>> CAKE OR DEATH is LEE HAZLEWOOD's swan song, his last album, following his rediscovery by an extraordinary range of contemporary artists such as Beck, Pulp, Sonic Youth and Nick Cave. Full of HAZLEWOOD's trademark drama, sentiment, lyrical trickery, subtle politics, dry wit and unforgettable melody CAKE OR DEATH a fabulous curtain call that finds HAZLEWOOD displaying all of the charm and talent that has made him one of the most name-checked and influential artists in rock and roll history. It's one hell of a swansong. <<

Mr Hazlewood is dying of cancer, but he wanted to make one last musical statement. Audio samples of all the tracks can be heard here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000L43PDE/?tag=imwan-20

Lee passed away over the weekend, at age 78. RIP.

http://www.nme.com/news/lee-hazlewood/30133



>> Lee Hazlewood: 1928-2007

Lee Hazlewood, the pop svengali who wrote the Nancy Sinatra hit 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'', died of cancer in Las Vegas on Saturday (August 4). He was 78.

Hazlewood, originally from Oklahoma, was the man credited with much of the success of Sinatra's career - modelling her image and writing songs for her. He wrote and produced nine albums in total for her.

After writing songs as a child, Hazlewood began his musical career as a DJ in Arizona in 1953.

In 1963 he released a solo album, 'Trouble Is A Lonesome Town', and went on to write songs for other artists. Elvis Presley, Nick Cave, Primal Scream and Courtney Love have all covered tracks of his.

After a period living reclusively in Sweden, Hazlewood began releasing more records in the 1970s, including the legendary 'Cowboy In Sweden', and by the 1990s his solo work developed a cult following.

In 1999 he performed at the Nick Cave-curated Meltdown festival.

His last solo album, 'Cake Or Death' - the titled inspired by comedian Eddie Izzard - was released last year.

Hazlewood is survived by his son Mark, daughters Debbie and Samantha, and his wife Jeane. <<

Sad news. I like all his work, solo or with Nancy. I was lucky to see him live. My favorite song of his is the duet with Nancy, "Summer Wine".

It would be nice to see his stuff properly re-released (not the badly mastered Smells Like reissues from a few years back). SInce all that Jimmy Webb stuff has been reissued, one would think Lee's stuff would have a market (hello, Collector's Choice!).

His MGM records are easy to find-but does anyone know whatever happened to the Rhino Handmade release of his Reprise stuff?

Some musicians' comments on Hazlewood's passing ...

http://www.nme.com/news/lee-hazelwood/30143



>> Primal Scream pay tribute to Lee Hazlewood

06.Aug.07 3:00pm

Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie has paid tribute to songwriter Lee Hazlewood, whose death was announced this morning (August 6).

Hazlewood, who died after a battle with cancer, is best known for his collaborations with Nancy Sinatra, such as 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin' and 'Some Velvet Morning' - the latter of which Primal Scream covered in 2002, with Kate Moss supplying guest vocals.

Paying tribute to the legend, Gillespie told NME.COM he would miss Hazlewood's creativity.

"He was a motherfucker of a songwriter and a great producer too," declared the Primal Scream frontman. "A one of a kind/last of a kind outsider hero." <<

http://www.nme.com/news/lee-hazlewood/30148

>> Richard Hawley pays tribute to Lee Hazlewood

06.Aug.07 5:46pm

Following the death of songwriter-producer Lee Hazlewood, which was announced this morning (August 6), Richard Hawley has paid tribute to one of his favourite artists, key influences and friends.

Hawley was not only a fan, but shared a stage with the singer-songwriter in 2002 and later conducted one of the last interviews Hazlewood gave before his death.

"I don't think he realised how much he was respected and loved," the Sheffield singer told NME.COM. "I remember asking him about being made a major difference to a lot of people and he just couldn't get his head round it.

"I was there the first time he did the Royal Festival Hall (in London), and when he came offstage his guitarist asked "Lee, what's that noise?". Lee said 'That's applause', and when he came back on stage he said to the audience 'Please don't clap that loud, the band aren't used to it' [laughs]."

Hawley added that Hazlewood, perhaps best known for his work with Nancy Sinatra, was a visionary musician in his own right.

"He wrote and produced it, and yeah, he just had a unique way of doing things," he explained. "You can't pin him down. I mean I've got hundreds of his records and he was beyond interesting. I asked him about reverb, his was unique to anyone else's, and he said they used to rent a grain store off a farmer he knew, and they'd record the artist inside there, but they used to have problems with birds landing on it so they employed someone with a pellet gun to shoot all the birds off the top of it!" [laughs]

"He always described himself as a really limited singer because his voice was below baritone, but I find his singing to be amazing. He's one of my favourite singers of all time. The cynicism in the voice was great but he always flipped the coin. If it was a cynical song there would be a line in there which was quite humane. He used to say the songs that sell the most are dumbest and he'd always write what he considered to be 'dumb songs' - they're often my favourites."

Hawley added that with the increasing specialisation of music roles, an artist with a complete vision like Hazlewood did were becoming a rare breed.

"He was so many things, producer, writer, arranger, singer, a performer. His life, that kind of artist, there aren't many of them left," said Hawley. "Ironically Lee Hazlewood was overlooked in his life but we'll desperately miss him a lot more than we realise." <<

http://www.nme.com/news/lee-hazlewood/30162

>> Jarvis Cocker pays tribute to 'fantastic' Lee Hazlewood

Jarvis Cocker is the latest star to pay tribute to songwriter-producer Lee Hazlewood, who died on Saturday (August 4).

The former Pulp singer joined the likes of Bobby Gillespie and Richard Hawley in tipping his hat to the star.

Cocker, long known as a huge fan of Hazlewood, told NME.COM: "Lee Hazlewood had the deepest voice known to man (& I mean that in all senses of the word). He was also a fantastic songwriter & producer & storyteller.

"They don't make 'em like Lee anymore - maybe they never did. Listen & learn." <<