Two recent reissues from female artists who began their careers in the 1960s reflect how their talent and longevity transcend their ’60s image and early musical persona.
First up is Nancy & Lee from Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood from Light in the Attic, part of the Nancy Sinatra Archival Series. The 1968 album is a collection of the “hits” of the two and the fourth in a series from the label featuring Sinatra, with two of the releases a collaboration with Hazlewood.
Nancy Sinatra is, of course, one of the two daughters of Frank Sinatra, from his first marriage. Hazlewood was a producer, songwriter, and vocalist who was somewhat in the mold of Phil Spector, Sonny Bono, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Webb, and Burt Bacharach. While he didn’t have the name recognition, hit success or longevity of any of those artists, he was a cult figure in ’60s pop whose musical stature continues to grow. He is most known for his work with Sinatra, and their hit “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” an iconic ’60s pop single with feminist lyrical undertones, that for all its brash, campy style, has become a timeless anthem.
Hazlewood’s production on this album mixes glossy pop, baroque folk-rock, and romantic loner cowboy country pop. It’s a somewhat unlikely mix, but it works. This production setting allowed Sinatra to shake off her ’60s sex kitten image and make serious sophisticated music with accessible hit potential. It also provided Hazlewood, with his limited vocal range, a chance to begin a career that stretched beyond his work with Sinatra.
Sinatra, however is the star of the show. Her ability to effectively move through a variety of styles here and handle each one effectively is a revelation. Unlike many female pop singers on the charts today, she never over-emotes or distracts with histrionics. The best of the best here, however is when Sinatra and Hazlewood duet, most notably on “Summer Wine.” Hazlewood’s shining vocal moment is “Some Velvet Morning.” This collection also adds two bonus tracks, a fascinating reading of the song from The Kinks, “Tired of Waiting,” and the much-recorded “Love is a Strange,” a perfect duo outing.
On top of all that, this is a perfectly executed reissue and one of the best single-album reissues of the year. The album is remastered from the original analog tapes, and the vinyl was pressed at RTI. The vinyl comes in an archival sleeve and the package features a gatefold jacket and an OBI. There is also a beautiful, 12-inch, 20-page booklet that includes extensive liner notes, black and white and color photos, a timeline, singles and album cover art, and an interview with Nancy Sinatra. It’s obvious that tremendous care went into the production of the entire package.
Sinatra and Hazlewood would work together again and while Lee Hazlewood died in 2007, Nancy Sinatra has continued working on a myriad of projects. She did a radio show on Sirius/XM on the Siriusly Sinatra channel, honorably preserving the legacy of her esteemed father’s work and providing valuable insights into the history and artists of the great American songbook. While the recording of new shows ended in March of 2021, her shows are still broadcast.
Marianne Faithfull is another artist from the 1960s who on the surface may have been viewed as one of the era’s sex kittens and who was often subjugated by her relationship with Mick Jagger. After making her way out of the ’60s barely alive after severe substance abuse, she also spent much of the 1970s in the same daze. After kicking drugs, she emerged during the new wave and post new wave era as a major musical artist and iconic survivor.
While her ’60s work moved from pop to folk-rock to art song, she found a home, and remerged on Island Records in 1979 with Broken English. Although still shaking off the ravages of substance abuse and initially not continuing on with a work as fulfilling as Broken English, she slowly built a catalog of tracks and albums that reflected her mature, rougher vocal style. While her songs were at times harrowing accounts of coming through the dark tunnel of addiction and the excesses of the late ’60s and early ’70s, she continually received accolades for her singular mature style and the raw truthful beauty of her work. That work continues to this day.
BMG recently reissued Vagabond Ways, one of her most accomplished albums and one that appeared in 1999 after her brilliant autobiography was published in 1994. The album works as an audio addendum and a companion to that book. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Mark Howard, the album included several Faithfull compositions and some choice covers.
There was also all-star musical support from the likes of Emmylou Harris, Brian Blade, and Roger Waters. One of the best covers on the album is of a song written by Waters in 1968, but never recorded by Pink Floyd, “Incarceration of a Flower Child,” supposedly about Syd Barrett, but sung by Faithfull as if it was about herself. She also covers Leonard Cohen’s “Tower of Song,” and rings every ounce of irony and humor out of one of the few songs here that provide a little light relief. Although released during the CD era, this album sounds great on the new 180-gram vinyl reissue.
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, Nancy & Lee
A
Marianne Faithfull, Vagabond Ways
B
