Barbra Streisand NEW SINGLE OUT NOW

Her heart is in the right place.

But the only music I want to hear referencing him is the whoosh and chop of a guillotine blade.

old cow go home!

count ur chochkas and feel blessed for thou are decrepid, and need to sit home in ur hot bath or bidet.

Beyonce is sweating bullets over Babs return to the charts.

Interesting interview. I don't know where she gets her drive- still there at 76. Clearly one of the great sources of her long career.

I find her thoughts and observations more compelling than "Don't Lie To Me", which though she sounds great, is simplistic and bombastic.

Oh God, those photos....they didn't even bother with Photoshop, they used a gum eraser.

Dear God. I couldn't get through half of this insipidly miserable tune. This air brushed, Vaselined fossil still believes she is relevant to a generation nearly 60 years younger than she, when they can't even appreciate her classic, legendary work. If she's going to get out of the sweet shop in her mall and start recording again in granny's house, at least take on the Cole Porter or Rodgers and Hart songbook, something worthy of what remains of her talent, legacy, and voice. What the fuck we do need? Another rendition of "Imagine" and "What a Wonderful World?" You're 76, Barbra. You're getting too old too imagine, and the world isn't wonderful. It sucks. Next thing, we'll hear is for your 80th birthday, Gypsy will be going before the cameras. With a 55 year old Tulsa. Harpy days are here again!

I'm still hip! The kids will all be blasting this from their iPods!

R9 - Be careful not to break that hip!

[quote]If she's going to get out of the sweet shop in her mall and start recording again in granny's house, at least take on the Cole Porter or Rodgers and Hart songbook, something worthy of what remains of her talent, legacy, and voice.

I was ready to post the exact same comment.

Instead of this schlock, go back to the Sandards. Songs with great lyrics and melodies.

It would be much more interesting to hear them done in her older voice ....and with the wisdom of her age... than this junk.

She's a piece of shit, a forgotten piece of shit. Irrelevant talent, even her "legendary" work.

Oh, honey. Stay in your basement.

R12 = a bitter Janet Jackson

And yet she gets a thread on datalounge before we even mention the Wicked Halloween concert with the OC witches reuniting.

Some of you really need to get a life.

Babs inspiration for her new look.

[quote] Instead of this schlock, go back to the Sandards. Songs with great lyrics and melodies.

But I'm still a happening singing star, hep to today's always-evolving music scene! Besides, people just love to hear the new songs I discover because I am FAMOUS for my exquisite taste!

She looks so young and beautiful on that album cover.

The funny thing is, she could probably get 2 or 3 albums out by doing the standards.

And her old fans...the ones who actually buy music would want them.

There's a lot of classic stuff that she's never recorded.

Her voice is worn, but those songs are unbreakable. She could bring something new to them.

Not subtle and her voice is gone.

If she only had a chest voice/belt, her previous 4 octaves, and Peter Matz alive and arranging. The selections for "Under My Skin: Barbra Sings Cole" (1). Stereophonic Sound/Another Openin' Another Show (2). You'd Be So Easy to Love/You Do Something to Me (in cut time, shrill like "Gee gee gee gee gee Jingle Bells) (3). Medley: Let's Do It/Let's Misbehave/Blow Gabriel Blow (a downbeat version accompanied by a lilting double bass and tenor sax). (4). So In Love (as one of those sensual sambas to accompany her romantic nights with Jim) (5). I Loved Him (though no one will ever top the Judy version) (6). Were Thine That Special Face (now she can finish the tune she started in "Color Me Barbra." (7). I Hate Men/From This Moment On (Barbra loves resilience and positive transformations) (8). I Concentrate on You/All of You/I Get a Kick Out of You (ironic laughter in between phrases) (9). I've Got You Under My Skin (duet with Diana Krall) (10). Friendship (duet with Liza Minnelli) (11). Be a Clown/Brush Up Your Shakespeare (she always wanted to do the classics) (12). Every Time We Say Goodbye (posthumous duet with Betty Carter)

IS she trying to compete with the new A Star is Born?

She sounds and looks like Norma Desmond...

Streisand never had 4 octaves. Not quite 3. Aguilera, (young) Whitney, Celine and (young) Mariah are the pop singers who can claim 4 octaves.

Streisand's unique and beautiful vibrato did make her high notes soar off into the stratosphere and her ability to blend her chest belts with head voice made for a lot of thrilling high notes. That's why so many thought (mistakenly) that she had a huge vocal range. Her voice was not nearly as powerful as many other singers but she had great technique, beautiful legato and a lovely warm tone with exceptional resonance.

She still fucked up most of the standards that she chose to sing by overindulging her modulations, holding notes past the point of lyrical sense and other vain histrionics. A Streisand vocal is always predictable.

Now she's all rasp and compressed vocals, doubled and double tracked again and again. There's figuratively no sound to her voice, just familiar orchestration.

is that...stealthy autotune I hear?

Mainly I'm glad the Walls she's referencing in the title of the album seem to be the ones pictured on the cover.

Who's she?

Wow. She sounds really old and I kinda like it.

It is Babs and she is old and we get a new song.

I wish she was trending -- rather than this shit about a rapist who the GOP is going to beatify before affirming as supreme court justice.

I like it! She’s done enough old standards.

Enough with the standards and she doesn't have the voice to pull them off now anyway. The last Broadway album was terrible.

This feels current, and it's about time she got back to doing something fresh. That picture doesn't look half bad, but she should stop with the Greek tragedy poses and the sofa length shawls. Rock a full length bodysuit with a nice shot of cleavage. It's about time we got pop Streisand again.

Can’t say I’m a big fan, but this song/performance is fine.

Songs about politics age badly. Very uninteresting.

Will the Muzak version be playing in her personal mall? Maybe whilst eyeing the daily Cinnabon special on the way to her notions ‘n lotion shop she’ll hum along...

It's all muzak. She's terrible. Irrelevant and embarrassing. Delusional.

Horrid abortion of a song. Retire old lady.

Couldn't disagree more. It's got a very Adele/ Amy Winehouse vibe to it. If the industry wasn't so ageist, this could be a no brainer top forty at least.

Babs is back.

Very funny R37. Streisand doesn't have a rhythmic or soulful bone in her vagina or vocal chords. EVER.

You want to understand judge K. read post R38. Aside from the obvious R38 is dumb as a rock (and doesn’t know it).

That photo looks like she's in the basement pit waiting for Buffalo Bill to lower the basket. Although very dolled up for such a situation.

The photo was taken in the Grotto section of the food court in her mall

You're nuts R39. And Streisand is a friend to no liberal cause but her own jew centric idea of philanthropy. She is completely unprepared to speak of the real problems that people face NOW. She's always jerked around nuclear winters and other fake liberal causes. She doesn't even know how to approach the loss of civil rights and the rise of racism or the stripping away of women's freedoms to govern their own body and destiny. She can only reference her lame "feminism" like because she didn't win an Oscar for being a mediocre director while being a bitch. She is detested.

You have no idea who you are addressing R39. I know more about music and vocal production than you OR Barbra Streisand. She is not and never has been a soulful singer. Her attempts at ad libs, runs or downtown sounds have been ludicrous. To suggest that she sounds like Adele or Amy Winehouse in tone, style or timbre is an insult to all three of them. You're an old white fag Barbara fan. Don't get carried away trying to discredit my expertise by comparing it to a Kavanaugh hearing or appointment? What the fuck gramps. You sound a fool and very very old.

Barbara Streusel is not some great liberal or even much of a feminist. She's a privileged white Hollywood star and democrat. She dabbled in politics but it's all over her head now. She's not unlike Cher, but at least Cher can still sing a bit. They are vain old women trying desperately to remain relevant. They can use some of their fortunes to do good and stay out of our way. Thanks R39 for helping my argument. Babs can't sing anymore and she sure as fuck aint' soulful. Her sound is canned ham. Kiked up goy dreck.

I stopped at 1:59. Dreck.

She is best with songs from the Great American Songbook. You can't go wrong with those. Lyrics. Melody. It's all there. There has to be a tune of them that are seldom recorded.

Or she dig into the catalog of her friends Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

I am sick and tired of all the bad music nowadays. Add this one to the list. Sadly.

smoking killed her beautiful instrument.

R42, well smell you. I don't even like Barbra any more, but you are an annoying cunt.

It’s Trumps new theme song

349 Shazaams.

R26 I heard some subtle auto tune as well. Though they can claim that it is a sound effect acceptable in pop.

Gaga is currently #1 on iTunes

That’s gotta drive Barbra insane

R42, I'm not R39, but what an asinine comment. Of course Barbra had talent. She's not your cup of drank, apparently. But to say she "can't sing anymore" is silly. She's 76 and sings better than most female singers half her age or more. Still, at 76.. And she did have an extraordinary voice when she was younger. You didn't like it. Fine. Oh and you have made it abundantly apparent that you are young and have "expertise." Expertise at what I can't imagine. But if it's judging who is a good singer or singer in general... WTF? Everyone thinks they're an expert at that. People like what they like. Even if you were able to receive some degree or certificate of soulful female singers appreciation, it doesn't make you an expert on what the general public should like.

"Or she dig into the catalog of her friends Alan and Marilyn Bergman."

She's done enough of the fucking Bergmans. Some gems but much dreck. Enough of them.

Man that is a bad song sung averagely. I assume Barbra wrote it?

And by the way, I don't even like the song. I just objected to how she was dismissed by you as a singer. Maybe the other poster shouldn't have said "soul singer," which she is not. But that's really just semantics. Her singing does have soul. Maybe not Aretha soul. But she puts her heart and, yes, soul into what she sings.

God, that photo in the video looks like something out of "The Silence Of The Lambs". Jame Gumb is going to be furious when he sees who's in the great, big, fat person well.

The botox paralyzed her vocal chords

R54, that was already mentioned.

I'm excited she's doing new material. I like the looks of the playlist and I like this song. Go, Barbra. You sound better than you have in years. Your voice is in great shape and this song is a forceful statement.

[quote] (4). So In Love (as one of those sensual sambas to accompany her romantic nights with Jim)

Mary!!!

R50. I'm a musician, a graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in performance and composition, a sometime singer and composer. I don't have a degree in female appreciation, but I am a vocal coach and accompanist to some of the best singers on two continents. I didn't say that Streisand had no talent. I said she can't sing anymore. See my post @ r25. She is definitely not my cup of dreck (drank?) but I recognize her innate vocal talent and the beauty of her instrument. Past tense. I am under 50 but not a kid. No one under 50 knows who she is! Her music is too corny and better vocalists passed her by a long time ago. She won't be remembered as one of the greats because she doesn't really perform for people. She SINGS AT US. And ruined more songs than she serves.

Streisand has been using auto tune correction in LIVE performance and recordings since that terrible duets album with Blake Shelton and Ricky Gervais. Or whoever it was. Her taste was always bad and self congratulatory and her voice been long gone. This is from 6 years ago. This is what the arrogant witch sounds like. Raspy, shouty and off key. Streisand sings flat and lazy. Who knew? A lot of us. She is not soulful, sorry. Putting your GIGANTIC ego into your work is not analogous to soul. Streisand would never take the stage with Donna, Whitney, Celine or anyone who sang better than her, never mind the great Aretha. She sang with some style and abandon in those old TV specials, long before I was born. I guess that's what old white gays remember as soul. Enough is enough. She's an embarrassment and so fucking insincere. If you're going to sing when you're old you better come correct.

God, that raspy voice at r59 is just cringeworthy.

It's r59 who is cringeworthy. Fuck off, creep.

