Claudine Longet - Love Is Blue (CD)

All Music Guide

Claudine Longet's third album continues the middle of the road tendencies of her first two, leading off with an oddly jaunty reinterpretation of "Falling In Love Again," Marlene Dietrich's theme song, whose jaded worldweariness Longet replaces with her own pleasantly insubstantial persona. With its cinematic background noise staging and odd ragtime piano accents, it recalls Harpers Bizarre's playful deconstruction of prerock standards. More successful are the straightforward bilingual version of the title track, one of the evergreen tunes of '60s easy listening, the oftrecorded Alan Gordon and Gary Bonner sunshine pop tune "Small Talk" and a mournful, skeletal version of Randy Newman's littleknown early tune "Snow" that's among Longet's finest interpretations of her career. Even better is Longet's take on the Bee Gees standard "Holiday"; Longet's endearingly pitchpoor, lispy vocals are tailor made for this spooky, unconventional song, which arranger Nick DeCaro gives a suitably offkilt...er arrangement featuring a chorus of wordless Longets between the strings and the increasingly florid piano accompaniment. Longet's next album, the masterful Colours, would benefit from even more of this gently psychedelic experimentation. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide Read more Less