Barbra Streisand - Love is the Answer (Deluxe Edition)
|
List Price: Our Price: $11.37 You Save: $15.61 (58%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.00 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Love is the Answer (Deluxe Edition)
Free Music Review: Brilliant "Answer"
Hit: 5 Stars
In an era when it seems that everyone who has even moderate success in the arts is placed upon a pedestal and labeled a diva, it would be difficult to overlook an artist who has remained on top for nearly a half century. Barbra Streisand's latest album, entitled "Love Is The Answer," is a beautiful return to her recording excellence that was so consistent in the first two decades of her career, beginning in 1963. For this album, the duties were handed over to the more-than-capable hands of Grammy Award-winning artist Diana Krall (who is remarkably making her debut as a producer) with arrangements by Grammy Award-winning musician and songwriter Johnny Mandel.
The album is extraordinary and carries only a couple of missteps. Interestingly enough, the missteps are (of course) subjective, considering everyone will take something different away from each song, as certain songs and arrangements will always carry more weight with a diversified audience. That's just the way art goes.
The album begins with the Shirley Horn staple "Here's To Life" and seamlessly glides into the world of melancholy bliss with an exquisite rendition of "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning." "Gentle Rain" is the third track, which is gorgeously subdued. The Mandel arrangement and Streisand's vocal, along with Krall's piano, make a splendid ménage a trios.
Track #4 is when the album takes a sharp turn and blossoms into ultimate art. "If You Go Away (Ne Me Quitte Pas)" is simply the finest performance on the album - no bones about it. Judging from her interpretation of this Jacques Brel/Rod McKuen piece, this is a throwback to her "Je m'appelle Barbra" days of the mid-60's and undoubtedly brought back "the actress that sings." Perfection.
I found myself really enjoying "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most," and I did rather well not making comparisons to her earlier live recording because this was flawless until a very brief and odd change-up of arrangement that came in halfway through the song. It became oddly bouncy for a brief period, which threw the mood of the piece. The original arrangement returned and all was well with "Spring." The brief intrusion was minor and the only part of the track that hung me up.
The famous standard "Make Someone Happy" and the Alan & Marilyn Bergman/Johnny Mandel composition "Where Do You Start?" are absolutely flawless in arrangement and vocal. They shine.
"A Time for Love" is a stunning vocal of the Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster composition. This is another perfect example where one gets lost in the drama due to Streisand's unique brand of singing a story to the point of actually visualizing the setting.
The Sinatra staple "Here's That Rainy Day" sounds as if it could have been written for Streisand. The Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke composition is one of the most gorgeous songs ever written. Now with Streisand's interpretation on record, "Rainy Day" has a place in history that is watertight.
"Love Dance" is a pretty composition by Gilson Peranzzetta, Ivan Lins and Paul Williams, but I would have reduced its nearly five-minute arrangement down to a respectable three and a half minutes. After a while, the song begins to drone and gives the feeling it has nowhere to go. Perhaps that's why the song fades instead of having an ending as most standards do. Don't misunderstand my critique, the vocal is top-notch, it's just that the melody (or lack of) becomes a tad monotonous.
"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is a welcomed song - maybe because of its popularity, maybe because of the sensationally unique reading, maybe both. It works and nothing makes me happier than to hear Barbra improve on a song that became a pop staple a half-century earlier for another artist. The arrangement and vocals are superb and breathes new life, as Streisand exhales this "smoke" brilliantly. The notes she hits on this track are absolutely thrilling.
"Some Other Time" is a magnificent arrangement. Diana and her piano shine so beautifully and her tinkling of the ivories is perfectly suited to Barbra's superb vocals. They're as smooth as silk. The marriage of melody and vocals are extraordinarily matched.
The Alan & Marilyn Bergman/Michel Legrand song "You Must Believe In Spring" is worth the extra $$ for those who purchase the "Deluxe Edition" of this album. It is billed as the "Bonus Track." It has no strings, it has no bass, and it has no snare drum effect. What it does have is what Barbra has always thrived on, a simple piano arrangement and her naked vocal. Truth be told, for a "bonus" I may have picked a more familiar song that would've appealed a bit more to the masses, but when you have just Barbra alone with a piano, any song is a bonus.
Is this a perfect album? No. Is it a work of art that belongs in the chosen few of Barbra's most brilliant work? Yes!
For the anal-retentive naysayer, they will experience the infrequent rasps throughout most of the 13 tracks. To the Barbra enthusiast and to all with an ear for something extraordinary, this album exudes the same labor of love not heard since Streisand poured her heart & soul into 1985's "The Broadway Album."