I'm not going to talk about her voice or her musicality. Only that I admire her for using her voice to speak up during these dark times. I doubt it's going to have any effect, but she's as least making her voice heard (and when this nightmare is over, if it ever is, people will remember that).

Another great Streisand vocal delivered with so much soul and passion she practically tells you where your car is parked. Did I sing that already...do you deserve a full octave?

It’s incredible that the Whitneys, the Celine’s and the Donnas all honored and admired the genius and talent of Barbra Streisand. Even Aretha had RESPECT and it was mutual admiration society for Barbra certainly admired Aretha’s art. Very tellingly Barbra is the only female singer from her era that still has a recording contract. Even the great Aretha didn’t have that. The new song has a Phil Spector Sound to me. I look forward to the new album. Barbra’s talent like Aretha is once in a lifetime. I think her mature voice is more suited to contemporary music. When she was younger and tried singing rock music one critic said that her voice was too smooth, too clear to sing rock. Now she has the voice to sing those kinds of songs if she chooses.

Why. Won't. She. Use. Any. Color. On. Her. Lips!!!

did she try to be hip with this song? Been a fan for almost 40 years and I couldn’t finish half way thru it

She tries but the voice is low and mostly gone.

I’m glad she’s not locked in the past and she’s moving on.

I like the song. It's a song about Trump who she and just about everyone doesn't like. Great words and good effort on her part. I'd like to buy it.

[quote]Streisand never had 4 octaves. Not quite 3. Aguilera, (young) Whitney, Celine and (young) Mariah are the pop singers who can claim 4 octaves.

Ariana Grande has a bigger vocal range than all of these women. Whitney and Celine never had 4 octaves. They both had the same vocal range as Barbra.

Barbra is currently where Rosemary Clooney was towards the end of her career. The voice is greatly diminished, but the interpretive ability is still there.

R69 I’ll buy the song if it’s about trumpocrazy

Whitney did say famously: "there'll never be another Aretha, there will never be another Barbra....and there won't be another me."

Houston had soul, her heart was there for all to see every time she sang. And that voice. The best. RIP.

R72 Tiresome Troll: this is about Streisand, not Whitney Houston. Go to bed now and take a couple of valium.

God bless the child who's got soul. Funny that a white man would accuse "constant racism" of someone because he doesn't like his favorite ancient singer? Where did that come from R73?

I'm not going to another website. Your breed is dying off and losing ground here. The ancient white men of DL who hate women and barely tolerate POC are outnumbered and overthrown. Trust. Constant racism must be a projection from some old timer. Things are very different here and will change further. We make sure each day.

From the horse’s mouth. NEVER BE ANOTHER....

r70. Ariana Grande? She’ll be forgotten in her own lunchtime.

From the horse’s mouth there will NEVER BE ANOTHER!

[quote]She won't be remembered as one of the greats because she doesn't really perform for people.

R59 You know nothing about music.

Her place among the all-time greats was established decades ago.

Has she stayed to long at the fair? Perhaps. But no one who goes to a Streisand concert today expects to hear the Barbra of 1965.

[quote]She won't be remembered as one of the greats because she doesn't really perform for people.

She's covering the Prince-penned, Sheena Easton, song "Sugar Walls" on her new album too. Can't wait for it.

^ LOL!

R63 What are you trying to prove? What's your point?

How did Frank Sinatra sound toward the end of his career? Peggy Lee? Judy Garland? Tony Bennett?

Tony Bennett was smart enough not to forge new frontiers into rock, techno, and disco, but honed his expertise in standards, jazz, and swing, and doesn't try to look 40 when he's 92. He aged gracefully, appropriately, avoided Botox, and would never think of paying $35,000 for a Francesco Scavullo session back in the fucking 70s. And yes, he at 92, still has a recording contract.

R83 Like Streisand, Bennett is in the upper echelon of the all-time greats. And also like Streisand his voice is nearly gone, it's nothing like the Tony Bennett of 40 years ago. No one is expecting it to be.

[quote]Tony Bennett was smart enough not to forge new frontiers into rock, techno, and disco, but honed his expertise in standards, jazz, and swing, and doesn't try to look 40 when he's 92.

What?

Oh please, I adore Tony Bennett but he's been wearing that fucking wig for decades now. And on album covers he's as Photoshopped as anyone.

Yes, Streisand did try things like disco... but instead of being an embarrassment ... she paired with Donna Summer, recorded "Enough is Enough, and sold over two million copies in the US alone.

A coloratura soprano has maybe 3 octaves. Some pop singers claim to have more than 3, but they're really using an extension of their voice that more often than not sounds disjointed from the rest of their vocal range. (I won't call it falsetto because there used to be, and maybe there still is, some controversy about whether or not female singers can even sing falsetto.) Some (I'm thinking Mariah Carey) can extend even further into the so-called whistle register.

Streisand never had 4.

Her voice never did anything for me, even in her prime. It lacks any warmth and she her records always sounded too "calculative" to me. Definitely one of the most overrated legends of our time.

Actually R59, my brother has worked for her. He's a musician- does sound production for tours- and knows many of those who have worked for her for years including her recent tours. She does not use any technology to alter her voice. You have exposed yourself.

Her first maybe 7 albums (from The Barbra Streisand Album to Color Me Barbra) were all great. I don't think she ever released any albums that equalled these, subsequent hit singles notwithstanding. And I do believe The Barbra Streisand Album remains one of the greatest debut albums of any pop singer.

It's odd that she didn't perform live very much during her very best years, and then seemed to get really comfortable at it in the last maybe 10 years or so when her voice had started to wane. I respect her recorded legacy, but I hope she packs it in soon.

Her voice was very much in its prime in on the1994 and 2000 tours- very polished, powerful. The Garden in summer 1994 was pandemonium. A couple years ago, live at a political event she was amazing. No technology, a piano and small band, and back up singers on two numbers (Carol King songs). The audience went wild- sure she was a bit diminished- but for those present that night- she blew the lid off on the big numbers and enchanted on the Sondheim ballads. My guess is R59 has never seen her live- "doesn't sing to people" silly. To each his/her own, but R59 sounds silly.

Which Sondheim songs did she sing, r90?

Is she directing the new Batman movie, or is this just the theme song?

Barbra Streisand is one of the greatest singers and interpreters of song, at least for the 20th century. Her only equals are Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra in terms of depth, texturing, emotional divergence, and natural vocal tone and beauty. Each are equally compelling in their quietest, softest moments than in their belting or full-throated singing. None of the other singers mentioned can touch these 3 in any way shape or form, not even Bennett. But Streisand's obsession is the manic need to be perceived as "relevant" and "hip" to the times, and this has been evident since the early 1970s. She may have stretched her interpretations to do so much justice to Laura Nyro and Carole King, but her forays into disco would have been as successful as Karen Carpenter's without the presence of Donna Summer and Barry Gibb. Her attempts at rock in the Emotion album are even more misplaced. This need to be relevant (but fortunately for her, commercially successful) has removed her from many other musical and even cinematic possibilities that could have really shaped the artistic integrity she says she craves. Instead of a mall, she could have financed The Normal Heart herself, as Larry Kramer, has suggested she do, and created a truly relevant film back in a time when it was very much needed for the LGBTQ community. Barbra's greatest work was, as someone mentioned, her first 7 albums with Peter Matz, and her first two television specials, which were unprecedented and unequalled. It was there that she was truly an artist. Even Sinatra's A Man and His Music couldn't touch them. At this point in her life with limited vocals, she should truly return to her roots and take her own advice. Simplify her life and tastes and revisit the wealth of musical standards that she hasn't even touched. Has Babs performed yet at Radio City or Carnegie Hall? The big arenas are getting kind of echoey for her. There is much left to do. But girl, you've made your scheckles. You've got your mall. It should be about the cash anymore. Do the right thing, and remind this artistically anorexic Instagram generation of what great really is. It is you. And don't lie to me.

Barbra Streisand has given away 10 of millions- built a cardiology wing on Cedar Sinai in LA and a hospital in Israel after the '67 war. She has funded a Chair at Columbia University. I know of at least one additional major gift she made anonymously to a famous women's college because my mother was a trustee at the time. Her income from the single of Somewhere went to AmFar. Her Foundation funds all manner of charity on a yearly basis- public record. She has given millions to the Clinton Foundation. She has been performing free of charge since she first toured the South with MLK in the early 60s (she became a great friend of the late Coretta Scott King)- for all manner of charities and political events. She never really stopped singing or performing live- she just did it between 1971 and 1993 for charity only. I thinks she done her bit.

This was about her musical sensibilities. Not her tax writeoffs. Get a life.

I wrote that in response to she should have financed Normal Heart. She spent tons of her own $ trying to get that made- I'll spare you the story. Larry Kramer was impossible- (and he really is.)

The last time Streisand spent a dime of her own money it was some hideous Americana furniture for her more hideous house or horrors. She jewed everyone down who ever worked for her in any capacity. Including talents much greater than she. She's famously cheap and sings only to buy 6 million dollar paintings. Old deaf white fag fans buy these things for her. She is renowned for her terrible taste in everything. DRECK. She is grateful to no one. She is a cochon.

Yeah, no. Sounds like she smokes and plays on a Casio keyboard, performing for her cats. Those poor cats.

“...Don’t sing to me, don’t sing to me, don’t sing to me...”

I like contemporary Barbra!

Someone in their seventies is about to have a smash hit record and it's not shitty barbara.

[quote] Her only equals are Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra...

Aren't you forgetting someone?

As far as singing talent Cher isn’t even on the same planet as the Divine Barbra. Barbra is nowhere near as limited as Rosemary Clooney was in her later years though the both became even better interpreters of songs. Barbra still has many colors in her voice. IMO.

[quote] Barbra still has many colors in her voice. IMO.

Dove-grey

Platinum

Pearl-grey

Gunmetal

Slate-grey

Silver

Ash-grey

Battleship-grey...

Look, Barbra queens--face the facts: we have ears.

You can make whatever arguments you like about what she once was like, but we can HEAR for ourselves exactly what her voice is like now.

It's gone. She sounds awful. Saying otherwise will just not distract us from that inescapable fact.

The end.

Well, once again I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the foaming-at-the-mouth Babs haters go into a fit of apoplexy. You all love to hate her but none of you can touch her success, her riches, her legacy. Oh, my sides! Where to begin...first there's the mindless-with-rage ravings of r38/r42/r59/r97--talk about a gash fest!

"No one under 50 knows who she is!" seethes cunt r59. First, I happen to know quite a few people under 50 who know who she is because they're not stupid and they get out. And even if that were true (and as I said I know it isn't), the idiocy of others not knowing who a certified legend really isn't the fault of the legend.

All she has to do is come with a single and the Datalounge Streisand haters react like a mad cat at the vet's!

LMFAO!!!!!!!

I’m not a fan of both Cher and Barbra but PLEASE, don’t ever put Cher on the same level with Barbra when it comes to singing and class. Now fuck you

Streisand is largely forgotten so I'm not sure she is a legend. She has less followers than Nancy Sinatra.

Sure, Jan at r107. That's why her concerts make hundreds of millions even now. Really, cunty, take a pill and go to bed. And trust me: no one has less followers than you.

She was already a legend in 1970!

A few thousand ancient white fags and rich Jews support Barbara's delusions of stardom. No one else knows who she is. Her style of singing is antiquated and her films are forgotten. Forgotten people are not legends.

Like R108, they are delusional. Goodnite Matt.

