This page continues The Irreverent Guide to Barbra Streisand tradition of recounting recent news items. Items reported on this page reached the IG news desk during 2002.
For archived news, click here for 2001 News, click here for 2000 News OR click here for 1999.
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"If you like the Girl, you'll love the Lady". So it was said back when Funny Lady was originally released. Though most fans felt Funny Lady didn't come close to Funny Girl, this new release proves otherwise. Streisand was in great voice for Funny Lady and the sound recording techniques were much better for this movie. Both movies are equally flawed in terms of plot, though Funny Girl gave Barbra more acting room.
Fans may be dissapointed by the DVD's bright Pepto-Bismol Pink cover (same color as Funny Girl's), the lack of a full DD5.1 soundtrack (it only has DD3.0) and the lack of any real special features.
Overall, Funny Lady shows well on this DVD, which captures its great sets (thanks to widescreen), costumes and colors (though some may feel it's all "too much"). Move over Moulin Rouge, this is a real over-the-top musical -- with a real singer.
We've heard about it for over a decade... Finally, it appears Babs is determined to have a studio album of movie songs out next year, or so I've heard. May I also suggest: The Big Band Album (she has the right voice for it now), The Dance Album (voice or no voice, the remixers can make this one work), etc...
For the week ending:
December 14.....38
December 21.....47
December 28.....52
DUETS entered the Billboard 200 at number #38, one of Barbra's lowest debuts. This comes in spite of heavy promotion and new marketing strategies. These strategies included issuing 4 different collectible covers, offering Christmas ornaments to fans who purchased directly from Sony (you needed to be on her mailing list), and offering a "lithograph" for those who purchased from Sony in response to the TV ads. Sales overseas appear to be heading to yet more disappointments. Early chart numbers in Europe show DUETS is not having the same success as Essential. Perhaps part of the problem is that DUETS has 4 tracks that are already included in Essential. Not to mention that it is yet another compilation...from a still living artist...
Somewhere along the line the cover has undergone a change. Gone is the bright red and blue (perhaps an attempt at Shakespearean patriotism--see above). ALSO, note how the nose is now the right size (in the previous picture, the nose was way too small). See for yourselves:
These are the Duets:
No explanation for the delay. However, it is now believed that DUETS will be released with four collectible covers. How tacky can you get?
What is going on? I thought compilations were released after the artist's death. To my knowledge, Miss Streisand is still alive and kicking... and performing live... and misspelling words... and misquoting literary geniuses ... and issuing Truth Alerts...
Well, on November 19 we will be treated to Miss Babs' second compilation in two years. This one will compile her duets. Although the track listing is unknown, it is believed it will include two new duets, plus all the duets we've all heard before.
What is not known is who will be dueting with her on the purported two new tracks. According to many sources, the potential duet partners include: Josh Groban, Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton-John, Jim Brolin (the husband), and Roslyn Kind (the sister). Not exactly something to look forward to.
Despite the dismal chart performance in the USA, Essential was certified Gold ("sales" of 500,000 units) by the RIAA (according to Billboard). This continues the trend of the RIAA certifying Barbra's slow-moving CD's (Christmas Memories, A Love Like Ours, Timeless). Of course, the RIAA only tracks sales from the Sony to stores, not to actual consumers. But it still remains a mystery to me that stores would actually stock up on CDs that just don't seem to sell well. Bottom Line: Until RIAA begins tracking sales to consumers, its certifications will be suspect. BY THE WAY, this is the first time in years that a Barbra CD is not simultaneously certified Gold and Platinum.
No...it's not an April Fools' Day Joke. Essential is definitely a hit in Europe. An inexplicable one, but a hit nonetheless. For starters, the disc has hit no. 1 in England. Could it be the different cover? In addition, it has charted in enough places (#1-Ireland, #4-Sweden, etc.) that it has entered the Top 10 in Eurochart. Like they say, one man's garbage is another man's treasure. Or should I say, "an American's garbage is NOT Euro-trash."
Featured below is the cover of the European Essential CD. According to the news groups, the European people demanded a better cover.