Hats off to Diana Krall for paring down Barbra's usually overproduced arrangements of late, and restraining her vocals to compliment the album's simplicity, which resulted in its excellence. Krall's production value alone deserves the first of many Grammy Awards this album should and will be honored with.
After many years of waiting for another Streisand masterpiece, it's easy for me to say that the title "Love Is The Answer" could have easily been titled Krall Is The Answer.
Free Music Review: A Dreamer and Her Dream
Hit: 5 Stars
Barbra Streisand -- the singing actress who has been smothered in the varnish of too-sweet perfection on so many recent recordings -- has returned in dramatic and devastating fashion with the release of "Love Is The Answer," elegantly produced by Diana Krall. Without question, this is La Streisand's tour de force -- in some ways even more potent and primal than her seminal "Broadway Album, " released decades earlier. With grace, maturity and a microscopic attention to the meaning of the sublime lyrics that envelop her, Barbra rises to the occasion like a thoroughbred and gives one of the great bravura vocal performances of her career.
Let's be blunt: The big steel-belted high notes are not in evidence here nor is her upper register as fluid or as fiery as it once was...but who knew those vocal losses wouldn't make a bit of difference? This is Streisand boring DEEP into often extremely difficult material, reminding one of her earliest recordings when each moment, each breath and each word told a story and uncovered a veritable tableau of emotions. Not since "The First Album" have I heard Barbra reveal herself so much in a recording -- and to such stunning effect. The mask is off and the woman -- not the image -- looms into view. It's almost shocking on first listen.
The collection of songs revolve around love -- lost, found, rejected and rediscovered. "Here's To Life," a bittersweet paen to the beauty of being alive even in the midst of growing older, is a nod to Barbra's Muse -- Shirley Horn. It's a beautiful vocal filled with hope -- simple, serene and sublime. And Johnny Mandel's strings ebb and flow like the tides on a sunlit shore.
The mood grows darker, however, as she moves into the suffocating stillness of "The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning," where the loneliness of a broken relationship is palpable in Barbra's haunting vocal. After confronting the abyss, Streisand moves back into a more optimistic mood with "Gentle Rain," where, unlike the rejected suitor of "Wee Small Hours," she is the comforter to a distraught lover. Time and love heal all wounds...Barbra's delicate and dreamy vocal on "Rain" cleanses the palette for the upcoming theatrics of "If You Go Away," which finds Streisand back in "Je M'Appelle Barbra" territory, desperately confronting, in English and French, a lover who may -- or may not -- desert her. Harkening back to her career in the theatre, Streisand turns Brel's song into a three-act play, offering up a master class in the art of interpretive singing.
"Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" continues the cycle of love lost as Barbra, in an indelibly cynical vocal, mocks the cliches that flutter around youthful romance. Listen to the way she spits out the phrase "My condition must be chronic." Splinters from the heart, indeed.
"Make Someone Happy" is a meltingly romantic return to the power of optimism -- and it's the definitive performance of this Styne/Comden/Green classic. Here her vocal floats and flows over Mandel's sublime string arrangement with the assurance of someone who truly IS happy...the sense of understanding and peace is palpable.
Arriving next is the album's masterpiece -- "Where Do You Start?" Backed by a cascading waterfall of chords from Krall's piano, Barbra simply breaks your heart with an octave-spanning vocal that navigates the emotions of an unravelling relationship and its aftermath with startling honesty. "A Time for Love" is a rapturous response to the broken dreams witnessed in "Where Do You Start?" and here Streisand is at her most romantic...after all the heartbreak, she still believes in love. She may bend, but she will never break.
The final Proustian cycle of songs, "Here's That Rainy Day," "Love Dance," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and "Some Other Time" cushion Streisand in a Remembrance of Things Past aura and she rises to the occasion magnificently. From the haunting desolation of "Rainy Day" to the breezy bossa-nova jazzy whispers of "Love Dance" to the sting of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" to the ambivalent good-byes of "Some Other Time," this is Streisand in ravishing -- and revelatory -- form.
And now, back to the Voice. As an often stubborn long-time fan, I cannot say that I was immediately receptive to the occasional flaws that Barbra has decided to allow into the final mixing of this collection. Yet, would her vocals -- and the very essence of the soul-baring PERFORMANCE that she gives on the CD as a whole -- be as memorable if she had polished and powdered and perfected her performances as she has done in the past? I think the answer, in the final analysis, is no.