Aw, poor r110. Facts--like the facts of Billboard, Variety, the Oscars, palatial properties on the ocean, and hundreds of millions prove you wrong. You sad little loser. You sound like a 4chan Trump fan, gash.

Barbra, class? You must be joking. Talent yes- class none.

[quote]No one under 50 knows who she is!

Do they know who Dinah Washington is...or Peggy Lee or Rosemary Clooney or Nat King Cole or Jack Jones or Nancy Wilson or Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughn or Carmen McRea... are they any less great because "no one under 50 knows who they are"?

[quote]Streisand is largely forgotten so I'm not sure she is a legend.

Forgotten by whom?

Oscar winners, performers with their names above the title of major Hollywood productions, performers with their names above the title of major B'Way musicals, singers with recordings that have gone platinum and have filled concert halls and stadiums and Central Park, stars with their own Emmy winning TV specials, performers with their Star on the Walk of Fame, performers who have won multiple People's Choice Awards, Directors Guild of America winners, American Film Institute lifetime winners, Multiple Golden Globe winners...etc and etc and etc.... are rarely forgotten.

Barbra has done ALL of these things. Her place at the very top of the history Pop culture is as secure as Sinatra's.

Nancy Sinatra IS more popular than Barbra, that's true Charlie. Didn't you sell Barbara a hankie once from your cart in Grand Central? Charlie sold hankies to a lot of famous people back in the day. Memories live again.

Streisand is not in the company of Ella or Sarah or Whitney or Billie or Rosemary Clooney or Frank or Aretha or Nancy Wilson or Nat King Cole. She's not as great or good as any of them. She's not as great a singer as Natalie Cole.

Bab's belongs more with Linda Eder and Eydie Gorme. Bombastic singers with questionable taste and very predictable vocals. Unlikable and self congratulatory.

Streisand's movies are completely forgotten because no one can sit through any of them other than one shot at Funny Girl. Barbara Streusel has no where near the followers of Celine, Cher, Bette Midler or even Kristin Chenoweth. People just don't like her. Even most 75 year olds don't want to listen to that.

R104 True. I used to buy her albums when they were released but stopped 15 years ago when her voice began to decline. Now she has few good low notes left which she tries to use as much as possible.

she still sounds relevant on her new single.

Poor delusional r114, a member of the Flat Earth Society.

"People just don't like her. Even most 75 year olds don't want to listen to that."--r114

^Not bad for someone who can't sing anymore, and who "nobody likes." r114 should be so disliked. Though he probably is.

But of course nobody knows who she is anymore, according to r114. Must be all those phantoms spending $50 million to see her.

Bravo Barbra!

Hurry, everyone! Get your Nancy Sinatra concert tickets! What? She doesn't have any concert tours? But why not? According to r114, she's more popular than Streisand.

In the sixties there were The Beatles, Motown (The Supremes) and Barbra. Aretha didind really emerge till the late sixties as a force. The Beatles and The Supremes broke up as did Motown but Barbra gloriously remains.

There is simply no other that has had the kind of success she has had in all formats (recordings, legit theatre, concert stage, tv and films. She wasn’t just successful. She was triumphant. Did she have help? Yes, a brilliant manager which is something that the others didn’t have. She also had once in a lifetime talent and drive. I sometime wonder what would have happened with Aretha if she had a Marty Erlichman?

r123, you're right when you say (apart from the obvious, one-in-a-million talent) that Streisand had drive, and I think she had and has more drive than any of the other great artists you mention, including Aretha. Barbra and Erlichman had mutual drive, he was devoted to her, he was smart, and she was in turn loyal to him and listened to him. You could say with that kind of talent and ambition, Streisand didn't need a manager, but she absolutely has benefited from this wunderkind manager for over 50 years and counting.

Every artist need a manager (or support team) and Barbra’s no exception. It was just a partnership made in heaven. Over 50 years and never a signed contract between the two.

Barbra is one of the only artists I can see doing it alone, if anyone could. But you're right, r125. Erlichman was a godsend for her. And she him.

I can understand not liking Barbra Streisand... we all have our own personal tastes. And personally, I don't care for much that she's done for the past 30 years or so.

But when she was in her prime in the first decade or so of her career, she was brilliant and the shitty song posted above can't change that.

r127 is of course speaking the obvious truth. I don't hate the song and she's done worse, and apparently there are people here who don't care enough about what Trump is and is doing that they actually trash HER for using her considerable influence to speak against him. How fucked up is that?

Fucking losers.

I will get the song for that reason alone--to support the fight against HIM.

She's always been broadly on the right side of history, politically speaking. Always. She has done innumerable benefit concerts over the decades, has put her name out there, was on Nixon's enemies list. And she did it gladly. She has never backed down out of concern for her career. For that alone she deserves respect. Since performing for Kennedy in 1963, she has been unmovable in her beliefs and hasn't been an idiot like Jon Voight, who went from being a liberal to this mutant Trump lover and Vietnam apologist.

[quote] she has been unmovable in her beliefs

^Yes, it's called decorum. She was being honored by the country, not him personally. And she was plenty vocal about her disdain for him.

^She wouldn't go near Trump. But no self-respecting person would.

To the person going on about all of Barbra's charitable contributions, she can be sly. My dad paid $5000 to see her with his girlfriend and Barbra donated the proceeds to charity. She got the write-off, not my dad.

I like both of her notes, but don't like her material or now she over-enunciates so many words.

[quote]To the person going on about all of Barbra's charitable contributions, she can be sly. My dad paid $5000 to see her with his girlfriend and Barbra donated the proceeds to charity. She got the write-off, not my dad.

That's because she gave away money to charity; you dad paid to go to a concert.

Exactly, r135--why should your dad be able to write that off, r133?

More importantly why pay $5,000 to hear that old bitch praise herself for 100 minutes and croak out a few bars? Remember when she charged people "by the note" to come and hear her sing. Those are her words, tacky bitch.

Streisand is a grotesque. Go see someone who sings better. Katy Perry maybe.

Katy Perry? Well, if that's your speed, r137, you're welcome to it, hunty.

[quote]Remember when she charged people "by the note" to come and hear her sing. Those are her words, tacky bitch.

It was a joke; one that went right over your dizzy, little head.

I know this is a Barbra Don't Lie To Me thread. But I'm going to tell you the truth. All these other singers from Whitney to Mariah are mentioned as being superior to her, but the gays in their maniacal worship of the cunts, always seem to forget their very own. And one of the finest singers for over 60 years who rose to stardom before Barbra and who at age 82 still sounds better than she or any of the others is Johnny Mathis. Streisand even cited him as her favorite singer growing up. He is the forgotten gem of the gay experience, gave the world some of the most beautiful and enduring standards of all time, and came out of the closet with death threats to his life long before it was the chic thing to do. A great star who is equally humble and low key; who never had to flaunt, preen, try to be beautiful, hot, sexy, or anything other than what he was. He is the epitome of musical royalty and never lets you forget he's still a real person. He is an icon that the gay people should be celebrating and aspiring to, because he took care of himself and treasured his great talent without scandal and without tragedy. Yet he has never received the Kennedy Center Honors or the level of respect from the gay community, even of the elder crop, that he has so richly deserved. Johnny. opposed to Barbra, never needed to prove that he's relevant. He is relevant when he gets up on stage and does what he's always done and enthralls audiences the world over. And he doesn't need the money. He does it because he loves it. Unlike some.

You're right, r140. Now start your own thread.

I obviously haven't heard the whole album, but I doubt that this will turn out to be her all-time worst. I mean, she did record Classical Barbra. If you can't stand how her voice has gotten raspy and her range more limited, remind yourself how at the very peak of her vocal powers she decided to overreach into the classical repertoire.

[quote]but I doubt that this will turn out to be her all-time worst. I mean, she did record Classical Barbra.

I like that album. But I did read that it was pieced together in post note-by-note.

r142 I didn't know that. I guess I was right to say she overreached.

It's as if she didn't understand what she was singing, taking breaths in all the wrong places and making some really odd choices in phrasing. She also sang a lot of the numbers in this weird pared down head voice that I guess she thought was what classical singing should sound like. She should have just brought down all the keys and belted the whole fucking thing. And a more modest program would have helped. She'd never recorded classical before and she decided she'd do Handel and Schubert and Wolf?

It's a shame you weren't there, r143, to provide your expertise.

Cher's album is related to a movie and therefore has studio support for marketing purposes if not pushed airplay. And good for her. She did also play the role in the movie and that is worth plenty.

But to think any success Cher might have - and hopefully will have - comes at the expense of Barbra is ridiculous.

I like Barbra's song. She sounds old and cranky. She is still expressing herself and to me anyway it works. She IS OLD and cranky.

Is Barbra's song aimed at Trump?

[quote] There is simply no other that has had the kind of success she has had in all formats (recordings, legit theatre, concert stage, tv and films. She wasn’t just successful. She was triumphant.

Mary!

R135, thanks for the clarification. LOL.

r148, you do understand how tax write-offs work, presumably?

People should be paid to hear that narcissistic raspy self important old bitch "sing."

DRECK.

Regarding Barbra and Marty: didn't they have time apart in her Jon Peters era? Then I think he came back for The Broadway Album once Jon had been given the gate.

Old lady voice. What is the point of this? Yikes!

^Oh, brother. Sorry you're so triggered, r152. You're a very delicate girl.

That photo looks like she fell down a well and wants to climb out but doesn't want to fuck up her nails.

Nah, men don't like Streisand. And most women don't either. Children are frightened by her.

R137 is full of shit. Misogyny, antisenitism ageism, and bots (she is actively targets by GOP PACs) on this thread as always with Streisand. Her legacy is secure. Her philanthropy for the gay and lesbian community ongoing.

[quote]It's as if she didn't understand what she was singing, taking breaths in all the wrong places and making some really odd choices in phrasing.

That's because Barbra didn't understand the foreign lyrics. She was just singing them phonetically.

While I did enjoy the album, I thought it was very telling that all the songs sounded muffled --- until you got to the song sung in English. That one was crystal clean. Someone was covering for her in the studio during post-production.

Classical Barbra was universally panned by everyone except Glenn Gould who had an autistic attraction to her harmonic sound in general and a stalker like hard on for Streisand. She never uses her head voice on it's own, though she had a nice timid one. She had to use it for many of the strange songs she chose for CB - she couldn't do a mixed belt on them.

Nothing compares to Whitney's operatic head voice. She's practically Leontyne Price up there. Celine could sing in the coloratura too. Classical music selections require a smaller range than the power songs of pop divas. But it's a very different use of the voice and not really possible without intense classical vocal training. Barbra just wanted to have the crimped hair album cover. Je M'Appelle fake.

Doesn’t understand foreign lyrics, lol, she jnows every detail including the life histories of the composers- that’s how she is.

Only uses her head voice in Classical Barbra- you’re deaf- or just can’t tell when she supports her voice differently.

Universally panned- sorry- no- I’m old enough to have read the reviews.

Some real boners on this thread.

For Christ’s sake no one is making people listen- why the concocted vitriol? Very strange. Don’t listen you idiot. I know Sinatra was a good singer- can’t stand him so I don’t listen- simple.

Whitney Houston had not only the most flawless and powerful voice in the world - she had resonance like trumpets and church bells, a chest belt that could cover most any whole song and the soulful heart and confidence to sing it different every time. Her chest belts are insane, if you heard her live to hear such rich pure sound with almost conversational power was a mind blown and shivers everywhere. She is the greatest popular voice on record and she sang even better in person. Whitney also had luscious velvet low tones and her singular head voice was thick and colorful enough to make many opera singers weep. Just a gorgeous instrument. Unmatched.

