General Article name: Cowboy in Sweden
Genre: Rock englischsprachig Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: LIGHT IN THE ATTIC Number of tracks: 14 Tracklist LP - 1 HAZLEWOOD, LEE - PRAY THEM BARS AWAY HAZLEWOOD, LEE - LEATHER AND LACE HAZLEWOOD, LEE - FORGET MARIE HAZLEWOOD, LEE - COLD HARD TIMES HAZLEWOOD, LEE - THE NIGHT BEFORE HAZLEWOOD, LEE - HEY COWBOY HAZLEWOOD, LEE - NO TRAIN TO STOCKHOLM HAZLEWOOD, LEE - FOR A DAY LIKE TODAY HAZLEWOOD, LEE - EASY AND ME HAZLEWOOD, LEE - WHAT'S MORE I DON'T NEED HER HAZLEWOOD, LEE - VEM KAN SEGLA (I CAN SAIL WITHOUT THE WIND) HAZLEWOOD, LEE - ME AND THE WINE AND THE CITY LIGHTS HAZLEWOOD, LEE - EASY AND ME (ALTERNATE VERSION) HAZLEWOOD, LEE - PRAY THEM BARS AWAY (ALTERNATE VERSION)   Description Description

At the turn of the '60s, Lee Hazlewood decided to leave America for Sweden. He had already spent time in the country, appearing as an actor in two television productions, so his decision wasn't completely out of the blue -- especially since he had become close with the Swedish artist/filmmaker Torbjörn Axelman. The year that he arrived in Sweden, he starred in Axelman's television production Cowboy in Sweden and cut an album of the same name. Judging by the album alone, the film must have been exceedingly surreal, since the record exists in its own space and time. At its core, it's a collection of country and cowboy tunes, much like the work he did with Nancy Sinatra, but the production is cinematic and psychedelic, creating a druggy, discombobulated sound like no other. This is mind-altering music -- the combination of country song structures, Hazlewood's deep baritone, the sweet voices of Nina Lizell and Suzi Jane Hokom, rolling acoustic guitars, ominous strings, harpsichords and flutes, eerie pianos, and endless echo is stranger than outright avant-garde music, since the familiar is undone by unexpected arrangements. Though the songs are all well-written, Cowboy in Sweden is ultimately about the sound and mood it evokes -- and it's quite singular in that regard. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Contributors Artist: Lee Hazlewood Record Label: Light in the Attic Records