Shazam! and Other Instrumentals Written by Lee Hazlewood
24 tracks. Shazam! features two dozen vocal-free (give or take the occasional rebel yell etc) nuggets written by the great Lee Hazlewood. Star of the show is twang master Duane Eddy with three great tracks: the title number, the menacing 'Stalkin' and 'This Town', a lesser-known 45 from Hazlewood's stint writing and producing gems for Nancy Sinatra and others at Reprise Records. Other key artists include guitar wiz Al Casey, top Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine, renowned arranger,orchestra leader Jack Nitzsche and ace surf combo the Astronauts, not forgetting Dick Dale with his axe-shredding version of 'Angry Generation'. The most interesting and enjoyable tracks are the final two additives - neither of which rightly belong on this CD - a weird and almost creepy take on 'Some Velvet Morning' (24) and, preceding it, a demo instrumental of 'These Boots' by long-time collaborator Billy Strange which sounds like it could be an outtake from the self-same sessions that produced Nancy Sinatra's million-selling hit, although that is not acknowledged in the booklet so I could be wrong. BTW - The Residents did a wonderfully mutated version of this in their early days and Track 20, 'Zapata' (1964) by Jack Nitzsche is no relation to John Barry's seductive 'Zapata' from three years earlier. You've probably gotten an idea of what this album is all about. If you're into instrumentals from that classic period when they were all the thing, and you couldn't turn on the (AM) radio without hearing this type of music, this is for you.
Tracklist:
1. Duane Eddy – Shazam!
2. Al Casey – The Stinger
3. Duane Eddy – Stalkin'
4. Tony Castle And The Raiders – Salty
5. Al Casey – Surfs You Right
6. The Astronauts – Movin'
7. Hal Blaine & The Young Cougars – Challenger II
8. Jack Nitzsche – Baja
9. The Rhythm Rockers – Moovin' N' Groovin'
10. The Ventures – Rebel-'Rouse
11. The Lively Ones – (Dance With The) Guitar Man
12. The Astronauts – El Aguila (The Eagle)
13. Hal Blaine & The Young Cougars – The Phantom Driver
14. The Astronauts – The Hearse
15. Dick Dale & His Del-Tones – Angry Generation
16. Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks – Muchacho
17. The Challengers – Johnny October
18. Dino, Desi & Billy – Desi's Drums
19. Duane Eddy – This Town
20. Jack Nitzsche – Zapata
21. The Vanguards – A Stranger In Your Town
22. The Whisk Kids – Bo-Dacious
23. Billy Strange – These Boots Are Made For Walking
24. The Afro Blues Quintet – Some Velvet Morning