Streisand was good at mixed belts and spinning her vibrato high notes to outer space. She seldom used pure head voice for good reason. Not everyone can be as grand and gorgeous in their sound as Whitney Houston and most pop singers avoid using their head voice because it is too disconnected from their signature sound. Gaga has a nice one and Kelly Clarkson is not afraid to use hers, beautifully. Clarkson's voice is much better trained than Streisands. She just isn't obsessed with perfection. Plus she sings for a living and loves it. Barbra was a studio singer and can't even succeed there anymore.

Barbra had a different deal when she started. She traversed her registers beautifully, with consistent power and intonation - creating a long legato line of vocal ease. She could basically go wherever she wanted with a melody. But she never knew how to interpret a song and she delivered no emotion beyond her own self indulgence. Her voice is not the best of any generation. But it was very pretty back in the day.

r158 I'll be honest, I wasn't into classical music at the time and I bought Classical Barbra based largely on the fabulousness of the cover.

R 161 - Did you buy Butterfly, too?

Ha ha, for the back cover, yes. Boy, she spent a lot of that album singing black people songs.

"Black people songs?" You must be a Juilliard graduate.

Uh oh, the Whitney troll is back...

Whitney was great but she still wasn’t as great as Barbra or Aretha. They were game changers in their prime and their longevity is unmatched.

No one will ever discount Aretha. Barbara doesn't belong in the same sentence or stratosphere as Aretha and Whitney.

Cher has the #1 album on itunes and Gaga has the #1 single. Right this minute in 2018. Nobody knows or cares about Streisand. Her music and singing sucks.

Love Classical Barbra. One of her best.

Nippybot is at it again. Whenever there's a Streisand thread, he forever wrecks the mood by harping on-and-on about Houston's greatness.

Take your ass back to Saskatchewan and leave icons like Streisand alone!

HUH? Everyone knows that Whitney is the greater singer, performer, legend and voice than Streisand. Barbara didn't ever give nothing to no one. Some us weren't even born when B.S. made Yentl soup. I saw that dreck on Netflix and required a lot of dope to finish it. She's on a boat with a scarf. Or is that all her other bad movies? What's a nippybot and where is Saskatewan? Whitney, Aretha, Gladys and many others are better singers with more resonance and beauty than Barbara. No one remembers Streisand. The sound of her voice evokes no memory.

You sure remember a lot.

[quote] Nothing compares to Whitney's operatic head voice. She's practically Leontyne Price up there.

You mean she WAS practically like Leontyne Price up there.

She's DEAD!

R167 Whitney and Aretha are both dead - and so is your brain. Get a new hobby instead of your one dimensional ramblings.

Barbara should have sung a Disney theme. Beneath her highness dreck filled ass. She couldn't do it as well as Celine anyway. Streisand was afraid to sing live with Celine, so Barbara got the 60 minute to showtime flu. That's when I first remember her grossness. Celine has outsung and outsold Barbara for three decades. It's not all about Whitney. So many are better than Barbara. Any singer is more natural and spontaneous.

Some sad loser seems to think writing "Barbara" is scoring some kind of points against her.

How pathetic.

r171 is so unfucked. Pity it.

r171, are you a Trump supporter? Are you against Streisand so much that you have nothing to say about her fighting Trump?What do you think Whitney's reaction would be about Trump, if she were still alive? And what do you think would be her reaction to Streisand's anger against Trump?

I'm against fascists. So I hate Trump and Streisand.

I always found Whitney's voice incredible but 'chilly'. Celine Dion had awesome pipes but she started singing in an affected way (love = lurve) and her song choices got worse. Barbra is great on classic songs like standards and Broadway (marvelous upper register) but she has no soul; she's white, white, white mama! Mariah could have been great if she had stayed with Tommy Mottola.

My fave poster in this thread is the dickwad who uses DRECK in 6 or 7 posts. His intense ANGER at everything Barbra is worthy of a Brett Kavanaugh performance.

I also have to laugh at those who run thru Streisand’s entire career, mentioning EVERY mistake she made along the way, whether it was a song, an album, or a flub in French phrasing.

Meanwhile, Cher is exalted for hitting the charts with ABBA. Hey, I love Cher, but....uh.....I think she had a few years where she disappeared and a few others where tv infomercials reigned. Aretha? Just tremendous. But somehow I think she recorded PLENTY of clunkers. Barbra gets attacked for her personality but Aretha was a sweetheart???

Truthfully, it’s the same few posters who rag on Streisand over and over ad nauseum. Some pretend they’re music experts and some are DL trash addicts.

Yeah, I’m a Streisand fan. I admit it. So sue me. Call me a fag. This fag LIKES the new song and thinks she sounds great. At this stage, Barbra can record whatever the hell she wants. She doesn’t owe the world standards or anything else. She’s always done it her way, and that’s another reason I love her.

Streisand is a star, a legend, and an icon. As far as I’m concerned, GOAT.

I like the song. Just playing it for the third time now.

No, Barbara never could. Not like this.

Impossibly beautiful and gifted. Not Barbara.

[quote]She (Whitney) is the greatest popular voice on record and she sang even better in person.

She had a great voice but she was a lousy singer. One of the worst.

She knew nothing about phrasing.

Sliding up and down the scales on every syllable is impressive to her particularly dumb fans... we know that....but please, it's not good singing.

Celine Dion? Tacky.

Despite Barbra's ugly fashion sense and hideous taste in decorating... she sure knows what she's doing when she has a set of lyrics in front of her.

Celine Dion has nothing among her recordings that can compare to Barbra's best.

Sorry to upset you gramps. Get some rest R186. There are quite a few better voices in the world than Streisand's and many, many better singers. Barbra doesn't interpret lyrics well!! She e l o n g a t e s every note, spits phrases, dismantles lyrical meaning and over enunciates - she doesn't believe in subtlety and never met a modulation she didn't like. Bitch sacrifices any feeling a song might have at the altar of showing off her voice. She's was a wonder of breath control but never a good singer. There's a reason Sinatra and Bennett don't like her. She ruins classic songs and her original material is cloying dreck. She's even worse than Ronstadt. Old fags have terrible taste. I hope your memories make up for it. Get some rest gramps. Tomorrow I'll give you another lesson.

no walls

The song's not half bad. I'm guessing it's a subtle slam of the orange asshole in Washington DC.

Those that criticize Streisand’s singing have probably never experienced her live. I know that her voice isn’t as flexible as it was in 2006 which to me was her last great tour where her voice was consistently wonderous. Now it’s hit or miss some time but if she could only whisper she would still be great. People talk about how great Patti Lupone or Christine Ebersole are and there are but the still aren’t on the same level as Streisand. She is such a genius on stage in the moment.

Tacky, smarmy Celine Dion and ghetto-blaster Whitney Houston could never in a million years do justice this.

And R160, are you able to understand that a great voice does not necessarily make a great singer?

Watch Billy Holliday's version of "My Man". She makes EVERY word ring true... and it is heartbreaking.. These songs are soliloquies. Above all, they require an actress capable of getting the lyric across. What a shame Whiney Houston couldn't learn something from masters like Holliday, Sinatra, Garland... and yes, Streisand.

*Watch Billie Holiday's version of "My Man".

Now listen to Whitney Houston's clueless Amateur Hour version of "My Man".

^first 45 seconds of the video.

r187--LMFAO.

"There's a reason Sinatra and Bennett don't like her."

Wrong, fag--they sure did "like" her. Sorry you have to make up shit.

LOVE how triggered the anti-Streisand queens are they have t take up shit and call her "Barbara."

Barbra's no Connie, that's for sure.

^LOL

Barbra and Connie. Now there's a duet waiting to happen. Suggestions: "We're Still Here," "Bosom Buddies," "Mutual Admiration Society." Or a crazy medley: "Crazy/Crazy He Calls Me/Crazy for You/I go Crazy/I had the Craziest Dream/Goin Out of My Head/Losing My Mind/Who's Sorry Now/People."

I doubt Barbra has time for the d-list.

She's probably even pick Teresa Brewer over Connie Francis.

God is a woman y'all. And Streisand didn't make the cut.

R201 - D-List????!!!!!! You ignorant slut, how dare you insult the legendary Connie Francis!!! She is as much a gay icon and vocal talent as Barbra, and topped the charts in the late 50s to mid 60s. She has overcome adversity that would have finished most of the A-list performers, and your pompous ass would never have made it out of Howard Johnson's! And Connie adores her gay fans and is always accessible and generous. if you asked Cher or Streisand for an autograph, they'd stab you with the pen and make you buy them a new one! Connie rules!

I could only listen to it half way through. It's really bad.

It's fine.

[quote] know more about music and vocal production than you OR Barbra Streisand.

But your perception is altered because you can't hear what everyone else does with your head shoved up your ass.

[quote]Connie Francis!!! She is as much a gay icon and vocal talent as Barbra

Sure, Jan.

R207 - "Sure, Jan." That's the most literate and dignified response you can offer, you lint-headed, moronic IQ of 50. Barbra is about success. Connie is about survival. Now kiss my ass, Marcia!

Her pussy stinks.

R91 that clip is impressive.

r209's pussy stinks. Fixed that.

As for r208, if you think Connie Francis is the gold standard, I'd say you're the moron.

CHER is #1 on itunes and Billboard album charts. The highest position of her long and illustrious career. Barbra and her terrible song are forgotten. Three contestants didn't even know who Streisand was on Jeopardy.

Don't you love farce?

^^^ I don't have a problem with Cher at all, but Streisand and Collins' versions are far better.

Streizand has no soul. Or reflection. A grotesque performer in every way.

Who needs soul or reflection when you've got a mall in your basement?

Lisa Minneli was like a prettier Barbara Striezand with talent.

Barbra says her song Don't Lie To Me is about Trump:

Barbra now looks like one of our Founding Fathers.

Babs looks good here. I like the darker hair.

r212=troll.

Stop belittling, condemning, and harassing Connie!!!!!! After Streizand looks at this week's Billboard, you'll see who's sorry now!!!

Gracious, generous, brave and stable- interview above at R218.

We shall get some youth-creating fillers under the eyes like Babs, Melania, and homosexual tinymeat Brad Pitt have!

Who's her stylist- Petland?

LOL. Looks just like her.

I'm still trying to figure out how she was ever supposed to pull of the vocals for Gypsy. I guess she'd be using the Imelda Staunton or Tovah Feldshuh keys? There was a rumor that she had recorded the entire score in the 80s. That might have worked.

[quote]CHER is #1 on itunes and Billboard album charts.

No she's not. Her album won't debut on Billboard until next week's chart, and she has no shot at #1. She's not #1 on iTunes, either. Barbra is the only aged female singer who can get a #1 on the Billboard album chart.

No one knows who Streizand is. Time moves fast. Her time is over. She's a hideous singer and despised human being. Her album will only chart if she buys all the copies herself, again.

Lainie's been drinking again.

[quote] She's probably even pick Teresa Brewer over Connie Francis.

Teresa Brewer is dead.

Looks like someone threw her down Stevie Nicks’s well. Maybe Stevie did. It puts the lotion on its skin.

Barba could even be recording the Burt Bacharach/Hal David songbook, which might be even more suitable for her one octave. "The Guy's In Love With You," (singing to Jim) "Here I am," (as she emerges from the fog machine) "I Say a Little Prayer" (because prayers get answered) "Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head" (a la Gene Kelly), "Do you Know The Way to San Jose?" (because she has no sense of direction), "The Look of Love" another samba, and "Walk on By," which is what most buyers would probably do once they heard this. She could even add a separate CD of the previous tracks she had recorded of Burt's, of which there are many. As she did with the Bergman's dreck and charge an "affordable" price.

