How do these attract you, my dear? Nancy Sinatra’s Top 20 Songs – Ranked! | Nancy Sinatra

20. The last secret agents? (1966)

Before she sang a Bond score, Nancy Sinatra recorded a parody of one of her own: twangy guitar, brass mocking John Barry, and all. The brilliant lyrics – “Never caught a spy I’m told / Never caught a cold” – meant the preposterous new recordings of the mid-1960s were no better.

19. Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time (2004)

Sinatra’s eponymous 2004 album gained attention for Morrissey’s participation, but “Let Me Kiss You” sounds blatantly strange as she sings it. A version of Jarvis Cocker’s song “Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time” suits Sinatra best, the gritty sound of these shoes made for older, wiser walkers, while offering relationship advice that turns him on.

18. Life’s a Suspicious Thing (1971)

When it comes to Sinatra’s duet with Dad, “Somethin’ Stupid” gets all the plaudits, but this bizarre slice of cod-swinging whimsy—presumably meant to suggest that Frank Sinatra had a passing acquaintance with the counterculture—is far more interesting, not least because of his voice singing: “Hello, birds! Hello, spring!”

17. I’ve Been Down So Long (It Seems Up to Me) (1968)

There are, basically, two types of duet between Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood: the strangely sexy one; And the one in which Hazlewood plays the loser and Sinatra his long-suffering accomplice. Been Down So Long is a great spin on the second set. Sinatra lists Hazlewood’s problems. agree; agree; She then reveals herself as their source, offering a wonderfully sarcastic consolation: “Poor Lee.”

16. Strange Love (1976)

Sinatra was always great at teasing but in cheek. It struggled commercially in the 1970s – a 1960s icon trying to find its footing in a different decade – but Kinky Love was unfairly overlooked. A gorgeous cover from 1991 by shoemakers Pale Saints has unexpectedly enjoyed a wave of TikTok virality in the 21st century.

15. Lightning Girl (1967)

A distant relative, in emotional terms, of the Angels’ girl band classic My Boyfriend’s Back, Lightning’s Girl recasts the wise-cracking swagger of these shoes in more dramatic surroundings: distorted garage rock bass, ominous bass drum, bursts of psychedelic strings, and Sinatra muttering menacingly sideways.

14. Down From Dover (1972)

Dolly Parton’s saga of single motherhood really works as a duet between Nancy and Lee. The story is completely different: Hazlewood, who plays the child’s father, insists that he is trying to do the right thing, but his voice is too vague for the listener to believe. Meanwhile, Sinatra is full of obsessions. It doesn’t end well.

13. The Drummer (1969)

Drummer Man wasn’t a hit, but it should have been. With lyrics about the drudgery of life as a musician’s wife, it has an unexpectedly funky backing that carries a faint hint of Donovan’s last song with Jeff Beck, Barabajagal (Love Is Hot) – it’s a wonder the rhythm track never became a sampling staple.

12. How does this attract you, my dear? (1966)

On the one hand, this was a cowardly attempt to follow these bootstraps with more of the same: similar beat, similar hook, similar brass arrangement. On the other hand, Sinatra gives it all and her performance is great: “You smart cat, you!” Who can resist?

11. Jackson (1967)

It takes chutzpah to perform a duet months after Johnny Cash and June Carter had a hit with it, but Nancy and Lee’s version of Jackson’s epic marital discord ups the camp quotient to great effect. Hazlewood’s acerbic delivery suggests he knows it Things are going to go badly, despite his protests.

10. So Long, Darling (1966)

The first Sinatra single Hazlewood wrote was not a hit, but it was a significant improvement over the weak Bubblegum that she had spent the previous five years recording. It was more modern – with a hint of folk rock in his sound – and tougher. He leaves, she doesn’t seem bothered; To be honest, it feels like a burden.

9. I Move (1966)

Sinatra’s albums are a mixed bag in terms of quality, but there is the occasional gem. Since her debut, Boots, Hazlewood’s I Movearound offers an engaging travel story – Zanzibar! Paris! Singapore! London! – emphasized sadly, and inspired by a broken heart: “Since I saw you with her – yes, I move.”

8. Friday’s Child (1967)

A bit of a curveball after these salty but fun shoes and how does that appeal to you, Darlene? Friday’s Child delivered emotionally charged melodrama, raw vocals, blues-style guitar, powerful strings, and utter lyrical desperation. Bad luck is her brother! Her sister is miserable!

7. Sands (1966)

From her second album, How Does This Attract You?, the first duet of Nancy and Lee presented a different Sinatra: less brash, more enigmatic (“Taste these lips, sir, if you can”) always able to turn Hazelwood’s tough itinerant man into a lust-filled wreck. It’s also brilliantly arranged: shimmering Autoharp, reverse guitar.

6. Sunset, Sunset (1968)

You feel Lee’s touch more than Nancy’s, but she gets the song’s best moment — the staccato verse: “Come on, come on, come on, come to me” at the end of the chorus. and What The melody is: atmospheric, exciting, emotionally intense; An epic condensed in 162 seconds.

5. Sugar Town (1966)

Hazlewood, a mischief-maker, was not a drug user, but he nonetheless wrote a song about the joys of LSD, gave the song to Frank Sinatra’s daughter — an unlikely acid renegade — and then watched it reach No. 1 on the easy listening chart. One suspects this was more due to the upbeat tone than Sugar Town sentiment.

4. You Only Live Twice (1967)

Sinatra was a distinct departure from the style of previous Bond theme singers, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey. She was lucky enough to get hold of one of Bond’s best themes, and was also clever enough to re-record the solo version in a noticeably more modern style, with Hazlewood producing and Billy Strange arranging.

3. Summer Wine (1966)

Confusingly relegated to the B-side, this is the perfect duet for Nancy and Lee. It’s dramatic, slightly hallucinatory, blessed with a great melody, and involves a mysterious traveler and an even more mysterious femme fatale. This time, she stole it blind, but – of course – he would gladly come back for more. amazing.

2. These Boots Are Made for Walking (1965)

Why did these shoes finally turn Sinatra into a star? It’s a killer song, wonderfully produced, and falls somewhere between garage-like folk rock, the tougher end of the girl group spectrum and easy listening. But, in the end, this is her performance: she sings it as if it’s the song she’s been waiting for, which of course it was.

1. Some Velvet Mornings (1967)

As anyone familiar with his solo works knows, Hazlewood was a naturally strange writer. Some Velvet Morning was the moment in Sinatra’s career when he unleashed his eccentricity in full. No one, including its author, has come up with a convincing explanation for what it’s about, or who Sinatra’s character, Phaedra, is meant to be. Ethereal spirit? Alluring virgin hippie? Something more sinister? Beyond its mystical qualities, its enduring appeal is that it is a stunning song: beautiful yet unsettling, exquisitely arranged, with a shifting time signature. Whatever the role, Sinatra plays it perfectly.