Boots – NANCY SINATRA****

As Tears Go By/Day Tripper/I Move Around/It Ain’t Me Babe/These Boots Are Made For Walkin’/In My Room/ Lies/So Long Babe/Flowers On The Wall/If He’d Love Me/Run For Your Life

Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank, enjoyed a mega hit with These Boots Are Made For Walkin' which topped both the American and British singles charts. The accompanying album Boots would be her most commercially successful. (US:5 UK:11)

"These Boots Are Made For Walkin', with its sinister descending bass run, made Nancy Sinatra an instant icon of cool. Along with her signature tune she essays several songs by her Svengali Lee Hazlewood, as well as a bunch of then current hits, common practice at the time. Boots is a quintessential '60s time capsule."

"Nancy's first album was centred around her big hit. I guess Lee was a little short on material, because over half the album included covers of other people's hits. Artists covered include The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Knickerbockers and The Statler Brothers. The covers are actually pretty fun, thanks to interesting arrangements by Hazlewood."

"This album is a pop masterpiece that is totally evocative of its era. It could only have been recorded in 1966. It's a wondrous mishmash of musical currents: lounge, bossa nova, bright Memphis horns, David Rose-style bump-and-grind, easy listening choruses, catchy bumblegum pop, and bold Vegas show-stopping. And it all works. Lee Hazlewood, who produced the album, was a genius with a finely tuned ear for commercial music. He crafted Nancy's wholly fabricated tough-chick image to ride on top of his brilliant arrangements. This is one of the most listenable 60s albums."

"Here's a special piece of the sixties - starting with the delicious ridiculous cover shot. The tunes sound just like NS looks. Not every track works - there's obvious haste and filler - but the ones that do click are about the best kitten-with-a-whip kitsch ever made."

"Nancy's first album, Boots, doesn't appear all that promising. But producer Lee Hazlewood told her to drop her voice from her school-choir soprano to whisky tinged alto that ignited rivers of testosterone. It was the Hazlewood songs that gave Nancy the musky scent of mystery that she would be remembered for. The stuff she did with producer/singer Lee Hazlewood is pop at its very best."