"Her album will only chart if she buys all the copies herself, again."

LOL!

Actually, Cher was #1 on iTunes. As for Barbra, I heard there is a CD giveway at her mall.

r229=drunk troll, who hasn't been fucked in many, many years.

Decades.

Now the “Barbara” troll is calling her “Streizand” over and over. LOL Troll, you need to do better — you’ve become a bore.

That's what happens, r238, when they have no material.

Btw, r229, see r118, and how Babs had $50 million in sales in her last concert, you drunk old queen.

Yeah, the "Streizand" thing is just stupid.

At least I'm pretty.

Men are intimidated by B.S. Her father famously ran away from home soon after she was born.

It's unfortunate Barbra was too lazy and arrogant to take vocal training. She could have been a much more meaningful singer and capitalized on her voice's considerable strong points. She chose to hide behind studio gimmickry. That can't disguise the wreckage of her voice now of course.

Barbra’s recording of “Memory” is stupendous. It was produced by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber himself who insisted that she sing it live in one take.

Barbra Streisand can't even fart in one take. There's a reason she NEVER sang Memory live. She can't.

If you don’t believe me ask Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Stereo Review cited it as it’s recording of special merit. I agree it would be difficult for her to sing it today but it might be even better with the voice she has today. Actually it would be brilliant.

r243, r244, 246=boring trolls. Get a life, you dull fags.

^Included r246

Bitch can sing anything.

Gurls, these aren't your garden-variety Babs haters here--these are Trump trolls going after her because she's coming out with a song about their Dear Leader. Know your real enemy. FF, block and report.

No doubt these are Trump trolls. Go after them.

r38, r42, r59, r97, r100, r107, r110, r114, r137, r155, r158, r168, r171, r187, r215, r217, r229, r244...

The same troll. I made a note of the posts, blocked, et voila--gone. He's the one who claimed to have gone to the Royal Conservatory in one thread then uses the word "fags" and and talks about how Streisand is "largely forgotten."

BLOCK and you'll see it's one Trump loon.

You can also add to those disappeared threads r160 and r169...same troll.

No, not r169. Apologies to r169.

Babs has been so boring for the last 30 years

Disliking the grotesque personality and questionable talents of Barbara Streizand has nothing to do with Trump. That's the kind of accusation some insecure stan makes when his idol is being legitimately critiqued and criticized. R253 has posted over 40 times on this thread! He's the ancient white fag who uses CAPS to vanquish his imaginary enemies. The same dude who harbors a sick love 4 Jessica LANGE and SUPERMODELS! I ain't afraid to disagree or flex my expertise you fool. Barbra is not a talent the world will remember. Most people can't stand her or her singing style. Her voice was once sonically pretty, but she never learned how to sing. She did it her own egomaniacal way. Her self importance is a joke and her stardom is unfathomable to anyone under 70. Enjoy yourself, no walls.

As what you might call an ancient black fag I pity anyone that can’t appreciate still amazing talents of Miss Barbra Streisand. There will be another like her in my lifetime. Now that Aretha is gone she stands alone.

[quote]It's unfortunate Barbra was too lazy and arrogant to take vocal training. She could have been a much more meaningful singer and capitalized on her voice's considerable strong points. She chose to hide behind studio gimmickry. That can't disguise the wreckage of her voice now of course.

Christ, what a lost opportunity. Can you imagine how great her career could have been with your guidance? What a shame.

[quote]Barbra Streisand can't even fart in one take. There's a reason she NEVER sang Memory live. She can't.

You do realize that almost all of her albums were sung live with a full orchestra right there in the studio, don't you?

Enjoy her old dude. She didn't fake her tone, that was the golden part of her voice. But she didn't record any of those songs in one or two takes. Streisand made videos that implied she was singing live in one take with an orchestra. She still does that fake shit. She's grotesque. She and Celine never met in a recording studio and never sang together once in their life. But Streisand insisted on the video that makes it appear that they recorded the song together and nuzzled each other in sickening fashion. No one falls for that. Barbra got the reality flu when she and Celine were slated to sing the song together LIVE on the Grammys. Barbra cancelled the day of, because Celine's voice was more beautiful and flexible and gorgeous and powerful. Don't anyone mention Aretha in the same breath as Babar Streusel. Aretha could turn shit into gold and Streisand does the opposite.

ALW's Memory was not recorded in one take. How preposterous. Streisand wouldn't sound so uneven, unsupported, lacking in power and flat when she sings live if she was such a pristine vocalist in the studio. The video was filmed to make it appear that she recorded a live vocal. That's it. Streisand was always polishing the knob of her legend. Then the film roles dried UP and she decided she was a concert performer? She did not bad at all in those 1994 concerts. Nicely produced and her warm, buzzy tone was still there with some well placed high notes - creating some pretty moments. But the bitch couldn't sing like she sounded on record. No thrill. Don't be crazy. She failed on the big songs like My Man and Somewhere, Don't Rain on my Parade. She didn't have the breath support or the vocal power. She has to take a run or scoop to her high notes when she did sing "live." Very pretty on some less difficult songs. Still nothing like her studio recordings. She's gotten progressively worse with each new "tour." Her voice had considerably degraded by the mid eighties, but she had a lot to work with. Not in this millenium though.

Whitney recorded I Will Always Love You in ONE take with another for insurance. There are many witnesses to that miracle vocal moment. Whitney was a singer who sang for people and for the joy of singing. She had confidence in her great gift and she shared it with an open heart. Streisand sang for recognition and cash. She said for decades that the didn't even like to sing. She viewed herself as a movie star. This didn't stop her from shitting out one dribbling album after another. She spent more time on the cover photographs than she did in finding good material. She has terrible taste in both regardless. No Walls.

EVERYBODY still knows who Barbra Streisand is. She is deeply ingrained in society's consciousness. And 100 years from now she will still be considered one of the greatest singers of all times.

R261 Whitney's version of I Will Always Love You is an extremely schmaltzy song with generic musical instruments in the background - it sounds like elevator music. I have the single and like it but it really doesn't hold up with time. Haven't heard it in ages.

You have obviously never seen Barbra live. Probably too cheap.

Barbra's brilliant singing live.

R261 is triggered beyond belief.

Now he posts “No Walls” in an effort to seem creative and witty. Just another long rant that’s filled with angry insults and lies along with an attempt to show “I know music.”

How many times have you called Streisand grotesque? How many times will you tell us that she was afraid to sing live with Celine?

You’re really pathetic.

R266 It's not a he - it's the angry, black female troll. She drips venom on this website on a consistent basis.

I'm not a black female. I'm no more a troll than you. You are getting close to 70 hysterical posts now! I use my knowledge, training and expertise to expose Streisand's vocal mystique and the faults in her star. This drives all three of her fans insane. Lots of people sing better than Babar, everyday.

Whitney Houston's favorite actress was Jessica Lange.

You can all carry on now.

Didn't the hag do a duet or album with Don Johnson? Sorry I missed that one, lol!

Barbra Streisand's favorite actress is.....Barbra Streisand. Who's her favorite singer?

R268 Tired Gospel caterwauling. No art there. Zero sophistication. No understanding of the melody or lyrics.

r268 For this approach to SOTR, you're better off with the sweet potato pie lady.

r261 is yet another of blocked threads from the same troll I pointed out at r253. You can add that one to my list.

r270 is just a cunt.

r268 and r271 both blocked as well. Same freak troll over and over.

R268 Yes, you're the troll. Get rid of all that racism and negativity. And take a rest.

Time to clamp down on this racist, homophobic troll. Where are the Datalounge powers that be?

Streisand live- is much better than recorded- which is the case for all great singers by the way.

Heather Headley is one of the greatest singers in the world. She's a classically trained vocal beast. Streisand can't begin to compare with the beauty and power of her voice, nor her immeasurable technical skills. If you call it "caterwauling" then yes, you're the racist.

Knocking Down Walls.

R279 R280 - Really? She has solid vocal technique, but doesn't move me at all in the same way as Streisand, or even Shirley Bassey. Heather Headley seems like a lovely person, but she is not the voice of her era.

That was good by Heather but here is a portion of what Stereo Review said of Barbra’s recording of “Memory” in 1982. “What happens when larger-than-life Streisand sails into this ecstatic, heart pounding material is probably why record vinyl was invented in the first place. Allied st last with a composing, arranging, and producing talent that matches her own, she comes through like a thoroughbred. For the first time in years SHE TAKES THE KIND OF EMOTIONAL RISK THAT SHATTERS THE HIGH-GLOSS LACQUER LAID DOWN OVER HER PERFORMANCES FOR SO LONG ( I hope she’s listening to this). Instance: parts of the song lie uncomfortably low for her voice, but instead of changing anything she acts her way over the vocal hurdles, Using them to add to the meaning. Instance: there are several showy ( and most effective) crescendos cunningly stitched into the song, and she holds back on them each time until the tension is almost unbearable - and, of course, the release all the more effective. Instance: the Eliot-inspired language offers the temptation to “poeticize” or emote portentously, but she holds to a straight- ahead, no-nonsense diction thatrings with sincerity. Proof of her musical taste, dramatic judgement, and galvanic acting ability runs through the whole like a gold thread through russet velvet. Memory, in short, is one of those achievements that have the unmistakable stamp of the classic on them.” From the April 1982 issue of Stereo Review. What a wonderful birthday gift to Barbra.

R279 I've never even heard of this woman/singer.

I have the single Memory by Streisand and it's extremely moving and beautiful.

Barry Manilow had the bigger hit with it but his version sounds plodding and manufactured.

R280 Her voice sounds a tad too deep and the faces she makes are unintentionally humorous. Couldn't make it through the whole clip.

The point is there are MANY singers with superior instruments, better voices, greater range, more vocal color, greater power and far better technique than babs streisand. As I said upthread Barbra has never sung Memory live - she could barely manage the song with a lot of studio help. She could have benefitted from some voice lessons and by actually singing for a living. She was a studio singer, back when she could still sing.

Displaying your advanced age and ignorance proves nothing R285.

R286 - Sorry, but Heather Headley ain't gonna happen.

And Memory is a t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e song....

Steve Sondheim? Christ. That Jew's written a career's worth of shit.

Remember, Barbra Streisand is now only ONE year younger than Lucille Ball was when Lucy kicked the bucket!

So I think we should be thrilled she can croak out a note or two at that advanced age.

"Barbra Streisand NEW SINGLE OUT NOW"

Of course, it is -

"Streisand" and "new" in the same sentence.

R286 If you aren't completely insane by now, you soon will be. Give it Up!

R290 Lucy singing and trying to get into Ricky's nightclub act as usual.

R293 Yes, you're the troll. Get rid of all that racism and negativity. And take a rest.

Heather Headley...ain't gonna happen.

Lying bitch hasn't hit an Eb in almost 40 years.

R297 - Stop using fancy musical terms.

On Heather Headley: Please. Regardless of her race, caterwauling is a perfectly fair description of her voice. That bleat it takes on when she goes for sustained high belt: that is caterwauling.

On Stereo Review: Especially if one considers that it primarily covered audio equipment reviews, Stereo Review published some intelligent record reviews as well. I don’t remember the review of Barbra’s Memory quoted above. It’s probably more gushing than one might find in a Stereo Review rave, but something about it is typical of their reviews: even if it doesn’t convince you to buy the record, it will convince you of why it’s a good record.

