Nancy Sinatra - Start Walkin' 1965-1976
The subtitle of Start Walkin' 1965-1976 is a bit misleading, suggesting that this Light in the Attic compilation treats every year in that ensuing decade with an even hand. Most of the 23 tracks on this 2021 collection derive from Nancy Sinatra's mid-'60s picks, with many of these being collaborations with Lee Hazlewood. Nine of the cuts bear Hazlewood's credit as a co-performer and over half of the compilation consists of sides produced by Lee himself. This is fairly standard fare for a Nancy Sinatra collection, as they usually focus on her glory years of 1966 -- the year that opened with "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" on the rise -- and 1967, which closed with her last Top 40 hit, "Some Velvet Morning." What sets Start Walkin' 1965-1976 apart from earlier comps from Rhino and Raven is that it's not strictly a hits collection. "Somethin' Stupid," her number one duet with father Frank, is absent, as are such mid-range charting singles as "Love Eyes." Instead, Start Walkin' 1965-1976 focuses on the stranger numbers within Sinatra's catalog -- hazy, symphonic psych-pop written and produced by Hazlewood. In this context, the closing coda of oddities from the '70s -- the Lenny Waronker-produced "Hook and Ladder," the Mac Davis co-write "Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham" -- also feel like remnants of Hollywood's weirdest era, and they help make for a convincing portrait of Nancy Sinatra as an idiosyncratic artist happily working within the confines of L.A.'s lushest studios.
2xLP on Morning Sunrise Colored Vinyl
1 Bang Bang 2:41
2 these Boots Are Made for Walkin' 2:46
3 Sugar Town 2:24
4 So Long Babe 3:07
5 How Does That Grab You, Darlin'? 2:33
6 Friday's Child 2:29
7 You Only Live Twice 2:58
8 Summer Wine 3:44
9 Some Velvet Morning 3:40
10 Lightning's Girl 2:57
11 Sand 3:46
12 Lady Bird 3:04
13 Jackson 2:50
14 Happy 2:36
15 How Are Things in California? 2:33
16 Hook and Ladder 3:09
17 Hello L.A., Bye-Bye Birmingham 3:12
18 Paris Summer 2:59
19 Arkansas Coal (Suite) 5:39
20 Down From Dover 3:39
21 Kind of a Woman 3:03
22 Machine Gun Kelly 3:20
23 (L'été Indien) Indian Summer 3:24