By: David Schultz

After being diagnosed with lung cancer, Warren Zevon set to work creating one last album. With The Wind, Zevon took one last inspirational curtain call before his death in 2003, even offering a poignant yet whimsical cover of "Knockin' On Heavens Door." In response to being diagnosed with terminal renal cancer, singer/songwriter/producer Lee Hazlewood utilizes a similar sense of perspective and humor on his latest and final album Cake Or Death. Best known as the songwriter behind Nancy Sinatra's most famous hits, Hazlewood also had an influential career as a singer, releasing the majority of his albums in the 60s and 70s.

On Cake Or Death, Hazlewood approaches his final bow with dignity and grizzled wit. The uncomplicated music runs the gamut of country-blues to cabaret to orchestral. Befitting an album that takes its name from Eddie Izzard's routine involving the unlikelihood of a Church of England Inquisition, Hazlewood keeps the mood rather light. On "Fred Freud," he cures psychosis with classical music and in a Southern drawl dissertates on what constitutes a "White People Thing." His cracked baritone occasionally slipping into a redneck growl, Hazlewood looks backward, returning the original melody of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," and working once again with Duane Eddy. Known for crafting exceptional songs, Hazlewood's last album not only has some bluesy riffs ("Baghdad Nights") and surf rock rolls ("The First Song Of The Day") but also features some lovely melodies ("Please Come To Boston"). In singing about "the old man ready to go" on Cake Or Death's final track, "T.O.M. (The Old Man)," Hazlewood caps off his swan song with a simple but effective final epitaph.

Labels: Lee Hazlewood