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 Sinatra's mid-'60s picks, with many of these being collaborations with
Lee Hazlewood. Nine of the cuts bear
Hazlewood's 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 it's 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
Sinatra's 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 Hollywood's 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