Ironic that she wails "don't lie to me" when she's made tens of millions in an industry built on lies.

All Stereo Review said was that Barbra's voice was imperfect, that her low notes were shaky and that for once she sang a song with some restraint. They approved that she didn't destroy the performance with her huge ego, the way she did most of the other Broadway and American Songbook classics she recorded.

Caterwauling. "Yes, I knew you were married when I met you" starts at 1:52.

^Ancient White Racist FAG^

Too weak, raspy and flat to caterwaul, B.S. Pitiful.

I’m glad you showed the video from the Oscars. At the time watching it live I was so disappointed especially after the magical performance of “Goldfingrr” by Dame Shirley Bassey. Seeing this now I have a new appreciation for this performance and it seems totally appropriate for that moment. I guess at that point her voice isn’t as reliable as It was in the past but her showmanship and genius like Aretha is always present. The Stereo Review is on line in their archives for the month of April 1982. It was the regular monthly edition which luckily is available. I think near the end of the year it was given the distinction as a recording of special merit. The later issues for 1982 aren’t available. Luckily that April edition was. I only took maybe a fourth from the review so it might be good to read the whole thing. Stereo Review didn’t normally gush over a Streisand record so I was amazed what it said. And to me it was fair and balanced.

"Didn't the hag do a duet or album with Don Johnson?"

Yes, in 1987.

The song is called "'Til I Loved You" and even though it is derided, I like it.

the new song is pure shit.

It's not bad.

Wow, that's deep, r301.

Zzzzzzzzz.

It's not bad, but it's no Beds Are Burning.

R280 God that's awful. No...she ain't gonna happen.

Hideous Heather Headley.

I smell moldy hankies. Hello Charlie.

Barbra...BARBRA!

I guess my excerpt from Stereo Review made the poster who tried to denigrate the talent of Barbra take a pause.

The Stereo Review article is neither here nor there. We all know that Barbra once had sonic beauty to her voice. She's just a uniquely bad interpreter of music who was vocally gifted enough to indulge all her bad taste in singing. Her asshole ego destroyed a lot of classic material. There is not one American Songbook or Broadway classic recorded by Barbara that is not done better by others. Her take on "Memory" was your idea of greatness R316. Why you're so invested in that song I don't know. It was just beyond her vocal ability at the time but she gave it an honest try and made a decent pop song of it. Streisand humped every major Broadway hit by women of the last 80 years until the public begged her to stop. Some are better than others, but most were BAD due to her grandiose and grotesque dismantling of lyrical meaning AND meddling with the melody of the songs. She did sing If I Loved You quite nicely. Her recording of I'll Be Home by Randy Newman is also fine. The only thing more misguided than her Broadway covers is the majority of her original material. People say she's a perfectionist. No, she's an egotist and a control freak with bad taste and little personal insight.

No Walls ain't about to change her reputation for presenting dreck as diamonds.

It did serve to move you to the point of acknowledging the beauty of her voice but not appreciating how she used it.

She needs hearts not diamonds.

I see from only from blocking that the same homophobic troll at r314 and r317 is at it again. It's shame there's no therapy for it.

R320, it was clear that the troll was back at R317 — the word “dreck” gave it away.

The only thing worse than a troll is a repetitive, unoriginal troll.

Many more unique qualities hallmark my posts before the word DRECK. You're quite stupid.

YOU CAN'T POLISH A TURD.

We can't.

She died in a bathtub in February of 2012 right before the Grammys party.

Good thing she took a bath and not a shower that night.

R322 God that's great.

That's wonderful, r322. So clearly shows Streisand's greatness.

R322 was removed as well as the troll. Or are they one in the same? (I blocked the troll.)

Yeah, odd. Perhaps the troll we blocked is schitzo.

I look at that video at R322 and am so saddened for all we've lost.

Imagine: there was a time when prime time televisione could feature a singer just standing there. With the camera just calmly focusing on the singer rather than jumping and cutting.

A beautiful gown, a simple set. A pretty melody and orchestration... no "urban" influenced crap.

A beautiful voice intent on the meaning of the lyrics. No caterwauling or sliding up and down the notes to show off.

Agreed. Just a beautiful voice singing beautifully with no caterwauling and making weird faces--the unbeatable Barbra Streisand.

That is perfection.

He does have a point about that video. It seems so calculating. I actually prefer her later versions of “Starting Here, Srarting Now”. Particularly from “Live At The Forum” where you can hear some influence from Aretha and her masterful version from “Live 2006” where with her mature voice she blows the roof of the place.

Influence from Aretha?

Fortunately, Aretha is on one the last people Streisand would chose to be influenced by.

r332 I think you mean calculated, and I see what you mean. Maybe they had to get it “just so” for the TV special. It could even be an issue of making sure the lip synch looked right.

Besides, Forum had Barbra in a very relaxed disposition. It also had great versions of Where You Lead, My Man, and Stoney End. Wonderful riffing on the latter.

Thanks for the correction R334. I thought it was sung live but i remember Lena Horne saying that for the camera you had to sing with a pretty mouth. Aretha influenced almost everyone including Barbra. Barbra has always spoken highly of Aretha publicly. She complemented Aretha's high notes and the flexibility of her voice. She couldn't understand how Aretha could get so high so quickly with her voice. I thinks it's in the Playboy interview. Barbra did ask Aretha to sing at the Memorial Tribute for Marvin Hamlisch. I always thought that Barbra was a little intimidated to sing with Aretha. That was a perfect time to take the stage together. We all know that Aretha would sing with anyone no matter how great. I personally think that Barbra would have held her own and they would have been inspired by each other.

[quote]Aretha influenced almost everyone including Barbra.

You're making that up.

The only female singer that Streisand has ever acknowledged as influencing her was Joni James and the only singer that she ever mentioned as her favorite is Johnny Mathis.

She has also mentioned Connie Francis as a big influence.

R337 Link please.

Barbra was HEAVILY influenced by Lena Horne. They both sang for themselves, rather than for the audience.

So just to clarify with "Starting Here, Starting Now" on "Color Me Barbra," was that the only song in Act 3 that was lip synched. I was always under the impression that she sang those songs live before a fan club audience of like 15 people,

[quote]Barbra was HEAVILY influenced by Lena Horne.

Barbra has never said anything of the kind.

I have never heard Streisand mention she was influenced by anyone. Singers she's liked, sure. But influenced by? I don't know her every utterance, but I would need to see links to believe any of these claims.

Though Joni James was at her AFI tribute as a guest of honor, so there's that.

[quote]I have never heard Streisand mention she was influenced by anyone.

I think it would be a hard thing for Streisand to ever admit to. In fact she says that she never had any musical idols.

The only female singer that gets close is Joni James. And the fact that she was guest of honor at her AFI tribute kind of says it all.

" I never had any musical idols,' she said. 'My favorite singer while I was growing up was Johnny Mathis. I also listened a lot to Joni James records and sang her hit, 'Have You Heard,' at club auditions, but I didn't really want to sound like her."

(I really had to laugh at R337 although I imagine he's joking.)

In fact if you listen to Joni James... you can understand the connection.

Now listen to a young Barbra singing "You'll Never Know"

[quote] I really had to laugh at [R337] although I imagine he's joking

Streisand was influenced by Eydie Gorme, she just won't admit it.

That doesn't prove any influence. They all sang the same songs. Streisand is the best.

R346 She even makes even "My Man" sound like an Italian Favorite.

Barbra was NOT influenced by that.

This proves the influence. Everyone knows that Streisand copied many of Gorme's vocal inflections and the big belting modulations. Streisand is a PIG. Her whole career she can't think of anyone that she admired as a singer? She also claimed to never listen to music. Her ears are too sensitive to listen to other voices. She's so full of shit aka herself.

One small mention of Aretha and that tweet for Whitney. That's the most Babs could cough up in recognition of others and it hurt her acid reflux to do so. The whole world heralded Whitney as the greatest voice in pop music history long before she passed. Around the same time that Streisand was forgotten.

Did Barbra always cut the "I don't know why I should" section of My Man? Is it because of "he beats me too"?

r340 I'm sorry, I was unclear. What I meant to say was that if the number had been lip synched, that would be a reason for it looking/sounding calculated. I don't know that it was, though if you follow her mouth movements with when she slides over into the second vowel of a diphthong, video and audio are sometimes off. It could be a very good, but not perfect, lip synch or the clip itself may just be ever so slightly out of sync. My apologies, I wasn't trying to rewrite history.

Did Barbra never acknowledge Judy as an influence? They don't sound alike but, I mean, the belting thing, you know?

Apart from her mentioning Joni James...I can imagine her being influenced by Gormè and Garland...just conjecture of course... but I see Betty Hutton in her comedy numbers.

She also said that she admired Lee Wiley as a singer and they sound nothing alike. You need to read the playboy article. I’m sure it’s on line. If you listen to Live At The Forum you can hear a lot of Aretha’s influence on her singing especially when she gets all gospel on “Sweet Inspiration/ Where You Lead”. Even Lena Horne was influenced by Aretha. Listen to her 2 versions of “Stormy Weather” on “The Lady And The Music”. The first version is how she sang it at MGM and the second is how she sang it with all the life experiences she had. She sang like Aretha from her heart and soul.

Lena Horne sounded ridiculous when she affected that style of singing late in life. Barbra is also terrible when she attempts to sing runs and riffs or when she tried the gospel style. She sounds like Ana Gasteyer and Will Ferrell on SNL. Streisand attempting to sing with Ray Charles was embarrassing. She couldn't even harmonize or riff off his style. She can (occasionally) sing soulfully and has some pretty inflections but leave the runs and riffs and gospel exclamations to Aretha and Whitney.

Streisand makes fun of Stoney End even though the song was one of the best recordings she ever made.

[quote]If you listen to Live At The Forum you can hear a lot of Aretha’s influence on her singing ...

It's something that you ...and you alone ...hear.

If there is anyone she consciously let influence her in her later career, it would be Donna Summer whom she collaborated with.

[quote]Streisand makes fun of Stoney End even though the song was one of the best recordings she ever made.

I love the whole album. Her first great pop album, I guess. Recording standards had run its course by the time of Simply Streisand. Stout-Hearted Men, what the fuck was that? And then What About Today was just a mess because it only had one foot in the door. Punky's Dilemma, oy vey. But Stoney End was fun. Maybe a bit too much Nyro, my only quibble.

Lena Horne was in her own way channeling Aretha in the movie “The Wiz” when she sang “If You Believe”. She was the highlight of the movie.

You may not have appreciated Barbra duet with Ray Charles but she was brilliant with Louis Armstrong in “Hello Dolly”.

Could you please sight an instance Donna influenced Barbra. They collaborated and Donna was very impressed with Barbra’s ability to hold that long note.

If you are influenced by anyone I would rather it be Aretha who was a true singing musical genius. Donna as great as she was as Rex Reed said about Bette Midler singing the Rosemary Clooney Songbook as “not even on the same planet” when it came to singing.

Please. Streisand has been influenced by no one--not Aretha, not Donna, not Joni J, nor any of the rest. She was far too interested in cultivating her own legacy, her own sound, her own interpretations. I'm not saying she didn't appreciate many other singers, but she thought far too much of her own abilities to ever allow herself to be influenced. And she was right to be.

When she was appearing in "I Can Get It For Yu Wholesale," the star was Lillian Roth. People remarked to her that she could learn a lot from her and she should sit at her feet and soak in the presence of a real veteran show biz performer. Streisand thought such adoration was ridiculous. If she felt that way as newbie actress, she certainly didn't feel influenced by anyone as a singer.

