 Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sinatra's 1995 release is definitely one of the best comeback albums ever released by a '60s megastar. That's not a huge compliment, as the competition consists of, like, Lesley Gore and Ricky Nelson re-recording their old hits. But anyway. The selection of songs is surprisingly strong, successfully conjuring the spirit of Nancy's tough-girl classics. The one drawback of the album is that it suffers from over-slick production values. I'm never sure why artists staging a comeback feel compelled to play it safe with a radio-friendly sound when there is almost never a chance that they will get played on the radio. Consequently, comeback albums routinely feature a few "potential singles" that are inevitably the weaker tracks, mainly because someone like Nancy Sinatra would not be likely to know what a "potential single" was in the 1990s. Hence "Crocodile Tears," "Roadblock," and (especially) "Bone Dry." But the majority of the CD is really satisfying, finding Nancy in a adult contemporary/neo-Nashville mold that suits her style very well (keep in mind, Country My Way was one of her great albums). Standouts include the ballads "Now I Have Everything," "I Didn't Wear White," and somehow "Nights in White Satin." Only Nancy Sinatra could cover a bonehead song like that and make it seem really good, really autobiographical (just like the old days, remember "Run For Your Life"?). Diehards may sour (or smile, I guess) realizing that this was released as a tie-in to Nancy's Playboy pictorial, but I say just listen to the music. She always said she'd be your "Good Time Girl." Anyway, I don't downgrade my Motley Crue albums now that I've seen Tommy Lee's penis.
Review by Sandy Newman |