As if fans were not upset enough about the issuance of a 3rd People CD: #1-original CD Release; #2-Remastered with White Sticker; and now, #3-Second Remaster released 1/29/02..... Some of the fans who actually purchased the third version have confronted an unexpected problem: new and very audible distortion throughout People #3. Of course, the problem was referred to me by several very unhappy campers. In response, I cranked up my Yamaha 5490 Receiver, my Sony CD-Changer with optical output, and my Sony MDR V600 headphones with gold connectors. Tragically, the problem was worse than expected. I selected four tracks for comparison (Absent Minded Me, How Does the Wine Taste, Love is a Bore and People). The verdict: on all selected tracks, People #3 is the worst and has the greatest audible distortion. #2 was the best, with #1 coming a close second. So, if you have versions #1 or #2, you should be ok. If you have #3, may I suggest returning it?
For the week ending 2/16, Essential will debut at No. 15, moving 25,500 copies. Of course, since it is a double CD, it counts for 51,000 copies. Given the very slow cd sales in general, this allows Essential a Top 20 entry.
Week 2: Essentials drops to 29. Though some claim Essentials is selling well for being a compilation, it's hard to continue making that case with this week's #3 debut of Ultimate Manilow, which is a Barry Manilow Compilation. Barry's compilation moved a whopping 113,000 copies. BTW, Jennifer Lopez's remix album, which has no new songs--just remixes of her old stuff-- is No. 1.
Summary of Essentials Billboard performance:
On 1/29, Barbra released The Essential Barbra Streisand to the dismay of many fans. The 40-song, double CD only contains two new tracks (Someday My Prince Will Come, as recorded for Disney's Snow White, and her 2001 version of You'll Never Walk Alone). All other 38 songs are available on other releases, and some selections (People, Evergreen, The Way We Were) have appeared in more releases than we care to count. To further aggravate fans, this is now the 7th compilation CD, following Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits Vol. 2, Memories, A Collection: Greatest Hits and More, Just for the Record, and Highlights of Just For the Record. As one fan further points out, many of these songs also appear repeatedly on her live CDs.
Fans have also complained about the packaging. The cover photo (above), in particular, has upset quite a few. I would venture to guess that this photo was chosen since it represents Barbra at the height of her popularity in the late 1970s. The more intense fans (ie, those who check the inserts) have also noted a that My Name is Barbra does not appear in the insert and My Name is Barbra, Two appears twice. Oops. So much for perfectionism.
The following is the cover of the North American Essential CD.
It's a fan's nightmare. His favorite star begins re-remastering and re-releasing the same material over and over. In this case, it's Babs who has just remastered and re-released The Broadway Album, A Star Is Born, The Way We Were, Funny Girl and People. What is inexplicable is that some of these recordings were purportedly remastered a few years ago. For example, People, Funny Girl and The Way We Were are now on their THIRD CD release and SECOND remastering. The first was the original CD release. The second was a re-release with a white sticker that read as follows: "Digitally Restored From The Original Master Tapes Digitally Remastered". Now, the third release has a red sticker that says, among other things, "Digitally remastered from the original master tapes". HELLO?!?!!? How many times can we do this? And by the way, CAN ANYONE TELL THE DIFFERENCE?
In the case of The Way We Were, Babs has added the long suppressed title to the cover. Those who remember, "The Way We Were" appeared on the front cover (on the wall above her hand) in the initial pressings of the Vinyl Album. Ray Stark sued claiming he owned the title and it was subsequently removed from all the following vinyl pressings. Well, it's back now.
Barbra ended the year by announcing to the world that she hates exercising, but loves eating. That would explain the pictures of her that we saw earlier in the year. However, she does claim that she goes to the gym at least three times a week. What she does there remains a mystery.
The Irreverent Guide to Barbra Streisand was recently featured on www.weirdlinks.com. They introduced the website as follows: "Do you loathe Barbra Streisand? So do they." Apparently, they didn't realized that the IGBS is a one-person show (kinda like Yentl). Still, I'm flattered, though I must clarify that I don't loathe Miss Streisand. I am objective about her.
By the way, did you know that this website is most commonly found by people who use the Google search engine and search for the phrase "Anti Barbra Streisand"?
