Customer Reviews

Fairy Tales & Fantasies: The Best Of Nancy & Lee

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood may seem like an unlikely pair to collaborate on duets, yet one could not do without the other. Lee helped to make Nancy a star, and Nancy returned the favor by asking Lee to sing with her on songs that are now viewed as masterpieces in their own right. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," is a lethargic, mellow, groovy piece of art, which is, in turn, followed by the pleasing "Elusive Dreams" and the foot-stomping "Greenwich Village Folk Song Salesman." Within the first three songs, you have apretty good example of Nancy & Lee's work, each a different genre mastered to perfection. All the hits are included here. "Summer Wine" is brilliant. "Jackson," their highest-charting Billboard hit is a rousing country number done perfectly. Both "Sand," and the eclectic, mesmerizing "Some Velvet Morning" demonstrate their versatility even moreso, as these songs delve into the musical genre of sixties psychedelia. No CD collection is complete without this.

Once upon a time, I was a kid listening to my parents' LP, "Nancy & Lee". Her voice was light and airy, his a low growl -- together, they wove a spell. One of the strongest songs is the rarely-heard "Summer Wine," a duet between Lee as a rugged cowboy and Nancy as an elusive temptress. Continental Airlines includes this track on their "summer" background music -- the songs playing as you board the planes in Houston during the months of June, July and August. Hearing it on the plane, I was reminded of the songs from my childhood and set off on a search to find them. Success at last, when I located this CD on Amazon.com.

The CD brings back those songs from the "Nancy & Lee" record, plus a few added tracks. Their contrasting voices work well on "Sundown, Sundown" as well as country classics like "Jackson" and "Elusive Dreams." The Hazlewood-penned lyrics of "Some Velvet Morning", "Sand" and "Ladybird" are vague and alluring, drawing us into a magical world. It's good to know that world is still there, and I can go back....

It's about time they finally released a Nancy and Lee Greatest Hits album. But what about the original Nancy & Lee album from the late 60's? That was superb and I have been looking for that album since 1978 after I lost mine in a fire. This collection is just awesome. Nancy and Lee are excellent together and they should have teamed up as a duo instead of separately. Don't get me wrong! Nancy is beautiful, in fact a very HOT girl. She has a beautiful voice but I think she does better doing duets. Something Stupid was superb with her father Frank. I bought a double Frank Sinatra CD just for that song (I'm not a Frank fan). It's a pleasure to hear Nancy and Lee again and I'm glad that I have this album. Unfortunately, I didn't know until recently that there was even a Nancy & Lee greatest hits until someone made a copy for me. Now that I know it's available from amazon.com, I can now purchase a good copy and have better listening pleasure. I sure would love to know the track listing of the 12 songs on the original Nancy & Lee album so I can make a tape copy for myself of the songs in the order they appeared on the album. Summer Wine is my favorite with Sand following a close 2nd. I love the song Did You Ever. It was a remake recently by another duo but it really sucked. When I heard it I was dying to hear Nancy and Lee's version. Since there are only 5 stars for voting in amazon.com, that isn't enough to give to this superbly fantastic duo compilation. If I had my way, I'd give it a 10! I highly recommend this album!!!! You don't know what you're missing if you don't have it.

Let me preface this by saying this is a wonderful compilation of the best of Nancy and Lee, but no matter how great the music is it's not worth dropping 80 to 100 dollars on. Thankfully, you can get all of these songs as well as the rest of the "Nancy and Lee Again" album tracks for around $20 on I-Tunes. I don't want to use a review space to advertise something else, but I realize a lot of people would love to have these songs and (like me) think the current asking price is rather, um, high. Plus, you will get the tracks for "Nancy and Lee" and "Nancy and Lee Again" in the original order if that's important to you. Oh, and it's remastered. Why they don't just rerelease both these albums on cd is beyond me, but for now I-Tunes has it. Just thought you'd like to know:)

This beautiful, creepy music gets under your skin like almost nothing else. I doubt that Lee and Nancy were even aware of what they were creating when they recorded this brilliant material. Down From Dover, Some Velvet Morning, Sand, Sundown Sundown --- they're all in permanent rotation on the CD player. A must-have.

I first heard this album on an audio recording of a radio broadcast sent to me by my uncle from Denver Colorado, when i was 7 years old in 1969. I have ever been searching for this album. My favouorite songs are "summer wine" and "storybook children". Thank you! Amazon.com that I could find this album which brings me cherished memories of my childhood years. :-)

Back in the 60s Nancy paired up with Lee Hazlewood to make a collection of interesting songs. To which highlights include Jackson (gives Johnny and June Carter a run for the money), and Some Velvet Morning, my favorite track off this album (if you want weirdness check out the Vanilla Fudge version). Other fun stuff includes a stoned take on You Lost Your Loving Feeling, Greenwich Village Folk Song Saleman (Lee having lots of fun on this one). This album is very hard to find thanks to Art Bell and company, but if you ever find the CD under ten bucks, you may want to make a investment to get it, cuz if you blink, somebody will get it before you do.

BTW. The Nancy And Lee album (Reprise RS 6273)
1. You Lost That Loving Feeling
2. My Elusive Dreams
3. Greenwich Village Folk Song Salesman
4. Summer Wine
5. Storybook Children

Side two
1. Sundown, Sundown
2. Jackson
3. Some Velvet Morning
4. Sand
5. Lady Bird
6. I've Been Down So Long (It looks like up to me)

and the album cover art is the same as the CD itself.

My parents bought this album when it first came out -- in 1968. The sensuality of Nancy and Lee's voices is intertwined with my adolescence. Songs like "Some Velvet Morning" and "Summer Wine" were crafted with subtle eroticism, hinting what may happen when two people "pass the time." (Not like today when songs are more often just obscene). I'm buying this album for nostalgia's sake, and also because it's a fine album, true to its time.

I don't know why this album has not been mass-released on CD. I have it on an old LP and listen to it and enjoy it frequently, as Hazlewood's music is catchy and the way he and Sinatra's voices work together is magic. Recently, while surfing on eBay, I came across an import CD release which has 9 of the 11 songs from 'Nancy & Lee" plus another 11 that Nancy did solo, and even one with Frank "Something Stupid". This CD ran about $6.95 and is digitally remastered and plays great. It's listed simply as Nancy Sinatra Greatest Hits or something close to that. I agree that paying over $100 for a CD is crazy when you can get an import for 6.95 or download the songs off itunes for a buck apiece. So why doesn't whoever owns Reprise Records realize they are losing some serious money by not re-releasing this great record. In the meantime, eBay's cheaper import, though not quite the same (check the song list), or itunes, are great backups.

I have the original albumn "The Hits of Nancy & Lee" which has the same picture that is being used on this cd. This cd has the same songs plus 3 extra: Down from Dover, Paris Summer & Arkansas Coal (Suite). I was planning to get a cd copy until I saw the price it was being offered at. I think I will just make a cd copy for myself. I haven't listened to this record for a long time but I really enjoyed it when I used to & plan to start listening to it again.