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- One Voice.
It's a shame that the perfect title got wasted on the perfect waste. This "live"
performance was a fundraiser for "environmental" issues (in other words, for several democratic party
candidates.) This concert, performed in Barbra's former Malibu ranch, was by invitation only. Getting the invitation was half the battle though, the other half
was paying the $5,000 admission price. But how could anyone say no to a good cause AND to the 20th Century's Greatest
Voice? Even the press was dying to cover this one. Unfortunately, what should have been a brilliant
evening quickly fell victim to the Diva's rountine lack of practice. The lung power wasn't there, the vibrato was
at times shaky, and yes, there were several clinkers. Still, the decision was made to release the performance on
CD and video -- after noticeable dubbing. Though there are a few memorable performances, the true significance
of this recording today is that it marks what some consider the beginning of Streisand's vocal decline. Sad to say, in
that sense, it has become one of her career landmarks.
- The Owl And the Pussycat.
This is the soundtrack of one Streisand's best movies and her first non-musical.
Why you ask, does a non-musical movie have a soundtrack? Well, actually, it's a common practice (hey, a little
extra cash never hurt anyone). What's not common is that
most artists wouldn't include such a thing in their catologs. Yet, Streisand insists it is one of her 50+ recordings. What's more amazing is that this soundtrack
is considered a collector's item amongst her fans, even though she doesn't sing a note (and neither do Blood, Sweat & Tears, even though
they do try.)
- Nuts.
Barbra participated in composing the soundtrack to her movie Nuts. Presumably,
that is why this item is one of her most expensive CD's (easily commanding $50, even though
she doesn't sing a note). Well, it does help that the CD is out-of-print.
- The Columbia Remastered Series .
Columbia begin re-releasing a number of Streisand CD's with a sticker saying "Digitally
Restored From The Original Master Tapes Digitally Remastered." Wow! With a title like that, you'd
think the CD would have no surface noice, static, hiss, etc...So, of course, many die hard fans rushed out
to replace their old CD's with these new marvels of the new digital technologies. To their surprise,
some of them noticed that a few of their new CD's were identical to the old ones. It appears that this was the result of packaging
errors - errors which are still mysteriously occurring today. And those that were truly remastered, though improvements,
were not up to expectations. Ironically, the 2 best remastering efforts to date have been the Funny Lady Soundtrack and the Funny Girl
Original Cast -- both issued by non-Columbia, non-Sony labels. (BTW, if you are buying a Streisand CD
you don't already have, go for the stickered one -- it is a little better, unless you end up with one that's
improperly labeled. However, if you already have the CD, I wouldn't waste my money.)
- Anything Made in Thailand.
Obviously, there is not respect for copyright infringement in some parts of the world. In this particular
country, there are a number of CD's, not available in the USA,
with great Streisand photos on the cover, with titles like The Best of Barbra
Streisand, The Hits of Barbra Streisand, etc...Many unsuspecting fans buy these CD's, only to later
learn that voice on these recordings isn't America's First Diva, or any diva, for that matter. Some fans
have reported that they can barely understand the broken English of the "singer". What's even more bizarre is
that some truly die hard Streisand fans will dish out $25 for each of these unique products. Talk about
gotting to have everything...
I won't repeat the number of platinum and gold albums she has; that's in every other worship page. Instead, I'll focus on those
recordings that left Barbra asking, "Who Will Buy?" None of these albums, despite re-release on CD, or re-release on a remastered format, have been
able to obtain a gold certification.
- Pins And Needles (Cast)
- One of Barbra's earliest recordings. To be honest, I couldn't even tell it was her.
- I Can Get It For You Wholesale (Original Cast)
- Still without a recording contract, Streisand made her first real splash in this show as Miss
Marmelstein, the cooky secretary who just couldn't land a man. Reportedly, audiences found her very, very believable
in this role, for which she received a Tony nomination. Barbra only sings one song, aptly
entitled "Miss Marmelstein", which is also available in the 4-cd set Just for the Record. Warning: This song
is a comedy number, and was not arranged to prove vocal competence.
- Je m'appelle Barbra
- Barbra explores a French accent (eat your heart out, Meryl Streep). Still, though her French is
convincing, this album (which features tracks in English, French, and both) is not. The arrangements are detached; the sound,
foreign. In one song the bass sounds a little off -- not flat, but more like flatus. And this particular song is recorded twice: once in French and once in
English. But the bass is the same in both: flatus. Anyway, this album also has the dubious
distinction of being the first of the Streisand solo albums to never achieve gold status.
