Lee Hazlewood released his debut album Trouble Is A Lonesome Town in 1963, and while rife with crafty storytelling and a kitsch sensibility, the record was largely forgotten to the wider world.
Hazelwood went on to work with guitarist Duane Eddy and Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s, and made a name for himself writing pop singles ‘Sugar Town” and ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ for Sinatra.
Now a cult favourite, Trouble found a fan in musician and producer Charles Normal and after signing with independent label Side One Dummy, Normal brought together the self-described “audioarchiological” project Thriftstore Masterpiece to reincarnate Hazlewood’s original works.
Normal’s star-studded friends, who include long-time collaborator Frank Black of The Pixies, Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, Pete Yorn and members of Art Brut and the Dandy Warhols, have brought life to the fictional outlaw town in Hazelwood’s mind, bringing a more upbeat and fuller composition than the 1963 version.
This is evident on ‘Son Of A Gun’, which sees Black’s own eight-year-old son singing alongside his father in a jaunt about a youngster paying the price for his father’s misgivings.
It becomes increasingly clear while listening to this incarnation of Trouble that all those involved here are simply having a glorious time revisiting Hazlewood’s outlaw characters. The complete work is a little silly, a little corny, but all in good fun for Normal and co, who really seem like they’re having the time of their lives revisiting these forgotten gems.
Trouble Is A Lonesome Town is certainly fun, and it bleeds a sort of Americana sensibility. The soundscapes are perfect, capturing that hot, summery blues vibe of an early 1950s country town.
Though you might find yourself smirking at the ridiculously odd storytelling, this ramshackle collection of tracks becomes a small novella on the type of people you’ll meet in Lonesome Town, and above all else, it’s a charming mish-mash of guitars, horns and corny delivery.
