Customer Reviews

How Does That Grab You?

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Following the song that made her famous worldwide "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'", the album "How Does That Grab You?" has become my most favorite album. Lee Hazelwood helped Nancy send various songs up the Billboard Pop Chart with hits such as "How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?" and "Lightning's Girl". This album to me is the best of Nancy's career. With its songs full of story-telling lyrics, emotions, and appeal, "Not The Lovin' Kind" and "The Shadow of Your Smile" have become favorites of Nancy fans. Also, a duet with Lee also sparked a favorite in the eyes of the fans. "Sand" is one of Lee's best written songs which describes two strangers who meet and fall in love. Its music and lyrics will grab your mind by the instant it your ears catch its vibes. A great list of songs featuring "How Does That Grab You, Darlin'", "Call Me", and "Sorry 'Bout That" were some of the more popular tracks on this CD. "Feelin' Kind of Sunday", a playful duet between Nancy and her late father, Frank Sinatra, also became a great favorite. With the help of great song writers, music styles, and the legendary Sinatra voice, Nancy has made a name for herself. Truely, this is a must get CD. You can preview some tracks at [website] by clicking on the Bootique icon and see why fans claim this to be one of her best CDs ever. As a fourteen year old, I have found myself enveloped within her beautiful voice, mind controlling lyrics and sexy attitude. I am anxious to see what lies in the future for Nancy.

Nancy purrs through eleven icy-cool, frosty-fine tracks(plus 4 bonus cuts)on this, her second album. Good news first: she looks great on the cover(as always)and sounds even better on the snappy "Sorry 'Bout That" and the standard "The Shadow Of Your Smile"(which got recorded by everybody and their father, but movin' on...). A duet with Lee Hazlewood on "Sand" sounds great, but the Sundazed remixing, with the voices separated(one on either speaker)took some time getting used to(I listened to the Mono record for years). The not-so-great news: her cover of "Bang Bang" is too faithful a reading to compete with the Cher original, and "Crying Time" and "Call Me" are just filler. Overall, not at all bad, and the bonus tracks feature "Feelin' Kind of Sunday"(a wonderfully campy duet with dad Frank)and the whip-snappin' "Lightning's Girl". A-

This is the second and last album where Nancy has her bad-girl image. However, one can find a variety of styles from the bluesy jazz of "Not The Lovin' Kind," "The Shadow Of Your Smile," which might be a soundtrack to a nice picnic outing, a blue evening in a dimly-lit cafe, or something to play in the crib with a loved one, to the country of "Crying Time."

The sass is back in the kittenish "Sorry 'Bout That" as she's been tired of being treated like an alley cat and finds someone who treats her more decently. However, the favor is returned to her in the mid-paced blues of "My Baby Cried All Night Long," where after doing the same thing as the previous song, finds that her lover has done the same with girl. She gives the moral of that song at the end: "you shouldn't be caught messin' when you shouldn't be messin', or you'll be crying all night long." Sound advice.

The poetic "Time" is one of three standout ballads here. Inbetween the forlorn refrain, "Time, oh time. where did you go?" some lines from the book of life is written out. "Some people never get and some never give, some people never die, but some never live. Some folks they treat me mean, some treat me kind, but most folks just go their way, don't pay me no mind."

"Sand" is another well-written Lee Hazlewood track with a Beatle-ish influenced solo in the middle. I wonder what was used in the rhythm section--it sounds like a cross between a harp and guitar. Nancy and Lee duet together as a woman whose flames of love are small to share and the man with a cold heart but free soul who sets her afire.

As for cover songs, she does Buck Owens' "Crying Time," Petula Clark's "Call Me," Sonny and Cher's "Bang Bang," and Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Until It's Time For You To Go." All are done more than satisfactorily--even making "Bang Bang" into a ballad. The haunting vibrating guitar notes emphasizes the downbeat and cruel message of that song.

The title track might as well be called "These Boots Are Still Made For Walkin'," as it's close to the original. However, the lyrics still have some of that old sass. "Now you ain't nothing but an old tomcat, runnin' around my house./I'll tell you something you old tomcat, you just lost your mouse."

Of the other singles, "The Last Of The Secret Agents" is a comedic song about someone whose number is 0.007, even mimicking a snatch of the theme song before going into her "Boots"-like rhythm, backed with a strong brass section. How pathetic is this guy? "He's never even caught a cold." "He got his degree from Disneyland," "an underwhelming kind of sleuth, "He thinks James Bond's some kind of suit." She warns off a potential goofball suitor that she's "Lighting's Girl" and "mother rooster's hen."

The teary "Until It's Time For You To Go" is a farewell song for all ages, with its string section and lyrics emphasizing they are not gods or angels, but men and women. And "Feelin' Kinda Sunday," a duet with her father, is a preview of Nancy In London.

This is one of the best of Nancy's albums, and it's a nice bonus to have her hit "Lightening's Girl" and her poignant rendition of "Until It's Time for You to Go." Of course, she can supply sassiness when needed in "Sorry 'Bout That" and the title song, backed by Billy Strange's inventive arrangements. But she is at her best when she is at her nicest; "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "Call Me" can stand up to any other singer's rendition.
Julie London fans should check out this CD; they may find that Nancy is nicely following in her footsteps (or is that boots?) as one of the sexiest lounge singers around.

Very disappointed in this CD. I love Nancy Sinatra's music and I was really looking forward to this CD, but unfortunately although the CD appears to have been remastered, the songs are all "separated." The music comes out through the left speaker and Nancy's voice comes out through the right speaker, so you only get to hear her in one ear if you are listening through headphones. The remastered songs on the compilation "The Essential Nancy Sinatra" do not have this problem. I compared the song "Bang, Bang" from "How Does That Grab You?" with the one on "The Essential Nancy Sinatra" and there is a noticable difference. The one on "Essential" sounds full, rich, and "centered." The other one sounds much thinner and weaker in comparison. Beware!

"How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?" was Nancy Sinatra's second Top Ten hit, so naturally, her second album was titled after it. This was a solid sophmore effort by Nancy, with some great songs by Lee Hazlewood, especially "Sand", Nancy and Lee's first duet together. Also notable is the Baker Knight composition "Sorry 'Bout That", which is a terrific song in a similar style as Nancy's hits. In the fashion of the time, there are several cover versions of other people's hits on the album. The best one is "Bang, Bang", which Quentin Tarentino liked enough to include in Kill Bill, Volume 1. There are four bonus tracks. "The Last of the Secret Agents" was the b-side of "How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?". "Lightning's Girl" was a non-LP hit for Nancy, and "Until It's Time For You to Go" was it's b-side. "Feelin' Kinda Sunday" was a flop duet by Nancy ad her dad from the years after Nancy stopped having hits. Recommended to all of Nancy's fans.

Nancy Sinatra's sophomore effort, after she hit it big with "Boots," came out in 1966. Listening to it today, 33-years later, it is still as fresh as yesterday's wine. The album consists of mostly mellow, jazzy, lounge tunes; many penned by producer/songwriter and duet partner Lee Hazlewood. "Not The Lovin' Kind" starts off the set with great mellow grooves. This, in turn, is backed up by the second tune "The Shadow of Your Smile," which highly demonstrates Nancy's versatility and ability to tackle a variety of songs and genres of music. "Sorry 'Bout That," and the title track, "How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?" both play off of Nancy's tough-girl image she started with "Boots," and she continues it beautifully. Each and every song on this album is a winner, from the odd "Sand," (a duet with Hazlewood) to the sexy "Call Me," that would make anyone thumb through every phone book to find her number! "Bang, Bang" (written by Sonny Bono, and a hit for Cher) is excellent, as are the CD Bonus Tracks: "The Last of the Secret Agents," "Until It's Time for You To Go," "Lightning's Girl," and "Feelin' Kinda Sunday," a silly duet with daddy Frank. Sundazed has done a FABULOUS job remastering every song, and adding great pics and liner notes inside. They do Nancy justice, something she is most deserving of. "Marvy melodies, all of them gravid with meaning," read the original liner notes. "Sure to mess your head forevermore." But what a beautiful mess it leaves!

Yes, the album cover screams SEX KITTEN at you, even without the trademark white go-go boots. The evocative pose is rather ironic since on "How Does That Grab You?" Nancy Sinatra shifts away from covering rock songs as she did on her first album "Boots" and explores more traditional pop genres. I mean, listen to the first two tracks, "Not the Lovin' Kind" and "Shadow of Your Smile," and you would never think to connect the dots between these songs and "These Boots Are Made for Walking." This is the most diverse Nancy Sinatra album, which is an understatement for an album that can offer up "Let It Be Me" and "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"; but remember, originally they would have been on different sides of the record. However, there are several excellent examples of what is now considered vintage Nancy Sinatra, such as the title song, "Last of the Secret Agents," and "Lightning Girl." There is also "Sand," which is the best of her duets with Lee Hazzlewood that did not make it onto her original hits collection on CD. But on balance this is a second tier Nancy Sinatra Album that is also harmed by the fact that the album cover is now reduced to CD size when it really needs to be a poster suitable for hanging on your wall. I wonder which came first: the decision to give the album this name or the decision to use that cover photo?

Never a fan of Sinatra's and detested These boots are made for walking...Bought this after hearing Bang Bang from the Kill Bill soundtrack. As a rule,I am not fond of soundtracks. A good record is a soundtrack in and of itself...You chop a song or two out of it and you butcher the original listening experience...In this case, a butcher job was beneficial!!! Bang bang is the only song that "grabs you"...The rest is melodrama at its worst!! The duet with her writing partner,is it Lee Hazlewood,is laughable at best...There are other songs that sound like remakes of These boots and rehashes of old standards that don't make you forget the original versions... In the liner notes, Nancy takes full credit for the arrangement on Bang bang...If her compass was this good, one would think she could have steered this entire project down a similar course... Petula Clark was a similar female artist from this time period who also had more middle of the road leanings...Rather than simply mimic a style of music that was slightly foreign to her, Petula teamed herself with really sophisticated writers and arrangers who enabled her to create pop music that was not only compelling but also enduring....If only Nancy had suffered a similar fate...Do yourself a favor and buy the Kill Bill soundtrack...This record, for the mostpart, insults one's intelligence...

Excellent tracks make up Nancy's second album. Not the Loving Kind, Let it Be Me, Sorry bout that, shadow of your smile etc, but my personal favorite is Call Me-one of Nancy's best songs of all her catalog.