[UPDATE: Je m'appelle Barbra was certified gold on April 24, 2002.]
- Simply Streisand
- This is the
first of the Streisand solo albums not to hit the Billboard Top 10. Streisand had just undergone a C-section to give birth to Jason Gould. Some die-hard Streisand
purists claim this marks the end of the true Streisand era for one of two reasons: (1) the
C-section weakened Barbra's abdominal muscles, causing her voice to change, or (2) hormonal changes
related to her pregnancy caused her voice to permanently deepen. What is known -- for sure -- about this recording is that
her voice not only sounds deeper, but she does not hit any of her trademark high notes. And what is Barbra without
her high notes? Simply Streisand.
[UPDATE: Simply Streisand was certified gold on April 24, 2002.]
- What About Today?
- Streisand knew her career as a non-Pop singer was over, so she decided to try something a little
more mainstream. The best way to describe this album is "a collection of contemporary tunes sung in
a far-from-contemporary way." (Visualize The Beatles a la Funny Girl. If you can't and want to, then by all
means buy this CD--it has several Beatles tunes.) The critics hated it; no one bought it; but to Streisand's credit, she was in good
voice. What added to the strangeness of this album was a change in recording techniques that noticeably reduced the dynamic range of her voice (ie, it
loudened the softer passages and softened the loud ones). Despite this, and her questionable selection of songs, there are several gems on this one.
- Hello, Dolly! (Soundtrack)
- The movie bombed and guess what? So did the soundtrack. When your not hot, not even great singing can
save you. This soundtrack is 1000+ times better than the original cast, but I'm probably the only one who knows it.
- On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (Soundtrack)
- Ditto.
- The Owl And The Pussycat (Soundtrack)
- Why Streisand considers this thing one of her albums is beyond any logical comprehension. If it sold
over 100 copies, I'd be surprised, given that Streisand does not sing on this recording. Her talking voice is heard, but lets
face it, Babs: if you want someone to buy your record, SHUT UP AND SING! (Note: This album has not been released in CD or
other digital format.)
- Barbra Streisand...And Other Musical Instruments
- This is the companion of the TV special with the same name. This special had a very broad definition of
musical instruments; so broad, that it included household appliances (even the washing machine) which are featured on one of the album tracks.
Nowhere on the CD does it give credit to the person (or persons) that came up with this "clever" idea. However, Streisand is given
credit for playing the finger cymbals.
- Classical Barbra
- On her Christmas Album, Barbra performed the classical piece "Ave Maria". So, it was inevitable that
she would do a classical album. To date, this recording is most famous for Francesco Scavullo's cover photos, which are deemed
by some fans to be the most beautiful pictures of Streisand...
I know, you're wondering if I'm going to critique this album, but no such luck. Even I, at times, can be polite.
[UPDATE: In May of 1999, after 24 years of release, Classical Barbra earned a Gold Certification. So, whenever I find time, I will remove it
from this page. Sigh.]
- Eyes of Laura Mars (Soundtrack)
- Barbra does not consider this recording to be part of her catalogue, but given some of the other things she includes, I've decided
to override her and include it anyway. This is the soundtrack of that awful Jon Peters-produced "thriller" starring Faye Dunaway and a much younger (but equally
ugly) Tommy Lee Jones. Barbra had never sung the theme song for a movie in which she was not the star, but this was the first time one of her boyfriends was actually
producing his own movie -- and Jon, needless to say, was in desperate need to prove his competence (ie, have a box-office hit). So, of course, Barbra did what she could to help, which was to sing the theme song (ie, Prisoner). This song was released
as a single, which peaked at #22 on Billboard and then just plunged right out of the top 40 for good. The soundtrack did not fare any better. To date, Columbia has
not bothered to issue this soundtrack in any digital format.
- Nuts (Soundtrack)
- Also known as the "Original Score". The CD is out-of-print and therefore a collector's item to fans who
must have everything. And no, Streisand does not sing on this one. Even if she had, I really don't think it would have helped. If you can possibly imagine
anything more dreary and downbeat than the movie, it's this "music".
- The Prince of Tides (Soundtrack)
- Streisand recorded two songs for this album (Places That Belong to You, For All We Know), but it wasn't
enough to generate any serious interest. It was a case of lost opportunities: had the latter tune been included in the movie, which was
a box-office hit, it would have likely sold the CD. However, Streisand felt that placing a song with her voice at the end of the movie would have
reintroduced the Dr. Lowenstein character. I guess she felt that her fans couldn't tell the two apart.
