Search - Nancy Sinatra :: Hit Years

Lightning's Girl Delivers the Goods

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 07/17/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to believe this former sex-kitten turned sixty this year. For two years (1966-1968) Nancy Sinatra placed ten songs in the Top 40 and they're all here. This is a chronological collection beginning with her first Hot 100 single "So Long, Babe" (1965) to her last failed single "Hook and Ladder" (1970) written by Norman "Spirit in the Sky" Greenbaum. There are the solo hits like the million-sellers "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and "Sugar Town." The duet with daddy Frank, "Somethin' Stupid," which also sold a million copies and topped the charts for four weeks. [And keep in mind this was 1967--the height of the psychedelic era!] Also included are her three hits with Lee Hazelwood, who also wrote all of her hits except "Somethin' Stupid." It's easy to shrug off Nancy's success as little more than a result of her show biz connections, but it takes more than a famous father and a pretty face. She had a terrific voice, a great songwriter in Hazelwood, and some of the best session players of the day--Glen Campbell, James Burton, Hal Blaine, Jim Gordon, Larry Knechtel, Leon Russell. It was a winning combination, and these songs still brim with enthusiasm and excitement more than thirty years later. RECOMMENDED"

Great introduction to Nancy's many styles

J. B Brent | Oak Ridge, Tennessee USA | 05/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc demonstrates Nancy Sinatra's facility with many types of music. "Boots," "How Does that Grab You" and "Jackson" are country-rock. For a softer, atmospheric sound there's "Some Velvet Morning," "Sugar Town" and "Summer Wine." Although the lyrics don't make much sense, somehow it doesn't matter. That's part of the charm. And "You Only Live Twice" is my favorite James Bond film theme, hands down. Nancy gets top notch assistance from Lee Hazelwood, Frank Sinatra, Billy Strange, and some famous session players, including Leon Russell, James Burton, Carol Kaye, Glen Campbell and Hal Blaine. My advice: buy this CD first. Then seek out original vinyl copies of her albums from the 60s. By the way, the notes say Nancy took several years off while her kids were growing up. Perhaps she'll find a new label and record again, now that interest in her vintage work is at a high point."

These songs are made for listenin' by Nancy Sinatra fans

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 10/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When my father was stationed in Japan in the late Sixties we joined him well before all of our belongings. With a new home and a new school in a new country, the only sense of place was Armed Forces radio. Every time "Some Velvet Morning" played I would feel better. To this day, listening to Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood sing that song takes me back to that time and how I felt. My father made tapes of all of Nancy's albums but they are long gone. Fortunately, "The Hit Years" makes them unnecessary. This is one of the better collections put together by the folks down at Rhino, who have been out there getting our more eclectic youthful memories transferred to CD for quite some time.Basically all you need to know is that your favorite Nancy Sinatra song is on this album along with the rest of her hits and probably one or two songs that might be new to you but that you may well enjoy. "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," "The Last of the Secret Agents," "Sugar Town," and "You Only Live Twice," are included. In addition to "Some Velvet Morning" there are three other duets with Lee Hazelwood, "Summer Wine," "Jackson" and "Lady Bird." Of course, there is also "Somethin' Stupid," sung with daddy (in only two takes). The liner notes are above average, as you have come to expect with Rhino, and there is even the obligatory shot of Nancy in white go-go boots. I think these songs hold up a lot better than a lot of the other stuff I listened to back then in Japan, as does Nancy herself as we all found out a few years ago."