Last Sunday I was doing my usual Long Island flea market thing and one of the vendors at a place near the south shore, had a bunch of cds in a shoe box. Wasn't expecting much, so I quickly flipped through it until I got to one and I really had to restrain myself from screaming out "yee haaw!" It was a mint copy of the 1989 Rhino compilation record "Fairy Tales & Fantasies" by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood. I paid a buck for it and quickly high tailed it out of there, as I knew the disc was and is worth a fortune. I mean I'm talking Beatles butcher cover territory here. Well it's going for alot because it is out of print, rare and because the songs on it are so good. If you want to hear where Greg gets his inspiration for alot of his mysterious and spooky lyrics and vocal stylings, check out Lee Hazlewood. I had never heard of this fellow until Greg mentioned him at a meet and greet and when Blue Rodeo also covered one of Hazlewood's songs, was it "Some Velvet Morning"? I also read about Hazlewood in Greg's List of Music You Should Hear on Amazon.
I cannot describe how good this record is! I believe that most of the tunes on this record you can download from iTunes or something, but if you do nothing else this summer while we're waiting for Blue Rodeo's next 'album', by all means listen to some Lee Hazlewood and even better check out his way cool duets with Nancy Sinatra. These folks were alt. country even before Gram Parsons and the Flying Burritto Brothers. For once I'm speechless...This record is nothing short of a revelation, and I didn't think that there were too many of those left that I hadn't already heard. I'm a Believer! Well that was the Monkees, but darn you have to listen to this music.
Greg, I know you have that import Lee Hazlewod compilation disc, but if you don't have this one with the Lee & Nancy duets, let me know, and I'll burn a copy for you!
Greg, you do have good taste in music. Thanks man for turning me on to Lee Hazlewood!