- Highlights From Just For The Record
- Not content with releasing a four-cd tribute to herself (called Just for the Record), Streisand decided to release the "highlights" on a separate
recording. For the most part, fans (who had already paid $60+ for the 4-cd box set) felt enough was enough.
By the way, this just in, Just for the Record has been
re-released with new, smaller packaging. Of course, the music content remains exactly the same. I guess down the road there will be a remastered version, a gold disc version, perhaps a
definitive-packaging version....................
These are quite self-explanatory. Of course, my criteria was strictly based on Streisand's performance and the
musical arrangement. Although, in some cases, like I've Dreamed of You, the song is equally poor. Interestingly enough, of the songs listed, only IDOY (composed by Ann
Hampton Calloway) is really a crappy song. Ann, BTW, is mostly known for the theme song of the television series The Nanny. Ann, really, you need to stick with what you do best.
- I've Dreamed of You
- Grandma's Hands
- The World is a Concerto
- Higher Ground
- Ordinary Miracles
- Splish Splash
- Let the Good Times Roll
- Children Will Listen
- Move On
- Everybody says Don't
- Wet
- A Christmas Love Song
- Christmas Lullaby
- Christmas Mem'ries
- Closer
Tragedy, When your voice is gone and you still go on, it's a Tragedy
(REVIEW of Guilty Pleasures CD; Release 10/05)
...Barbra is also very fortunate that modern recording techniques can dramatically make a voice sound a lot better (i.e., the same techniques used by lesser singers to sound better). Still, the engineers can’t make her sound like she did 40 years ago...
For the complete review, click here.
- PLEASE, TAKE ME BACK TO THE SILENT ERA
(REVIEW of The Movie Album CD; Release 10/14/03)
- ...Ironically, experience has not benefitted the elderly Diva. On the contrary, The Movie Album is by far the Diva’s worst effort to date. The problems evident in her recent work are exacerbated on this abysmal collection...
For the complete review, click here.
- PAINFUL MEM'RIES
(REVIEW of Christmas Memories CD; Release 10/30/01)
- ...For one, this new Streisand recording did not do anything to put me in the Christmas spirit. On the contrary, it depressed me and put me to sleep (in that order)...
For the complete review, click here.
- OVERDUB-BRA
(REVIEW of Timeless/Live in Concert CD; Release 9/19/00)
- Is it Live? Or is it Memorex? It's neither. It's Overdub-Bra...
As I listened to this CD, all that came to mind was the much too frequently debated problem of all "live" recordings: after the artists and studios are done with them, they're hardly "live"...
For the complete review, click here.
- A Monotony Like Hours
(REVIEW of A Love Like Ours CD; Release 9/21/99)
- ...the theme was supposed to remain the same -- the happiness and joy of being in love. Accordingly, I was expecting a cd that was romantic, passionate and cheerful. Boy, was I dead wrong...
For the complete review, click here.
- Barbra Turns To Madonna For Inspiration
(REVIEW of I've Dreamed of You CD-Single; Release 6/22/99)
- After four decades in the business, America's Queen of Song has turned to America's Queen of Hype for ideas.
On her first American single since I Finally Found Someone, Barbra adopts the ballad style used by Madonna in Evita, particularly in the LLoyd Webber-penned
classic You Must Love Me. For Madonna, who is best described as "vocally-challenged", the plain, straightforward style seemed an accomplishment; for Streisand, it comes across as a faux pas at best and a
sign of vocal decline at worst. (Speaking of vocal decline, what about that attempt at belting a high note in the middle of the song? Oy!)
After hearing Barbra claim how in love she is, how much her wedding meant to her, etc., it was a shock to me to listen to over four
minutes of absent emotion. More shocking that this is the singer frequently criticized for her theatrical interpretations (He Touched Me, Happy Days Are Here Again,
My Funny Valentine--and the list goes on). It also disturbs me that this is her wedding song--I mean, just read the lyrics. They sound like they were written by some
school girl doing an entry in her dear diary. And that arrangement: so detached, so lifeless, so dull... At least when Barbra was head over heels over Jon Peters, she was inspired to compose and sing a musical masterpiece ( Evergreen). Not only
did she do a great job with the Evergreen melody, she gave a performance that over two decades later still stands as one of her finest. I guess it's not hard to figure out who the true love of her life is.
On a scale of 1-to-10: 2.
NAVIGATION
The Irreverent Guide to Barbra Streisand wishes to thank the following sources of inspiration for this web page...
On second thought, maybe not.
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The Irreverent Guide to Barbra Streisand is for entertainment value only and/or historical purposes; no financial
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