldier" by Arthur - ends Disc 3 in a way that apart from some brief moments of respite in the middle - makes you think you'll rarely return to this CD.

After the disappointment of Disc 3 – thankfully Disc 4 steps up to the plate more often than not. Amidst the initial tunes we’re offered a cool unreleased version in Virgil Warner & Suzi Jane Hokum's take on "Lady Bird". Keeping with rarities - Ray Chafin's delicate story of a 35-year old "Emmy" is a genuinely collector's piece. Speaking of missed opportunities - it's bizarre to say the least that in a book so lavish - LHI's most famous sons (The International Submarine Band don't actually get a picture on their discography page. Fans of TISB and the mercurial Gram Parsons would see Emmylou Harris name her December 1976 album after his TISB song "Luxury Liner" - her second number 1 album on the Country LP charts. Of the two Shackelfords songs - "It's My Time" is the better - an upbeat tune that features both James Burton on Guitar and Dr. John on piano. Suzi Jane Hokum takes a jaunty Country-ish stab at the Tim Hardin classic "Reason To Believe" - but Rod Stewart's version has real soul. Virgil Warner's a-shell-of "The Man I Was Yesterday" is a worthy unreleased track - Virgil channelling his inner Roy Orbison. A genuine bonus on Disc 4 is a rare flipside by Eve (the three remaining ladies of Honey Ltd.) and their take on "Dusty Roads" - not just pretty faces but beautiful harmonisers when given a Soulful melody (their version of "Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham" by Mac Davis is cool Pop too). Joe Cannon's "Warm Miami Sunshine" sounds like a hit that should have been - the gambling loser song "Lonesome Wheels" is good too (lyrics from "Cold Hard Morning" title Disc 4 - a tune written by LH for Joe Cannon). Rabbitt (with Larry Marks on Lead Vocals) get a perfectly good Guitar-Pop moment in "Peppermint Morning" - another tune you can't help thinking should have seen chart action. Soul lovers will big-time dig the seriously good sway-ballad "Friday's Child" with the wonderful voice of African American Billy Dearborn. After a saccharine turkey from Jon Christian - that Lady Soul vibe of Billy Dearborn continues with a threesome of social-commentary corkers from Barbara Randolph. And it all comes to an end with a slightly muffled demo from Larry Marks where he wonders why he’s getting high so much...

Sure it's beautiful to look at - but docked a star for some of the depressingly so-so music presented on Discs 3 and 4. Still, the care, the attention to detail, the spectacular audio and the eye-popping presentation will mean that Lee Hazlewood fans will be in seventh heaven and newcomers understand why he engenders such hero worship.

"...Tomorrow your heart will be lighter and your eyes will be brighter my darling..." – the gorgeous harmonising ladies in Honey Ltd. croon seductively in the sweetpea of a tune "Tomorrow Your Heart".

Time to get lost in those pastel dreams maybe...