Lee Hazlewood

For over half a century, the late LEE HAZLEWOOD - best known for his work with Nancy Sinatra - proved to be one of the most ingenious, inspired and impressively stubborn sons-of-a-bitch the music industry has ever seen. His career - a word that HAZLEWOOD himself would have scorned - has seen him take on almost every aspect of the music industry - a word that HAZLEWOOD himself would have choked on - and come out on top every time.

CAKE OR DEATH - a reference to HAZLEWOOD's comic hero Eddie Izzard - is the title of what HAZLEWOOD declared his swan song, one last album that he wished to bequeath to the world before returning to the shadows out of which he was dragged in the '90s, following his rediscovery by an extraordinary range of contemporary artists such as Beck, Pulp, Sonic Youth and Nick Cave. The record received stateside release on Ever Records on January 23, 2007.

Sadly, Lee Hazlewood passed away on August, 4, 2007.

In recent years, Hazlewood's music has continued to become more and more fashionable, regularly turning up in films as diverse as "The Dukes Of Hazzard" - which saw Jessica Simpson perform "These Boots Were Made For Walking" for the title track - and the arthouse flick "Morvern Callar" - which used "Some Velvet Morning" to great effect.

Like all of his albums, CAKE OR DEATH refuses to compromise HAZLEWOOD's own musical choices for any reason, and the result is an exceptional record that draws together various strands of his life in a magical, unforgettable way. Rather than pull together a self-indulgent list of admirers with whom to collaborate, HAZLEWOOD has assembled a cast of musicians with whom he has previously worked, promised to work, or wanted to work. Full of HAZLEWOOD's trademark drama, sentiment, lyrical trickery, subtle politics (check the incredible "Baghdad Knights" and the wry "Anthem"), ribald roguery, dry wit and unforgettable melodies it's a fabulous curtain call that, with its final song "T.O.M. (The Old Man)", will not leave a dry eye in the house.

CAKE OR DEATH sees HAZLEWOOD record the original, far spookier version (as much as he remembers, he jokes) of "These Boots Were Made For Walking"with Duane Eddy and Richard Bennett (Neil Diamond's guitarist); he co-writes two songs with Al Casey, an old pal who has recorded with The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Frank & Nancy Sinatra, Dean Martin, Duane Eddy and HAZLEWOOD himself (to name but a few); he's joined by Scandinavia's number one jazz singer Ann Kristin Hedmark - "I like him and he's funny", she jokes in her defense; La Grande Sophie, winner of Best Live Newcomer of the Year at 2005's Victoires De la Musique in France (proving Lee still knows his onions) joins him for a touching reworking of Lee's classic "Leather & Lace"; Emilie Simon, composer of the soundtrack to "March Of The Penguins" and a star in her own right in France (again) duets with him on the stylish "Nothing"; lifelong friend Tommy Parsons is given the spotlight on his own "She's Gonna Break Some Heart" - "he literally saved my life some time ago," Lee explains, "so this is a promise given and a promise kept"; and "Some Velvet Morning" is reprised memorably by none other than Hazlewood's grand daughter Phaedra Dawn Stewart - "Who says nepotism is dead?", Lee insists. Naturally, though, there's a whole gamut of songs that see HAZLEWOOD at the heart of them, displaying all of the charm and talent that has made him one of the most namechecked and influential artists in rock and roll history.

Say hello, wave goodbye.