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 Sinatras mid-60s picks, with many of these being collaborations with Lee Hazlewood. Nine of the cuts bear Hazlewoods 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 its 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 Sinatras 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 Hollywoods 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine