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Nancy Sinatra, Liquid Room, Edinburgh

She's here, boots and all

Fiona Sturges
Friday 16 August 2002 00:00 BST
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Sometimes even stars need souvenirs. Before singing a note Nancy Sinatra whips out a camera and, like a teenager on her first ever holiday, starts randomly snapping the crowd. Judging by the whoops that erupt across the room, the audience is instantly seduced.

This is Nancy's first solo show in the UK and boy, has she dressed up for it. Kitted out in a gold lurex mini-skirt, gold lamé jacket and matching thigh-high boots, it's the kind of outfit that would make Barbarella blush. Under the full glare of a spot, the light is so dazzling that you fear she might go up in smoke.

Also crammed on to the tiny stage are the singer's all-male band, who include Don Randi, the composer and pianist and one of Phil Spector's renowned Wrecking Crew session musicians, and the sometime Guns n' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke. It's a starry set of names, although it isn't exactly justified by the music.

It's when Nancy and her band try to rock out that things go horribly wrong. A song from her new album California Girl (so far only available in America) is high on guitars and low on appeal, while another nameless stomper could give AC/DC a run for their money if it didn't render Sinatra's voice completely inaudible. Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" offers some light relief, however, while a cover of the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" is terrific. You can feel the nostalgia sweep across the room when, half-way through, we're treated to a video montage of the singer's greatest film moments.

While it's hard to take your eyes off Nancy (the thrill of seeing her close-up is almost constant), she's not the most dynamic performer. When she stands stationary she resembles a shop mannequin, all glassy-eyed and distant-looking. But she does manage to perk up for her greatest hits – "Sugar Town" is great fun, while "You Only Live Twice", a song recorded for the Bond film, has a certain sentimental appeal.

Finally she gets round to the song we've all come to hear. Back in 1966, while recording "These Boots Are Made For Walking", the song's writer and producer, Lee Hazlewood, instructed Sinatra to "sing it like you're a 16-year-old girl who goes out with 45-year-old truck drivers". Alas, not only has the feigned innocence of the original disappeared, but so has Nancy's voice. Amid the squally guitars and thudding drums (these boys seem to have been transported to a stadium rock event circa 1985), Nancy's singing is completely drowned. It's a sad end to one of the strangest nights of the Fringe so far.

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