*You

Oh lordy. Streisand could stand to learn from a lot of people. Too late now.

She was influenced by her mother Diana

R359 I agree with you...but I'm only going by her words: Joni and Mathis. At least those are ones she admires enough to mention.

And you have to admit, the young Streisand recording of "You'll Never Know" is identical to James'. And listen to the James recording of "Have You Heard"....which Streisand also mentions.

But Aretha of all people? Steely cold and affected Lena Horne? Connie Francis (LOL)... some here have quite an imagination.

She has a very similar career path as Connie Francis, starting out as a young singer, appealing to both young and old audiences, then going into movies. So it's not unlikely she was influenced by Miss Francis.

[quote]She has a very similar career path as Connie Francis

Their career paths were completely different.

Next we're going to hear that Barbra Streisand was influenced by Annette Funicello.

Connie Francis, Eydie Gorme, Joanie Sommers, Annamaria Alberghetti, and many talented up and coming singers of the 1960s were pushed to the background so Streisand could advance. She was the chosen one and the bitch always knew it.

[quote]Connie Francis, Eydie Gorme, Joanie Sommers, Annamaria Alberghetti, and many talented up and coming singers of the 1960s were pushed to the background so Streisand could advance.

Between TV and Las Vegas, Eydie Gormè and Steve Lawrence remained one of the biggest acts in show biz.

R367 But not the recording artists and megalomaniacal movie star that Streisand became for 4 decades.

[quote]many talented up and coming singers of the 1960s were pushed to the background...

...because of the British invasion.

Tastes changed. There were singers who were able to remain contemporary despite it all, and there were those who could not.

R369 And Streisand was one who did. Unfortunately.

I can hear the elevator doors opening and closing as this gets played on heavy rotation on Muzak

I love Barbra's soulful take on Since I Fell For You.

Babs is undeniably better... but here's Eydie's version.

It's Eydie, so of course it's good, but there's that brashness to her voice. Barbra by contrast is just so smooth.

And then along comes Dusty...and blows them both out of the water.

Who wears the pants....Dusty or Lana?

Wow! That was an amazing video of Barbra that I have never seen. The instrument she was given was amazing. Dusty was a great singer but she just didn’t have voice that seemed limitless like Barbra or Aretha. Dusty was an interpretative genius though.

Official video

The visuals are more powerful than the song.

Musically, I prefer this.

The song was better when it was subtle. That video makes it just another campaign ad.

Why would I want to listen to more than 30 seconds of shit like that?! I wouldn’t.

Video is powerful. Good for her.

No other woman has had as glorious a singing career as Barbra.

Um Sheena Easton.

Any links to the rest of the album ?

That's it! Eydie always did have that loud, brash belt that Barbra never really had. Yes, she had a belt, but it always seemed like it was more of a mix of chest and head voice. Eydie really belted. They have very different styles.

I like the video and the song.

Cher is worldwide, Barbra is local and even that is being kind.

Barbra has a niche market at best.

I like some of what she's done and appreciate her voice but the new song sucks.

[quote] In fact she says that she never had any musical idols.

Maybe she didn't. She never wanted to be a singer, she wanted to an actress. She told the story on Rosie that she went to see "The Diary Of Anne Frank" as a kid, up in the cheap seats. She was the same age as the girl playing Anne and she thought, she could do that. She discovered she had this amazing talent and took full advantage of it but music wasn't her first choice.

she should have gone into seclusion because of her looks. recorded voice overs instead.

[quote]She told the story on Rosie that she went to see "The Diary Of Anne Frank" as a kid, up in the cheap seats. She was the same age as the girl playing Anne and she thought, she could do that.

The girl was Susan Strasberg. I hope Barbra at least mentioned her name...

Is she the oldest recording artiste ?

No.

Does Marilyn Maye still record?

R394 Oldest mainstream recording singer perhaps ?

Oh, my sides, r387 and r388! Thanks for the laughs!!!

r391, you're mistaking her for yourself--you're the one in the basement.

R396 You have to admit her fans would be mostly around her age.

No, that's not true, r397. I'm half her age and I'm certainly not the only one my age who's a fan. And she has millions upon millions of fans. This desperate need to diminish Streisand says a lot more about the sad cases whose desire it is to do so than she. She's doing just fine.

R398 Not everyone likes to listen to their grandma sing.

Not everyone's grandma can sing, hunty r399. And if you equate talent with youth you're even dumber than your age suggests.

Has anyone actually bought this?

^D. Trump

I’m 29 and one of her biggest fans.

R387, you do know she has sold more albums/CDs than any other female recording artist in the world- not that sales means greatness- Although in her case she is one of the greatest singers anong perhaps a handful- I love that she is 76 and still creating and putting herself out there for what she believes. I know she will vote- I wonder if you will R387?

Cher has a wider and younger appeal.

I've been a fan of her all my life, but I will not spend another dime on her music. This is another forgettable piece of tripe that panders to the times. She's done it in every decade. Remember "Prisoner?" "Left in the Dark," "Till I Loved You" with Don Johnson, "We're not Making Love Anymore," "One Day," "Superman," "I Finally Found Someone," the list is endless. This is just another turd for the can. Next it'll be a rap duet with Kanye. Or Barbra and Bieber.

Barbra needs to team up with someone like Gaga to keep her music current and up to date.

So did Irene Ryan, but it didn't happen that way.

How do you sleep, Barbra, when you are peddling this crap? Husky voice, stupid lyrics, 1970s echo chamber.

Don't lie to me, don't lie to me, Barbra, how do you accept a paycheck for this crap?

A remarkable voice in some great recordings (and a lot of dreck)....a flair for comedy that she pretty much chose to bury in a bunch of shitty movies...how long do we have to keep flogging this bag of bones?????

R409 She can't accept anything if people don't buy it.

r406 and r409 are Trump girls.

[quote] Could you please sight an instance Donna influenced Barbra.

Oh, [italic]dear.[/italic]

Awful. Just awful.

I think it's fucking hilarious some of you actually believe she had absolutely NO influences, as if she had never heard ANYONE sing before she started and was never influenced by ANYONE ever!

Of course she had influences! Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, Mabel Mercer, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland! her originality was she came up with a sound that seemed all her own... but it would be impossible for her NOT to have had influences, if you think about it for even two seconds.

Do you think she was mysteriously raised in a secret garden with no music to listen to ever, and she just discovered the notes all on her own?

LMFAO. That's what [italic]she'd[/italic] like you to believe, of course.

I've been a fan of her for 45 years, but I'm not feeling this. Horrific, especially overblown arrangement.

Ugh she didn’t do the two songs justice

R415 You couldn't have said it better. The title of this song is very ironic in that Streisand has lied quite a bit in her time to suit her legend. Any professional singer knows the years of training required to achieve the sound that she magically seemed to have at age 17, and the giveaway is when her mother Diana Kind took her for an MGM audition when she was 11 years old. I've always wondered if Diana was actually a ruthless stage mother who pushed her daughter into singing, because she recognized the potential early on and figured if people were listening they would be doing a little less "looking." She might well have gotten her the training and mentoring she needed, and opposed to discouraging her, she displaced her broken ambitions onto her daughter and thoroughly endorsed her leaving home at 16 If you ever watch interviews with Diana, notice how at ease she is in front of the camera. Performing is not something foreign to this woman. That would explain Barbra's fascination with Mama Rose and "Gypsy." Diana might have discouraged the acting, figuring she was unattractive, but a face for records at the time had a much better shot at making the cash register jingle. And as we know, it did. And if so, Diana was right. And that's why Barbra hated her.

R416 Her voice is surely autotuned and augmented there.

The techno intervention kills any interest I'd have in listening to her.

I wish she'd just sing... warts and all.

Even with creaky strained raspy top-notes I'd still listen to her... but not this fakery.

I really don't mind the autotuning so much with Cher. She's in on the joke. But we're supposed to take Streisand's voice seriously and I can't on these recordings.

[quote] The girl was Susan Strasberg. I hope Barbra at least mentioned her name...

Maybe she saw an understudy or replacement.

R420 That would have been Millie Perkins. Also deserving of a mention.

Barbra can do no wrong.

Is the troll back? What a bore.

And clearly this thread has been infected by alt-right trolls burned by the fact that Streisand has leveled her ire at their Dear Leader.

Streisand has had more success in her life--and still does--than any of you pathetic losers. You can disparage her all you like but she's the one in the end with the millions of dollars, the millions of fans, and nothing you say changes any of that.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

R416 bad, poorly made medley, terrible arrangement, Barbra seems to have lost her ability to sing.

^Alt-right troll.

Barbra has lied quite a bit to suit her legend? Really- elaborate! If you want a first hand account of her early singing read the short book her first boyfriend (Barre Denen) wrote about their salad days in NYC. She knew she could sing, yes- her friends did not until one day... and Barre did play a lot of music for her (he was a collector) when he discovered her voice. There is no evidence that she had a favorite or idol or model. But she certainly learned from him and expressed her gratitude until her hurt her- it's a very normal story of romance/man coming out. Later they got in a very legitimate argument about who owned some tapes, and who remembered some issues correctly.

Yeah I think that there are trolls on this thread who really are acolytes of that wreck of human being who is our President. He was a lying idiotic blowhard 35 years ago being bailed out by his father and he is the same now- without the benefit of the father bailing him out. Now it is the idiots who my guess are glued to FOX News who think he's great. He will go down in history as the worst thing that ever happened to the American Presidency. Mark my words- deplorables.

Agree, r426.

What could be more hilarious than Streisand accused of lying when the Dear Leader Trump has done NOTHING but lie all his life.

Loser deplorables are all over this thread. It won't work, trolls.

I agree, R419. Ironic how a song called Don't Lie to Me is one big pathetic lie.

What's the lie, r428? Tell us now.

Come on, r428. What did she lie about? We're waiting, troll.

TRUMP=LIAR.

No one says you need to bow before her but Christ, she's on our side.

Yes, r432, she's on the side of anti-Trump people like us. She's against the Trump trolls like r428.

Who else but Trump trolls would do anything but carp about a song that's against Trump? Streisand is a target here. Period.

Notice how fast r428 went away. Pathetic Trump troll.

My father always said that Barbra was most influenced by Lena Horne.

Your father knew nothing.

Lena Horne was one of the creepiest most affected performers. A lot of her stuff is unlistenable today.

The trolls on here are the idiots that condemn those that are posting quite accurate evaluations of Streisand's latest recording effort. I am in no way a Trump supporter, and I've been a Democrat my entire life. I've also been a follower of supporter of Barbra Streisand's work for decades. I have been the first to say that her debut album was unparalleled in its artistry for someone so young and remains the quintessential achievement in recording annals. This is also true of her first 7 albums arranged by Peter Matz who understood her musicianship and crafted sounds most complementary and unique. Her first 2 TV specials have been unequalled in their innovation and daring, and are two of the best hours ever afforded to the medium. Her Broadway and film debut was just as iconic; however, as musical tastes and sensibilities began their descent to the toilet in the late 1960s, Streisand felt compelled to keep up with this sludge. As a result, she made some commercial successful but artistically inane choices in recording and became more obsessed with remaining hip to the trends than artistically true and sincere. This obsession has continued to the present day, and hence, we are brought to her current offering: "Don't Lie To Me." It's musically sterile and ill-fitting to someone of Streisand's talent and legend. I'm not even going to comment on the aged vocals, because for someone of 76, she sounds more capable than many of her singing peers do, have, or did at that age. It's her need to pander to the current market that has destroyed her spontaneity, her fearlessness, and the artistry that made her a star in the first place. I don't give a fuck who she's singing about, whether it's Trump, Jim Brolin, or RIchard Baskin. The song sucks. Her singing should continue, however, but with more age appropriate concept albums and composer songbooks. I'd love to see her version of something like Frank Sinatra's trilogy, where she could offer a musical retrospective of her vast career using a symphony orchestra and what's left of the fine arrangers and composers. There aren't many still with us. So in the final analysis, don't refer to those of us who aren't lying to Barbra as trolls or Trump supporters. Look at us as those who are following the creed of the song. Thank you very much.

