BARBRA STREISAND The Movie Album

PLEASE, TAKE ME BACK TO THE SILENT ERA

Review of The Movie Album

Released on 10/14/03

When sound was added to film, it was indeed the end of the Silent Era of cinema. Since, sound quality and techniques have improved dramatically, even in the home. I always applauded the improvements--until I heard The Movie Album. For the first time in my life I understood the potential blessings of not hearing sound during a movie.

Those who have followed the history of this album know that she has been working on it since at least 1986 (17 years ago). (Back then, it was known as The Hollywood Album to some.) Many obsessed fans have waited for it like normal people wait for death--you just don't know when it will finally come or how much it's gonna hurt. And this is one helluva painful death.

The Movie Album is Barbra Streisand’s 61^st album (Note: I’m including the "Eyes of Laura Mars" Soundtrack). 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 in this abysmal collection:

Poor Song Selection: There are a million beautiful, classic movie songs. Only one found it’s way here (Moon River). Granted, there are few nice songs on this album (e.g., Wild is the Wind), but when you have 17 years to pick songs, you’d think each one would be a classic. To add to the disappointment of The Movie Album are the songs that are utter garbage (e.g., Goodbye for Now, Emily). When Barbra did The Broadway Album, she was much more careful with her selection. Each song on Broadway was either instantly recognizable, written by accomplished songwriter(s), and/or a forgotten classic. Most songs here are not recognizable, and though most are forgotten, they are clearly not classics.

Vocal Decline: Barbra sings two songs that she had performed years ago. Moon River was performed in the early 1960’s by a young, up and coming Streisand, and I’m in the Mood for Love was performed in her 1994 concert. Her voice was incomparable in her first version of Moon River and competent in her 1994 concerts. Barbra's voice today is characterized by its weakness, its monotony and the loss of her once operatic vibrato. Her trills today are sometimes gurgly, sometimes strained and frequently uneven. In addition, her voice has become increasingly whispery. It may be her weak voice that is keeping Barbra Streisand from performing more known classics and more challenging songs. Ironically, I think her voice still has some potential--if she finds the right material and the right producer.

Weak arrangements: Yes, it’s all lush. But who wants to hear an entire collection of nothing but lushness. Granted, there isn’t much you can do with this material. Also, several have reported that there is a 75-piece orchestra on The Movie Album. Well, where are they?

The following is a brief commentary by selection.

Selection	Commentary
Smile	Smile is the inconsequential song that introduces the slow tempo of the album. This song is not designed to be the opener of a serious album.
Moon River	Moon River is a beautiful song performed in a straightforward manner that somewhat captures the intended mood. It sort of works here, but adds nothing new to the song. Barbra’s earlier 60’s version is leagues above this one – more imaginative and backed with a super voice.
I’m in the Mood for Love	Not quite as slow in tempo as earlier selections, but certainly not upbeat. The real interesting item of note is that this song was also performed (live) in her 1994 concert. It is clear that her voice has declined dramatically from 1994 to today.
Wild is the wind	This selection is one of the rare nice melodies on The Movie Album. The arrangement and vocal, however, are quite unimaginative and very unimpressive.
Emily	Another slow song, and what a stupid one. Even the phrasing on the word "Emily" adds to its stupidity. As one fan put it: "Emily, dreamily, dreadfully..."
More in love with you	Not only slow, this one is dreary. I think this is the point where most realize they could have put their $15 dollars to better use. After all, The Matrix Reloaded was also released on the same day as The Movie Album.
How do you keep the music playing?	Not with this song.
But beautiful	Baghdad Babs sings a song from Baghdad Café. Has anyone ever heard of this movie or this song? I haven’t. And certainly this performance is not about to bring recognition to either the movie or the song.
Calling you	Up to now, this album has had two speeds: slow and slower. With this it adds a third: fully stopped. The album fully stops with this selection. No, it’s not a showstopper, but rather an exercise in vocal exhaustion. If this doesn’t put you to sleep, Ambien (the narcotic) won’t either.
The second time around	This one falls in the category of slower. A saxophone solo adds some interest, but maybe it will work the third time around.
Goodbye for now	We’re back to "fully stopped" and inconsequential. This nothing of a song comes from the movie Reds that I have never heard of.
You’re gonna hear from me	This selection departs from the tempo of the rest of this album. Its tempo is closer to The Greatest Star and Don’t Rain My Parade. However, the performance falls considerably short from those two 60’s classics. The arranger even samples the final arrangement from Parade in the finale of this song, which also ends the album. Somehow, the instrument arrangement works, but calls for a voice like Linda Eder’s. Unable to hold the final note to the end, Barbra instead inserts two quirky "me’s". Oh the pain... the pain…

BTW, I am always on the lookout for something positive and I did note that the packaging (cover, inserts, commentary) of The Movie Album, despite the ugly blue and fake hair on the cover, is one of the best the Diva has put together. Unfortunately, you can't judge a book by it's cover. Accordingly, my rating is based only on the music. And honestly, if you liked The Movie Album, you really need to take the Quiz.

ON A SCALE OF 1-10: 1.

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