The Shacklefords - Shacklefords Sing (CD)

All Music Guide

Named after Naomi Shackleford, former wife of Lee Hazlewood, this phenomenon probably should be filed under forgotten enigmas of the '60s. The comic strip on the album cover of The Shacklefords Sing tries to help the listener out by explaining that the Shacklefords consist of three men and a girl, they like to be perceived as a sound rather than a singing group, and they don't want listeners to confuse them with Norwegian fjords. Whether this record got any further publicity at the time, the image problem must have caused some record company employee a splitting headache. the Shacklefords seem much like an Art of Noise avant la lettre. Much like these '80s sound experimentalists, there's a mystifying aura regarding the exact lineup of the band. Most likely the Shacklefords would have remained carefully hidden in their oblivious state if it hadn't been for the renewed appreciation of none other than producer, singer/songwriter, and entrepreneur Hazlewood during the late '90s. The short-...lived Shacklefords sound -- after two albums, nothing was heard from them again -- was invented by an associate of Hazlewood, Marty Cooper, who wrote or co-wrote the larger part of the songs and dominates the lead vocals, which is why neither of the two Shackleford albums should be mistaken for a Hazlewood solo record. Although fitting them somewhere in his ever-shifting career would hardly be problematic, ultimately Hazlewood's involvement shouldn't be the sole reason for catching up with the puzzling Shacklefords project. First of all, the way they sound does have a thing or two in common with other vocal groups -- for instance, Johnny Cash's performances with the Carter Family or the Statler Brothers. The vocal acrobatics in the Cash classic "Five Feet High and Risin'" are highly entertaining, and so is a similar take on Hazlewood's "The City Never Sleeps." Second, there is the apparent variety of arrangements, which venture from modest backing to the occasional sound bursts of electric guitar ("Let the Good Times Roll") and incoming horn and string sections. Third and last, listeners will be quite surprised to discover that the Marty Cooper-penned lyric to the desperate "Mansion of Tears" ("With a doorway made of heartache/And a pain in every room/With teardrops in the hallway as you wander in your room") is more than an equal to Hazlewood's own "Muddy Muddy River." These "adventures in song with Capitol's super singing group," as the liner notes read, thankfully offer more than just another rarity for Hazlewood addicts. In other respects, too, the marvelous Shackleford sound is a treat for collectors of the unknown and the underappreciated. - Quint Kik, All Music Guide Read more Less