Republican O'Grady has featured a political ad with the following: "Barbra Streisand defends Saddam Hussein and then rips George Bush as a frightening dictator. The Post calls her Baghdad Babs, but Carolyn McCarthy calls her a contributor. After she voted to slash defense by two billion dollars, Streisand wrote her a fat check. Now McCarthy is silent as her liberal pal bashes our President. Marilyn O'Grady fully supports the Bush war on terrorism. Carolyn McCarthy doesn't."
You don't have to read the Truth Alert to know that O'Grady is ill-informed on the facts. Barbra may not know Shakespeare, or how to spell, but she does know that there are issues with Saddam.
German fanzine Simply will soon be publishing its final issue. Citing lack of news and the Internet, the publisher noted it was "hard to keep it alive". The final issue will be the autumn/winter issue of 2002, marking the 10th and final anniversy of Simply. BTW, although the publishers were German, the English used in their announcement was not plagued with errors as was Babs' recent fax to Congressman Gephardt. Just thought I'd point that out.
Who would have guessed? The world's favorite self-proclaimed perfectionist sent a fax, with several obvious misspellings, to Congressman Gephardt. Not only were the errors obvious, but the fax was sent to a Republican by mistake before it reached Gephardt. What is a perfectionist to do in such circumstances? Of course, blame the staff. On her website, Barbra blames a new employee for the tragedy. Shameless to the end, Barbra adds to her website: " ... the fact that Barbra Streisand is a great speller, meticulous in her written communications!" Face it Babs, Miss Marmelstein you're NOT (Miss Marmelstein, for those of you who remember, had an English major).
I said it before and I'll say it again, Babs: Miss Marmelstein you're NOT. Not only do you have trouble running spell-check on messages sent to Congress, you just don't seem to have a grasp of Shakespeare's work. To end her recent Democratic Fundraiser (9/29/02), Barbra used a quote which she attributed to William Shakespeare, the world's most famous playwright. According to her, it came from Sir William's Julius Ceaser. Well, as it turns out, Mr. Shakespeare had nothing to do with the quote, which was way too modern to have even been written in Shakespeare's time. The blunder surprised many who recall Babs stating, on more than one occasion, that she wanted to act in Shakespeare's plays.
Still a democrat at heart, Barbra sang several songs on 9/29/02 to raise 6 million dollars for the Democrats. Unfortunately, the Diva's following includes many Republicans who wish she would be less politically involved. A number of these fans were dismayed at how she changed lyrics to songs (eg, The Way We Were) just to ridicule the Republicans. Rumor has it that her anti-Republican remarks have made her the target of hate mail, hate voice mail, hate email, and even hate fax.
While most celebrities spend their millions on botox, face lifts, tummy tucks and other gruesome cosmetic procedures, Barbra has thrown in the towel and just let herself go. This recent photo, obtained by the National Enquirer, shows the Diva looking 60. Actually more like 75. This other photo, published in the Globe, shows the Diva at her current generous weight.
On the positive side (who said tabloids were all negative?), the Globe claims that "Flabby Girl" rented a $15,000/week yacht (complete with gym AND trainer) to cruise the Mediterranean and to get some much needed exersize. So maybe we will be seeing a slender Babs again in the next few months.
And BTW, speaking of flab and obesity, Mr. Babs is not far behind. Jim Brolin, who had never been fat in his life, has also gained considerable weight. We can only speculate that he also finds comfort in food. Wouldn't you?
Where is artistic integrity when you need it? I was watching TV today and heard Barbra's voice warbling The Way We Were. I looked and it was a promotional spot for Men In Black Part 2. It was obviously put together by the MIB 2 people as a big joke. Of course, to put this TV trailer together, Columbia must have granted permission. Barbra, what were you thinking?
Singer Barbra Streisand celebrates her 60th birthday today. And what is Barbra doing for her 60th birthday? As far as I know, no new CDs are planned, no movies are planned, and no TV appearances are planned. Indeed, the Diva has retired.
