Remakes of Dickey Lee’s hit singles and songs
It’s hard to imagine that in 2011, a time in which everything ever recorded seems to be available in digital form, there are still hit recordings yet to be reissued. But such is the case for singer/songwriter Dickey Lee, whose hit singles on the pop and country charts have yet to be reissued in proper form. You can find his biggest pop hit, “Patches,†if you look hard enough (try here), but his chart-topping country hit “Rocky†(along with twenty-six other rarities) can only be found on the provenance-free Greatest Hits Collection. Given his success as both a recording artist (who began his career recording for no less than Sun) and songwriter, one can only assume his recordings are tied up in a maze of lost contracts and competing intellectual property claims.
Varese’s collection doesn’t solve the problem of Lee’s original recordings, as these tracks are re-recordings made within the past decade. The arrangements are kept simple, but the clean production and modern keyboards and drums distract from the period songwriting style. Lee’s voice retains the boyishness of his younger years, and without the original singles easily available, this is at least a good reminder of what’s in the vault. “Patches†retains the morose triple-shot of classism, prejudice and teen tragedy, and the follow-up “Laurie (Strange Things Happen),†is still one of the spookier stories to crack the Top 40. Lee was so adept at singing bitter-sweet songs that he topped the country chart with Jay Stevens’ “Rocky†the same year Austin Roberts took it up the pop chart.
It’s interesting to hear Lee sing the hits he wrote for others, including George Jones’ “She Thinks I Still Care,†Reba McEntire’s “You’re the First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving,†George Strait’s “Let’s Fall to Pieces Together,†John Schneider’s “I’ve Been Around Long Enough to Know,†Charley Pride’s “I’ll Be Leaving Alone†and the the oft-covered “Never Ending Song of Love.†But like many albums of remakes, the arrangements compress decades of performing and songwriting into a singular sound that likewise compresses the artist’s story. It’s great to hear Lee in good voice, but what fans really need is for Bear Family to wake up from its hibernation and clear the original recordings for reissue! [©2011 hyperbolium dot com] 