Lee Hazlewood – Cowboy In Sweden

Sadly this is a rough needledrop with quite a few pops on Hey Cowboy so not even sourced from a NM LP, not much care taken in the remastering of this version

Probably Hazlewood's single most famous album, Cowboy In Sweden is actually a compilation of tracks meant to complement the Swedish tv program (a fantasia starring Hazlewood) of the same name. After all these years it's still safe to say that there is little other recorded music like it: it's baroque country in a soundscape drenched in echo. This cd reissue, currently the only one available, is mastered from a very worn vinyl copy, which would normally be frustrating to most listeners but here seems to add further depth; The background noise and muted dynamic range creates the impression of an ancient document recently unearthed. The fact the songs themselves are so strong means the album is endlessly playable, especially my favourite, the brief, heartbreaking Forget Marie.