Nancy Sinatra Greatest Hits

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edited June 2011 in Spurious Generalities
Album Review: Nancy Sinatra Greatest Hits

When you talk about under-appreciated female artists Nancy Sinatra has to come up. Maybe she was just overshadowed by her father, but she seems to have vanished from the publics attention. I for one am a huge fan of Nancy and so I will be reviewing her greatest hits CD.

Does it really have to start with her most cliche song? These Boots Are Made For Walking may be what she is known best for, but I could stand to only hear it now and then. Maybe I'm still just reminded of my annoyance with the Jessica Simpson version. It's a good song and it arguably brought her into the national spotlight back in the 1960's so I can live with it.

And now with Summer Wine Lee Hazelwood is brought into the equation. He and Nancy did some serious collaboration and most of Nancy's best work is with him or related in some way. In fact Lee wrote Boots and he sings his own version of it. Summer Wine sure isn't their best work, but it is good. It feels mysterious with a secret agent vibe which of course brings up an upcoming song on the CD. What many people don't know though is that Nancy was in a movie titled The Last of The Secret Agents - a comedy making fun of secret agent movies - not successful.

Dean Martin, one of her father's friends, comes in with "Things". I like the song, but how "a walk in the park" or "a kiss in the dark" can be considered a "thing" bothers me. Obviously it's intended to be romantic. Lee Hazlewood is back already as he pairs with Nancy in "Did You Ever". It's a very suggestive song and is basically about cheating on your partner, controversial. Friday's Child is one of Nancy's few solo songs. Sadly it isn't very good and it is a bit depressing. I don't think Nancy actually feels the way she presents herself in the song.

You Only Live Twice, my favorite 007 movie simply because of the title music. I love the way everything is phrased. An enchanting song it is. Highway Song is forgettable. Now is where it picks up. Elusive Dreams is a classic song and Nancy and Lee nail it better than anybody. It makes you think - are all these things that we do really worth anything? Storybook Children is another song that is only so-so. Sugar Town though takes me on a trip every time. It's so angelic and sweet, it makes me happy to be alive and visit such a place with Nancy.

Nancy's father shouldn't even need introduction. Something Stupid ft. Frank Sinatra is incredible. When you think of a father and his daughter singing the lyrics it's hinky, but it's easy to look the other way. Another Hazlewood collaboration comes with Jackson. Jackson is another one of those songs that every country duet seems to cover. Nancy's version is very good, but I can't say it's the best for sure. Track 13 and 14 "sand" and "sundown" are a couple more flops that I don't know why they put on this CD. Of course they are listenable, but how many times until they drive you mad? This next song seems to be a staple of late night talk shows Some Velvet Morning is very eerie and ambiguous. What the hell it means we will probably never know.

You might as well press stop now or eject because I've been Down So Long, Tony Rome, How Does That Grab You, Lady Bird, and So Long Babe are not much to listen too.

I don't mean to sound harsh reviewing this CD, but it could be so much better. If I were to make my own greatest hits I would trim out all the fat. I would replace all the mediocre songs with Let Me Kiss You, Good Time Girl, I love Them All, Put Your Head on My Shoulder, and End of the World. I might also put her RC cola ad on as a bonus track, now that would be a 10/10.

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