[Cherchez la femme.]
Revisiting A&M Records No. 21
Claudine Longet: ‘Claudine’ (April ’67)
Claudine Longet: ‘The Look of Love’ (October ’67)
Just because I’ve unshackled this series from its origins as #TuesdaysWithJerry doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty more pairings coinciding with #VinylTwosDays, from #vinyl_is_life_.
Makes sense to consider Mme. Longet’s first two LPs as one given how interchangeable their material is: each offers a similarly appealing mix of sultry chansons, Jobim-penned (or at least -esque) bossa novas and twee remakes of mainstays from the Beatles and Motown and musical theater. But they also helpfully bookend the chanteuse’s breakout year.
Not that the lithely lovely Parisian was a complete unknown by ’67. Married to Andy Williams since she was 19 (and he’d just turned 34), Claudine had already appeared frequently on her husband’s popular variety show and landed episodic roles on military dramas like ’12 O’Clock High’ and ‘Combat!’
’Twas during another show, ‘Run for Your Life,’ that Longet’s performance of Jobim’s ‘Meditaçao’ caught the eye of Herb Alpert, who soon after offered her a spot on his rapidly expanding roster.
That tune, backed with her rendition of ‘Sunrise, Sunset,’ was rush-released later in ’66. Both tunes were included on Claudine’s gold-selling self-titled debut (upper left) which nearly cracked the Top 10, buoyed by the popularity of her featherlight version of ‘Here, There and Everywhere.’
She lasted four more albums at A&M, all whispered charmers that make Sérgio Mendes Brasil ’66 seem as heavy as Humble Pie. ‘The Look of Love’ (bottom right, because of course she had to cover the Bacharach/David classic too) sold less but I might favor more, if only for how she handles ‘How Insensitive.’
If you happen to know the rest of Mme. Longet’s intriguing tale, or don’t but also aren’t about to go look it up, then please sit tight — or perhaps comment in code? In any case, we’ll be seeing her again in posts to come. The conclusion’s a killer.