Let's Spend the Night Together

French pop singer Claudine Longet was never known for her strong vocals. A pretty face, Andy Williams' wife, and later a marksman of deadly skill, but never a great singer. She did manage to record quite a few albums, though, and on 1972's Let's Spend the Night Together she takes a slightly hipper approach than usual, both in the song selections (the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," Neil Young's "Birds," Leonard Cohen's "Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye") and in the heavy on the acoustic guitars, light on the strings and backing vocals arrangements. Longet still sings like a French mannequin, but the surrounds give her more of a chance to show a touch of emotion, which she does here and there, especially on "God Only Knows" and Kris Kristofferson's "When I Loved Him." Her relaxed bongos and slide guitar version of "Let's Spend the Night Together" is a real easy pop gem. It's hard to believe it hasn't shown up on more compilations and it's also hard to believe anyone could resist her request. No one is going to mistake her for an important artist, yet Let's Spend the Night Together (her last to be officially released) shows that she is really no joke either.