Cake or Death (Lee Hazlewood album)

Cake or Death is the final studio album by Lee Hazlewood, released in 2006.[3] The title of the album is a reference to a stand-up comedy routine by the British comedian Eddie Izzard, of whom Hazlewood was a fan.[4]

Cake or Death
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 27, 2006 (2006-11-27)[1]
GenrePop[2]
Length40:36
LabelBPX1992
ProducerLee Hazlewood, Richard Barron, Al Casey, Duane Eddy, Lasse Samuelsson, Jeane Kelley-Hazlewood
Lee Hazlewood chronology
For Every Solution There's a Problem
(2002)
Cake or Death
(2006)

Personnel

For his final album, Hazlewood opted to work with lower-profile performers rather than his usual roster of collaborators such as Nancy Sinatra or Ann-Margret. "Please Come to Boston" features Swedish singer Ann-Kristin Hedmark. "She's Gonna Break Some Heart Tonight" was performed solely by Hazlewood's friend Tommy Parsons, with Hazlewood introducing Parsons at the beginning of the track.[5] “The First Song of the Day” was written by German musician Dirk Felsenheimer, better known by his stage name Bela B. The track was also featured on Bela B's album Bingo as “Lee Hazlewood & das erste Lied des Tages.”[6] Finally, Hazlewood includes a new version of "Some Velvet Morning", sung with his granddaughter Phaedra Dawn Stewart (whose namesake is prominently mentioned in the song).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[2]
The Guardian[7]
Pitchfork7.7/10[3]

Stephen Troussé of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.7 out of 10, saying: "sobriety has never been Hazlewood's style, and Cake or Death is as daffy, cornball and absurdly touching as anything he's put his name to over the last half century."[3] John Bush of AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, saying: "In sound and execution, Cake or Death is a modern-day roots rock record (with the polished touch of Nashville), and Hazlewood's studio team finds no trouble moving from loping (Western) swing to red-hot rock & roll."[1]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Nothing"Lee Hazlewood, Claudia StülpnerLee Hazlewood, Claudia Stülpner3:09
2."Baghdad Knights"HazlewoodHazlewood3:34
3."Please Come to Boston"Dave LogginsDave Loggins4:28
4."She's Gonna Break Some Heart Tonight"HazlewoodHazlewood, Tommy Parsons3:09
5."Sacrifice"HazlewoodHazlewood, Parsons2:36
6."Fred Freud"HazlewoodHazlewood3:01
7."The First Song of the Day"Dirk FelsenheimerClaus Quidde, Michael O'Ryan3:14
8."It's Nothing to Me"Pat PatersonPat Paterson3:35
9."Anthem"HazlewoodHazlewood2:26
10."White People Thing"HazlewoodAl Casey1:50
11."Boots" (Original melody)HazlewoodHazlewood5:07
12."Some Velvet Morning"HazlewoodHazlewood1:35
13."T.O.M. (The Old Man)"HazlewoodCasey2:52

References

  1. Bush, John. "Cake or Death - Lee Hazlewood". AllMusic. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  2. Spier, Ben (January 19, 2007). "Cake or Death". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  3. Troussé, Stephen (December 6, 2006). "Lee Hazlewood: Cake or Death". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  4. Cromelin, Richard (January 21, 2007). "Lee Hazlewood, talkin' before it's sundown". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  5. "Lee Hazlewood, talkin' before it's sundown". Los Angeles Times. 2007-01-21. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  6. Pilz, Michael (2006-12-11). "Lee Hazlewood singt mit Bela B." DIE WELT. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  7. Lynskey, Dorian (December 1, 2006). "Lee Hazlewood, Cake or Death". The Guardian. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
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