Tony Hazzard - The Hallicombe Sessions

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 10 / 4 / 2016

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Imagine a world where we could buy every album that we felt we needed to own, for whatever reason. Back in 1969 hit songwriter Tony Hazzard released an album imaginatively titled ‘Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard’ which I so wanted to buy but, I guess, funds didn’t stretch that far. Hazzard, at that time, had written more than a few brilliant pop songs, typical of that era. Although maybe one of the most famous was ‘Ha! Ha! Said The Clown’ by Manfred Mann, my credibility at the time would force me to state that I preferred the Yardbirds' version (actually I still do), but really that song was far from the best that Hazzard had written. The Yardbirds' version of ‘Goodnight Sweet Josephine’ was more like it, and if Hazzard had to be defined by one of his more poppier efforts then ‘You Won’t Be Leaving’, made famous by Herman’s Hermits, or the Manfred’s ‘Fox on the Run’ were better examples of his work. That 1969 album was, if memory serves me right, a selection of Hazzard’s demos, including all of the above titles, buffed and shined up to show what the songwriter could do with his own work. It wasn’t until the Rev-Ola CD reissue in 2007 that these eager hands were wrapped around a copy and a pleasant and worthy purchase it turned out to be. It didn’t just bring back memories. The songs, especially in the owner's hands, had stood the test of time extremely well. Hazzard, although releasing further albums under his name in the seventies, including one with Richard Barnes and adding backing vocals to a couple of early 70s' Elton John albums, went unnoticed by many who had enjoyed his 60's work so much. It wasn’t just the above named who took advantage of his songwriting skills. The Tremeloes, Andy Williams, Lulu and Sir Cliff all recorded his songs and there were many more too. In 1981 Hazzard took a sabbatical from writing for some twenty-five years. While he kept busy with other, worthy projects it wasn’t until 2011 and the release of ‘Songs from the Lynher’ that new music was forthcoming. Sadly for many of his 60's fans Hazzard’s return went unnoticed. Now he’s back and this time maybe, apart from the word getting out to those who appreciated just how important Hazzard was to British pop back in the 60s and 70s, he will gain a lot more followers because ‘The Hallicombe Sessions’ is more than a former successful singer-songwriter hoping to regain a little glory. It’s a fine, contemporary set of songs set firmly in the classic singer-songwriter mould of voice and acoustic instruments. A chance meeting with Matt Harding from Utah, USA led to a friendship and the seeds of ‘The Hallicombe Sessions’ were planted. Harding spent ten days with Hazzard in Cornwall recording both new and old songs. The idea was to keep it raw, and pared-down with little or no overdubs and if any flaws were apparent, well that would just add to the honesty of the recordings and keep it real. Hazzard takes the vocals and plays acoustic guitar and ukulele; Harding adds mandolin and bass as well as acoustic guitar while both artists handle the percussion. Cat Leonard adds backing vocals to ‘The Spice Trader’. The album opens with ‘The Spice Trader’ and the finger-picking style of playing immediately creates a mysterious, atmospheric scene. Then Hazzard shows that he’s one of those singers whose voice has aged well. Given that he’s no longer, it seems, rolling out the catchy two-minute pop songs which initially made his name, it’s a voice that fits these new songs like a glove. ‘The Spice Trader’ is a murder ballad of sorts, Cat Leonard’s haunting vocals add a chilling edge to the song and Hazzard’s world-weary vocals suit this story-song perfectly. It’s a world away from ‘Fox on the Run’ for sure. ‘Loving on the Run’ is an older song, not written for this project but updated with a couple of new verses. This time Hazzard uses the finger-picking style on the ukulele. There’s a beautiful instrumental break and Hazzard’s vocals really impress here. The sparseness of the backing really highlights how the passing years have added a warm patina to Hazzard’s vocals. ‘Journey’s End’ is another song resurrected from Hazzard’s back catalogue, this time from the album he made with Richard Barnes in 1976 but again there’s little in the performance to date the song. It sounds more contemporary now than it ever did, recalling a musician’s journey. The title of ‘Angela Finkleman’s Eyes’ implies that it could have been one of Hazzard’s 60's compositions and the song, if given a fuller performance, recalls Hazzard's work of that period. It is hardly surprising considering it’s an affectionate look back to a childhood crush and no doubt there’s truth in some of those lyrics. This song is maybe the only time during ‘The Hallicombe Sessions’ where the listener longs for Hazzard to ditch this new direction and just for old times sake cut a band version of this song. It is proof, however, that Hazzard hasn’t abandoned his past musical achievements and can still pen catchy pop songs when the mood strikes. ‘She’s Not You’ is the real thing; a song that Hazzard actually wrote in the mid-sixties and demoed but which never went any further. The strange thing is that this song although some five decades old seems to have been written for this project. Unlike ‘Angela Finkleman’s Eyes’, it’s difficult to imagine this song performed in any setting than this stripped-back form. It shows Hazzard’s pop chops for sure, but despite the pretty melody it feels such a part of this project it’s hard to believe the song was written in such different times. ‘Seventy Not Out’ is simply brilliant. Possibly the most positive song ever written about growing older, it gives notice that Hazzard is far from past his best and that’s there more than a little life left in him both psychically and musically. ‘I’ll Be Still in Love With You’ is another track from the ‘Hazzard & Barnes’ album given the stripped-back treatment while the closing song, ‘Another Day For Me’ is one of the newest songs on this collection and finds Hazzard looking back once again but ends the album on a positive note. ‘The Hallicombe Sessions’, although comprising both old and new songs, ultimately sounds like a project that was written during the same period of the artist’s life, especially with the songs where Hazzard is reflecting on his past, rather than a mixture of new and admittedly radical re-workings of older tunes. As a whole, it works surprisingly well and is an album both Hazzard and Harding should feel proud about. We can only hope that Hazzard finds time now to make a follow-up and that ‘The Hallicombe Sessions’ finds its place in the world and gains the attention one of our most gifted songwriters deserves.

Track Listing:-

1 The Spice Trader
2 Loving on the Run
3 Journey's End
4 Angela Finkleman's Eyes
5 Shipping Lanes
6 She's Not You
7 Old Wave
8 Seventy, Not Out
9 I'll Be Still in Love with You
10 Another Day for Me

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/TonyHazzardMusic/
http://www.tonyhazzard.com/
https://twitter.com/tonyhazzard
https://www.youtube.com/user/HazzardTony/videos

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