With Diana Krall proving to be a producer of near-genius instinct and impeccable musicianship, "Love is The Answer" is unquestionably Barbra's finest recording since "The Broadway Album." Streisand had thought about and prepared for this collection of songs for many years and the planning has paid off magnificently. As Barbra sings in "Here's To Life," "here's to dreamers and their dreams..."
Thanks, Barbra. Your dream was well worth waiting for.
Free Music Review: Streisand Comes Full Circle and Rediscovers Her Musical Soul
Hit: 5 Stars
What strikes me as well as any longtime fan is how Barbra Streisand seems to be coming full circle with her music nearly a half-century after her 1963 recording debut. In fact, none of the songs selected on her 2009 disc would have been out of place on that first prodigious album. The girlish high spirits of her novelty numbers are long gone, but the melisma and dramatic conviction in her singular voice, so startling to hear from a twenty-year-old, produce such a luster now that the longevity of her vocal talent must surely be the result of some supernatural force. It was a wise decision for her to get back into the studio with popular jazz musician Diana Krall to produce a disc of familiar jazz and mid-century pop standards because they suit Streisand perfectly.
Her range is understandably more contained now with her lower register attaining a burnished throatiness and her bravura moments quite rare occurrences. Her phrasing and interpretative skills, however, remain unparalleled, as she continues to be a willful force of nature and easily the most accomplished song stylist of her generation. Streisand cut a dozen songs in two versions for the album's deluxe edition - one version with Diana Krall's jazz quartet, the other with full orchestral arrangements by Johnny Mandel which have been laid over the Krall tracks. I prefer the intimacy of the combo by themselves since the sparseness makes Streisand's own instrument shine even brighter in what feels like a dark, smoky nightclub.
Those who own her 1991 retrospective package, Just for the Record..., will already be familiar with her 1960's takes on "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" and the Sinatra chestnut, "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning". The new autumnal versions carry a deeper sense of melancholy highlighted by Krall's Vince Guaraldi-esque piano interludes. The gentle bossa nova sway to "Gentle Rain" is intoxicating, while its precipitation-inducing sibling, Jimmy Van Heusen's "Here's That Rainy Day" provides a nice guitar solo introducing the insinuating melody. There is a lovely version of Bernstein's "Some Other Time" from "On the Town" replete with the signature cleverness of the Comden and Green lyrics, and their sharply heartfelt words also inform Jules Styne's sweetly yearning "Make Someone Happy".
Swinging with gentle insistence, Paul Williams' "Love Dance" provides a soft beat infused in romanticism, while Mandel's "A Time for Love" provides a more straightforward declaration of the same sentiments. Streisand gamely goes for a bravura finale on Jerome Kern's classic "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" from "Roberta" that is as thrilling as it is unexpected. No Streisand ballad album would be complete without contributions from her good friends, Alan and Marilyn Bergman. They provide the sad-eyed break-up lyrics to Mandel's "Where Do You Start?" which the singer handles with dramatic aplomb, and this is the one case where I do prefer the full orchestral version. The Bergmans also lend their expertise to the disc's bonus track, Michel Legrand's emotionally windswept "You Must Believe in Spring".
With keen competition, my favorite tracks both feel distinctly Gallic with their melodramatic flourishes - the bittersweet opener, Artie Butler's "Here's to Life" and Jacques Brel's masochistic "Ne me quitte pas" which was later popularly translated by Rod McKuen into "If You Go Away". Streisand sings the middle portion in impeccable French (shades of Je M'appelle Barbra). With assistance from longtime producer Tommy LiPuma (who produced Streisand's underrated The Way We Were album), this is a masterful recording befitting the singer's legend and a must-have for Streisand fans as devoted as myself.
Free Music Review: I admit that I wondered a little, but this is really superb
Hit: 5 Stars
Before I ran out this morning to buy this, I admit I was a little curious how Barbra would sound on this two CD deluxe set. I haven't followed Barbra's recent performances and releases as closely as I should have and, after all, as we all age our vocal chords change. Indeed, it is rare that people sound the same at age 67 as they sounded when they were so much younger. Well, I obviously needn't have worried: Barbra sounds BETTER THAN EVER on these two CDs!!! She never once lets go of a single superfluous note. The two CD version of this release is clearly the way to go for true blue Streisand fans. The quality of the sound is excellent throughout and I love that artwork, too.
