Boogar

Overall Album Score: 6.8 out of 10

Poor Nancy Sinatra. She has to record all these old-timey jazz classics probably because her evil father was trying to force the death of rock 'n' roll with his telepathic powers. Or maybe she just wanted to record this album because she felt like it. Either one.

At any rate, that's all this album is worth. It's just a bunch of covers. Now, the original songs she covered are usually quite good --- a few classics even chosen from Irving Berlin. (And to get one thing clear, I never cared about jazz music, so many of these just sound 'familiar,' and I don't have the means to compare them to the original version.)

The instrumentation is strictly a mixed bag. On the one hand, they do everything by the book. Jazzy horn arrangements, ukulele, a shuffley drum beat --- all the elements are in their right places. The problem is that the instrumentation is overwhelmingly not inspired. It's so by-the-book that it's soulless. A few times, their by-the-book methods weren't done right. A few tracks just sound completely wrong. Furthermore, the instrumentation gets terribly annoying after awhile --- they don't vary it up much. The worst is their jazzy brass sections. They were done pretty well on "Sweet Georgia," but having to listen to them time after time (with no real virtuosos in the studio) is unnerving. They cut quite a lot of corners, and it shows. Poor Nancy didn't even seem like she rehearsed this much.

Now I do like Sinatra's voice, but 80-85 percent of the time, she comes off like a karaoke singer. These are not the type of songs she was suited to sing although she's certainly capable. All I need to prove my point is to listen to "Love Eyes," which is by far the best track of the album. It's original and it requires a husky singer with a lot of attitude (and composer Lee Hazlewood wrote it for her). It's so great that it glistens.

Well, they were definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel for this one. You can tell, because they had to use a picture of Nancy in a bikini pulling her panties down for the album cover. Sixty percent of the people who bought this probably just wanted the picture.

Overall Album Score: 6.8 out of 10 (Who wants to hear Nancy Sinatra sing butchered jazz classics? ....... Anyone?)

Average Song Score: 7.4 (Generally speaking, these are mediocre rendition of classic jazz tunes.)

Album Tilt: 6.5 (Severely demoted for saminess. Hazlewood compositions are fine but they don't fit.)

Artist Rating: 6.5 (Severely demoted because this was a complete toss-off.)

Track Reviews

Sweet Georgia Brown 8.5/10

The difficult thing about reviewing these tracks is that they're performed just like they should be --- if it were still the jazz era. The question is: Do you mind that it's recorded in the rock era? That's tough to guess... Well "Sweet Georgia" is a well-sung old timey song that seems to suit her attitude.

Vagabond Blues 8/10

This has a little more swing to it. The melody is solid, and the instrumentation is OK. It's a golden oldie... (sorry, I'm not a jazz reviewer).

Oh! You Beautiful Doll 7/10

A famous oldie (I probably heard this on an old Bugs Bunny cartoon or something). The instrumentation is rather sluggish this time, although it didn't seem that ill-conceived to me. I get the feeling that Sinatra is playing second fiddle to those trumpets, but whatever.

Hard Hearted Hannah 6/10

Yikes, this is a little strange. Those horns are invading my headphones and I can't even hear Sinatra's voice that much. The melody isn't so great, and Sinatra talks through most of this anyway. I don't want no play-acting, dangit.

All By Myself 8/10

An old Irving Berlin song. The melody is quite nice, and the instrumentation is merely OK though uninspired for such a track. The mixing his horrible. I can hardly hear that piano during the instrumental interlude --- somebody was falling asleep. Sinatra delivers a pretty performance even though she doesn't really have a sweet voice.

Coastin' 8/10

Now, out of place like a sore thumb is *ahem* some rock 'n' roll. Of course, it's a Lee Hazlewood original. This has a perfectly decent melody, but it's not one of his more inspired compositions. The instrumentation tries to mimic the big band styling of its surrounding tracks, but it might have been better off if it were to do more of what the track requires. (Get rid of those awfully arranged horns! By god!!) Most importantly, this track is not memorable.

Mama Goes Where Papa Goes 6.5/10

This is another old-timey track. She's not really picking great songs to cover. You'd think she would pick ones with more of a vocal melody instead of ones that require elaborate brass arrangements. She talks through half of this thing, again.

Let's Fall in Love 7/10

A good song only because they decide to arrange those annoying brass arrangements. The songwriting on this one was great although the instrumentation isn't that good. Sinatra's vocal performance is nice, but surely she's capable of more than simple karaoke. That stupidly cheesy ending cost this one some points.

What I'll Do 6.5/10

This is a slower track. Sinatra certainly gives a nice, solid performance although she doesn't do a great job transferring emotion. Well it runs in the family, I guess! The instrumentation is boringly middle-of-the-road.

Limehouse Blues 6.5/10

Some stereotypical Chinese instrumentals begin this for no real reason, and then it turns into a usual, upbeat jazz tune. The melody is catchy, and it's the sort of track that Sinatra seemed comfortable. Whoever was in charge of this album should know that I get sick of hearing the exact same type of horn arrangement in every single song. It's like some kid incessantly poking the exact same spot on my shoulder.

Sugar Town 8.5/10

And now Lee Hazelwood delivers his second original tune. This is much better than the jazz covers, because it's original and fresh sounding. The chord progression is very peculiar --- very very peculiar. The melody is pretty catchy, so it passes that requirement. Everyone who accuses Hazelwood of being a nut, I guess they have a point.

Button Up Your Overcoat 7/10

Again, it's pretty horrible when I can't tell that this is actually any different than so many of these other tracks. It has an upbeat melody, and the instrumentation (including those freaking horns) are exactly the same.

My Buddy 6/10

A slow jazzy tune. The melody is good, but I don't care about it. I want to give whoever was playing that muted trumpet a kick in the stomach. Maybe he'd play better!!!

Love Eyes 9.5/10

Here's something. This is a little more unique, and it's done in the style more similar to her previous, better albums. The instrumentation consists of a spirited drum player, violins, and vocal "aaahs." It actually has attitude, and that's exactly what Sinatra's voice was built for. It's written as a slow-paced blues song, and it's terribly inspired. Composer Hazlewood is so spotty, but when he has something he really has it.

Something Stupid 8/10

She does a duet with her robot father, Frank, (for the record, I don't hate Frank Sinatra --- he was a good actor). This is probably their best duet. Naturally, Frank's voice dominates her daughters, but I suppose he's the better singer. The instrumentation is smart --- Frank probably got better producers than his daughter who got the ragtag session musicians they randomly gathered from the back alley. Well--- this is a nice track. Not great. But nice.

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