HOWE GELB The Listener (Thrill Jockey) Rating: NNNN Rating: NNNN
For the Listener, Giant Sandman Howe Gelb tries on the role of Arizona anti-hero Lee Hazlewood, sequesters himself in a secluded Scandinavian recording studio with some of the natives to record an off-kilter song cycle revolving around typical Hazlewoodian themes of being out of place and out of time, and sets it all to a desert-damaged rumba — with strings. In keeping true to the desired something-ain’t-right ambience, various Danish femme fatales sing duet parts in appropriately incongruous fashion. Lee wouldn’t get it, but Hazlewood fans will find The Listener completely enthralling.