The first CD has Barbra singing with lush orchestral arrangements that perfectly compliment her vocals. Wisely, the musicians never even try to steal the show from Barbra; she remains squarely front and center which is right where she belongs! Every number on the first CD is a winner that will strike you with its natural beauty and Barbra's voice is as clear as a bell every single time. What a thrill! "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" is an absolutely stunning torch song; Barbra handles this with incredible style and so much genuine emotion, heart and soul. The arrangement makes particularly good use of the piano, too. "If You Go Away (Ne Me Quitte Pas)" features Barbra handling complex tempo and key changes that enhance her performance all the more; this has a type of singing poetry that is memorable, to say the least and it's a great highlight of this CD. "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" is another gem that Barbra aces seemingly effortlessly--but of course we know that a performance this good isn't just by chance; Barbra's talent carries her through very well. "Make Someone Happy" is flawless--this music is all THAT good. Barbra sure does make this shine and I love it!
"A Time For Love" is also very pretty; those strings are terrific as Barbra sings this to perfection--and beyond! "Here's That Rainy Day" and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" never sounded better than when Barbra handles them with panache; and "You Must Believe In Spring" is a fine ending for the first CD.
The second CD has nothing but splendid, quartet musical arrangements that result in an even brighter light cast upon Barbra's singularly beautiful voice. I am so impressed by how well she sings! "Here's To Life" gets the royal treatment from Barbra and the piano is just great. "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" gets an especially romantic flavor to it that is simply irresistible; and listen for yet another gem when Barbra Streisand performs "Gentle Rain" with that terrific quartet treatment! Now THIS is romantic, timeless music! "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" is yet again absolutely perfect in Barbra's capable hands; this is one heck of a torch song!
"Where Do You Start?" gets a quartet arrangement with Barbra singing her heart out; and I love every minute of it! "A Time For Love" impresses me; and I really like "Here's That Rainy Day" and "Love Dance." "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is yet another ageless ballad that glows so very bright when Barbra sings it; and "Some Other Time" couldn't have been done any better in the quartet version.
Barbra Streisand has blessed us by sharing with us her remarkably unique talents for quite some while now; and I hope that she continues to do so! I highly recommend this for any Barbra Streisand fan; and people just discovering her magical artistry will not be disappointed.
Bravo, Barbra!
Free Music Review: A mature Streisand
Hit: 5 Stars
It seems forever since we have had a new recording from Barbra. She has released so many hits collections and performed so many FINAL concerts that she never lost validity as a uniquely gifted vocalist but she lost her place as a current performer of importance. She seemed to settle into this easy, comfortable trend early in her years. She is in her 60s now and that is not old. Seemed to be that PEOPLE, MEMORIES, DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE and YENTL were her legacy. And then with the last concert it was strongly apparent that age was affecting her vocal performance and the belting forceful numbers caused some strain and cracking in her notes. Her range was changing but she sang the same material.
I must now pinch myself for I never thought this day would come. We have a brand new release from Barbra Streisand of all songs she has never recorded before. This set is a cohesive set of a new and mature Barbra doing what she does best. Granted her range has changed and certain notes can't be hit but Barbra's greatest strength has always been her interpretive skills and how she caresses each word and line of a song with meaning and raw emotion.
These songs are slower and provide more of an opportunity for Barbra to express herself. Even if her range slightly changes or age has an effect Barbra Streisand has been and will always be a musical legend. Her voice is an instrument of beauty with skills and talent that are so very rare to find. Some may be disappointed that there are no belter numbers here and also think that slower means easier and safer. That is so far from the truth. Barbra is very smartly singing songs here that fall within her current range but their simpler, gentler pace provide a center stage for her voice to be on open display. The songs provide a roller coaster of emotion. HERE'S TO LIFE and MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY show how Barbra doesn't have to belt a ballad to put across beautific positive messages. IF YOU GO AWAY and HERE'S THAT RAINY DAY are simply breathtaking as Barbra takes you on a true emotional journey.
If you find this cd boring at first or not at all what you expected give it a couple of listens. Much work and love has been put into this collection. It is a more mature and heartfelt Barbra. Her voice is strong, lush and she will take you on an emotional journey you will not soon forget. This is intimate Barbara and she opens up through song as never before. To share with the listeners ther different recording sessions was a brilliant decision. My favorite is disc 1 with the 13 songs performed with an orchestra but the second disc is a revelation as Barbra's voice is even more in the forefront with merely a quartet. There are no backup singers on these discs and what you have is pure Barbra - the voice, the emotion and the talent.
New music from Barbra is a true gift and this cd is meant to be truly treasured.