!Shoot-out! Claudine vs. Astrud (1965-1969) Round 2of3: "Holiday"

[JOv2]

 

[Harry]

I'm going to go with Claudine here. I prefer Nick De Caro's arrangement to the wild and frenetic take that Astrud did with Albert Gorgoni's arrangement.

Claudine's version more closely mirrors The Bee Gees own, whereas Astrud's is all over the place, where she starts uptempo and then slows it down to "normal". But then there's the too-loud choral backing "throwing stones, throwing stones" at many decibels louder than Astrud. I normally like records that shift tempo, but this one goes too far, too fast.

 

[JOv2]

I actually changed my vote.

Harry gave me some food for thought: while I prefer Astrud's vocal, the Gorgoni arrangement is perhaps a bit too all over the place for this number. There's also an unusual broodiness to the Claudine version that is memorable.

 

[Harry]

I also really like De Caro's arrangement with the somewhat ethereal piano in the right channel along with the choral harmonies.

 

[Moritat]

I'll go with Claudine here. The arrangement for her is elegant. I hear a harp and a french horn, very tasteful. And the background singers sound angelic and saintly. It all comes together nicely. Astrud's voice sounds fine, but the arrangement was back and forth with the tempo. They should have just gone with the faster tempo for the entire song. That would have been interesting, and far easier to listen to.

 

[Rudy]

I'm wondering if using "shoot-out" and Claudine in the same breath is somehow...interesting?