Essential may be a hit in Europe, but A New Day Has Come, Dion's latest is without a doubt a HUGE smash. In its debut week, the CD has topped the chart in over 7 different countries, and is No. 1 in Eurochart. BTW, it's sold over 250,000 units in its second week in the USA. Definitely, this is the CD the world was waiting for.
Amidst lagging record industry sales and Diva recordings that have gravitated towards the bottom of the chart, Celine Dion appears to have pulled off another winner. A New Day Has Come, Dion's latest, sold a huge 527,000 copies in its first week. However, it remains to be seen if the somewhat mellow and subdued disc will have the staying power of her prior smashes.
Today, Streisand-nemesis Celine Dion released her first new album in 5 years (A New Day Has Come). Believed to be the top-selling female recording artist ever (Sony has confirmed her worldwide record sales are greater than Streisand's), Dion has picked an odd time to return. In general, CD sales are extremely poor, and the sales of Diva CDs are even poorer. Think about it: Barbra's last efforts have sold poorly, Cher's latest is diving down the chart after one week in the Top 10, Linda Eder's (less than) Gold never broke into the Top 100... And does anyone remember Mariah's Glitter?... (Of course you do -- it's the butt of every other joke.)
Still, Sony Music, Team Celine and Dion herself are going the extra mile to push A New Day Has Come. So far, the single by the same name has topped the Adult Contemporary chart, but is not doing so well on the Top 100. In about a week we'll know how the album does. While expected to hit number one, the more important figure will be the number of units sold. If under 300,000, it's bad news for Sony, Dion and the other Divas.
In one of Oscar 2002's lesser moments (some reports don't even mention it), Barbra gave Robert Redford an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Acheivement. Upon accepting his Oscar, Redford looked at Barbra and said, "Is this the sequel, Babs?" Ouch!!! Doesn't he know that she hates being called that? Maybe not, as the two have not worked together since The Way We Were. Indeed it was a rare sight seeing the two together given that both hardly ever appear in public. Still, on an evening where Halle Berry made history, Ron Howard finally won, and Denzel got his, a rare appearance by Redford and Streisand just doesn't seem that important. BTW, Babs, was that supposed to be an evening gown? I don't even think Whoopi would be caught dead in that.
As we all know, Barbra won her only Best Actress Oscar in a tie with Katherine Hepburn. Today, it was revealed on E! Online that Barbra's tie with Katherine was probably due to the fact that an exception was made to admit Barbra to the Academy. From E! Online: "Admission to the Academy is by invitation only and usually requires a significant body of work. But in 1968, the normal rules were waived for Barbra Streisand, who was allowed to join before she'd even finished making her first film, Funny Girl. (Academy president Gregory Peck defended the invitation, foreseeing "what will obviously be an important [movie] career" for the singer.) Streisand was nominated for Best Actress for that film; she and Katharine Hepburn both won Oscars, in one of the Academy's rare ties. Assuming Streisand voted for herself (and does anybody honestly think she didn't?), that means her early admission to the Academy won her an Oscar."
Vanity Fair, a reputable publication, has reported that certain Streisand contracts require that she be provided with rose petals in the toilet bowl water. The not-so-busy Streisand has issued a Truth Alert on her website (the first in ages) to deny this. HOWEVER, this is not the first time the rosy toilet story appears. When I was in Vegas, an employee of the MGM Grand told me about the rose petals (and more). When I reported this, I received a number of emails asking me all kinds of questions including: "Dear Sir: Do you know if the rose petals are put in there by the hotel janitors, or do they come out of her?" Now if _I_ were to guess, I would say, "Neither, she probably has another clause in her secret contract that requires the hotel manager himself flush the toilet (after she's done using it) and then place the petals."
Most Barbra fans know she's nearing 60, but they forget that Jim is also up there. I was reminded of his age when I came across this Flex-A-Min Ad. "Why live with achy joints?" asks Jim Brolin who is promoting a Maximum Strengh remedy for such ailments. "I have a pretty active lifestyle and I can't let sore, stiff joints slow me down. So, I take Flex-A-Min everyday. It works for me." continues the current Mr. Streisand. BTW, wonder what (or who) is making those joints sore and stiff.
"And she STILL wasn't nominated." -- Ted, Queer as Folk
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