Lena was channeling her favorite singer Aretha Franklin in this performance. Talk about a powerhouse performance!

Lena was far from affected, and I certainly hear Lena in Streisand's singing.

"I'd love to see her version of something like Frank Sinatra's trilogy, where she could offer a musical retrospective of her vast career using a symphony orchestra and what's left of the fine arrangers and composers."

r439, she's done that. She's given us "For The Record," she's given us Broadway albums and movie albums, for Christ's sake.

The Trump trolls are the ones who says she "lies," when ignoring their Dear Leader's every lying utterance; they're the ones who say she's an ugly Jew, she can't sing, she has no audience, etc.

Yeah...affected and creepy.

And there's not an ounce of Streisand there.

I am with r439 100% (Were you the poster who made the brilliant suggestion of Barbra singing the Cole Porter songbook? I love you madly)

Post R442 in response to R440

If she had any influences (which she didn't), she certainly surpassed all of them immediately.

^To the point where they're not even recognizable as influences (which they weren't).

R439- you're entitled to your opinion of what she should record and your preference for her very early recordings particularly with Matz. But record the music that Sinatra sang? Sing songbooks (like Ella?) Fact is she has sung music that that both recorded, and much much more than either put together. You just don't like it when she strays from what you like. Others think her Bee Gees collaboration was her best. (Her take on "You're the Top" is smashing.) Let it go. A lot of people love this new recording and clearly she does what inspires her.

My take is that on almost any album she has released there are at least one or two sublime cuts. Sometimes many good cuts. I like some of the classic standards, and some not so much. Ditto the pop. One of my favorites is her live performance of Auld Ang Syne. Who would have thought I prefer to let a vocalist of her stature and achievement chose their own material. They are after all the artist, not me.

Suggest you relax. There ARE poster on this thread who are deplorables (as is anyone who supports Donald Trump.)

Hear hear, r447. Exactly everything you said.

Her version of "You're The Top" is magnificent and better than any other.

R 441 - No, she has not. "Just For The Record" was a compilation of pre-recorded and never released material. What I'm referring to is something entirely new and novel. She could explore the Great American Songbook and standards that she hasn't even touched, she could have original pieces crafted more suited to her own complexities and yearnings. She has reiterated that she is a singing actress. This is what brings to mind Frank Sinatra's Trilogy "The Future" which talks about world peace, space travel, and the apprehensive face of growing older, looking back, and coming to terms with one's mortality. Sinatra was only 63 when he did this, and it was far ahead of its time and truly his swan song. Something similar could be right up Barbra's alley which could accommodate the vocal limitations and bring that experimental sense of daring back to what remains of her performing years. Like it or not, she is in the November of her years, and she's done enough crap. Make the final scenes of Act III worth listening to and walk away unbowed.

r450, see r447, who's addressed all your issues.

"For The Record" was a compilation of her career, which you wanted; the Broadway and movie albums were done with live orchestras. You're a hard person to please. Maybe take it up with her. I'd love to hear her response to your suggestion on how she could improve her legacy.

I agree with R450: There are so many wonderful songs from the Songbook that she hasn't touched, as well pop songs in that tradition that she's never covered.

Her talent deserves not just great melodies but great lyrics too.

Whine whine whine, why hasn't she recorded THIS, I don't like that she recorded THAT...whine whine whine...bitch bitch bitch...

R451 Please read R439. Her legacy is $300,000,000 and a mall. Her musical contributions have been prolific but erratic in quality and over the last several decades, often poorly chosen. Just take a look at the films she rejected. They're more stellar than any she made. If I'm hard to please, it's because of Streisand's enormous talent. and she should be held to a higher standard and not sell herself short or the people who have supported her for so many years. But I'm sure she knows that people are stupid and they'll fall all over any kibbles and bits she throws their way. So she probably figures, why work as hard? They'll buy it anyway. And R453 you must be a Mensa scholar.

"Her legacy is $300,000,000 and a mall."

r454, I guess that's why she got the Kennedy Center honor, the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, two Oscars, countless Grammys and Emmys--because of her mall.

Who, exactly, is the Mensa scholar here?

^Oh, and the Presidential Medal.

R455 you are completely missing R455's point.

Sorry should read: R455 you are completely missing R454's point.

I think it was more accurate the first time, r458.

R455 What selective fucking attention you have. I suggest you reread the post and hone in on the critique. I have discussed Streisand's talent, musical genius, and her extraordinary voice. I am also honest enough to include the misfirings and the extraordinarily bad taste and poor choices she has demonstrated throughout her career, some of which were the means by which she amassed her great wealth . Money isn't always generated by being the best at what you do, duckie. It's a lot of maneuvering, pandering, and compromising of integrity, and this is something at which Streisand is equally adept. To me, it's unfortunate to see a woman who is the standard by which all singers are judged and who is now in the best position of anybody to exercise her artistic endeavors to be foisting commercially produced drivel upon the public that has helped to give her the lifestyle and the mall that she now enjoys. Open your eyes, idiot, before you start making illiterate and infantile comments.

That's your opinion R460. If you ever attended a concert of hers you would know that the material comprises a walk through the the greatest composers of the last 100 years, Berlin, Porter, Gershwin, Sondheim, Rodgers, Styne, Legrand, Bachrach, Weill, and on and on- many of which are standards she has more or less owned for decades. And there are many many more. She is literally the most prolific popular singer of the last 50 years. And no one has dented to breadth. But then, she needs to do a songbook- doesn't she? I'm grateful she has had such a prolific recorded career because it is a gold mine of music in total.

By the way, the '91 box set (career complilation) included mostly recorded and released material and a few unreleased- most notably a recording of a night in NYC club (Bon Soir) in the early 60's. These were the tapes she wanted to be returned to her by Barre Denen I spoke of above.

Sinatra's Trilogy would be a poor model for a Streisand career retrospective. Disc 1 is right up his alley, I'll give him that. Disc 2 has the theme from New York, New York and little else. To say this part of the trilogy contains music of "the present" is not even accurate. What it contains is music written after the golden age of the standards. When the set was released, many of the songs in Disc 2 were already at least ten years old. Love Me Tender was more than 20. Disc 3 was an absolute mess. The music was banal, the lyrics were cliché, the arrangements horrifyingly cheesy. If you want a Disc 3 for a Sinatra career retrospective, just substitute the September of My Years album. It doesn't look ahead, it looks back.

Just for the Record is not a career retrospective in the same mould as the Sinatra Trilogy. It is a far better one in all its painstaking, self-aggrandizing, comprehensive, fabulous glory. Some of the material, like the above-mentioned Bon Soir set, are easily the best recordings ever made of Streisand. Many of songs from the Bon Soir set found their way into her debut album but in spite of the now-classic status of The Barbra Streisand Album, the studio versions pale in comparison to their live counterparts.

R462 - I respect your opinion on Sinatra's Trilogy, but I differ in terms of Disc 3, The Future. I happen to think it was brilliant, experimental, and prescient. It was way ahead of its time, arranged and composed by the brilliant Gordon Jenkins, who was as musically vital to Sinatra as Nelson Riddle had been. It is a very misunderstood opus, often cited as an exercise in overproduction and bombast. What many don't know about Sinatra was his passion for the opera. It was the genre of music he loved the most and listened to it regularly, often asking his great arrangers to incorporate those musical elements into his recordings. throughout the years, and they are very much present. The idea of the Trilogy album was to adopt an operatic theme in 3 acts with a symphony orchestra, and that is best typified in Disc 3. It is an operatic telling of Sinatra's affront with aging and resignation to his own mortality. It was a very different move for him and clearly went out of his safe zone. I can see why many might interpret it as convoluted or as one critic wrote, "wacky." I still feel it is a landmark of his latter day recordings and, in essence, his swan song. You , on the other hand, R461, are an ignorant pain in the ass queen. First off, I have seen Streisand live 5 times in my lifetime, and I know damn well the composers she has recorded through the decades. What I must say to your attention-deficit brain is that is the company she should currently be keeping musically. You're also in great error about the Bon Soir recordings on "Just For The Record." They were NOT Barre Dennen's recordings of her. They were the recordings made by Columbia Records in November 1962 for the release of what was to be her first album, which was planned as a live recording. Barre Dennen's recordings from her original Bon Soir engagement have not been formally released to the public, although some years, he played them for an invited audience at an LGBT event. And let me ask you, smartass, how many Kurt Weill and Cole Porter tunes has she recorded? One: Speak Low. Cole Porter: 3, "Come to the Supermarket in Old Peking," "You're The Top," and 8 bars of "Were Thine That Special Face in "Color Me Barbra," which proves my fucking point! Learn how to spell Bacharach, shithead!!!!

Thanks for the info, r463. It's good to know that sometimes one can differ with other DL'ers and not end up in a fight.

Can you say a has been ?

My grandma used to like her.

R466 Oh are her fans dying out ?

[quote]The song sucks.

TO YOU! But if you think your OPINION is definitive, than you really are a Republican.

I'm just trying to imagine it's a wonderful world. But it isn't.

r469: Amen. Not even Barbra can relieve the horror we and so much of the world are living through.

I don't know how she is going to pull off her "new" version of "Happy Days Are There Again". (Yeah if you are a Republican or Russiam troll)

Her best days are over.

One day so will yours be, r471, if they aren't already.

r460--oh, dear! So triggered! "Duckie"? I hope you've calmed down and taken your meds after that rant.

And wow, r463 should be in a straightjacket.

R439 (along with his follow up posts) is just pathetic.

Barbra records ONE SONG he doesn’t like and he goes apoplectic, offering this absurd career retrospective that he thinks entitles him to tell her what she can and can’t sing.

Instead of enjoying the voice and all she’s given her fans during so many decades, we have to hear what she DIDN’T do, and what she SHOULD HAVE done.

Mr. Pseudo Expert, just STFU. You are beyond ridiculous, and more egotistical than Streisand EVER was.

older than god

who buys her tacky ass shit music???

biggest grouch on the planet.

^D. Trump again

R473 R474 Jesus Christ, all one has to do is argue a point and state facts and they're assigned to a straitjacket. That is talent, that is education, and that is democracy. I'd hate to see either of you in a relationship. Or maybe you're both the same bitch. My opinion of her song choice doesn't change. However, as Streisand supports a democratic nation, as do I, and that entitles me the right to state an opinion. Too bad that you don't like it.

It's not your opinions, r477, it's your name calling of others, your increasing hostility, your tirades that suggest you need therapy.

R478 And your initial hostile responses to mine suggest you need Midol. End of conversation.

Is it the end of the conversation because you say it is? I didn't call you names. I felt your idiocy spoke for itself without stating the obvious. You sound a little more calm, so I assume you've taken something.

R463, that approach doesn’t work (name calling). That said- yes I think the Bob Soir tapes on the box set were meant for an album. And Denen tapes remained in his hands. Maybe he gave them to her in his will? I know a lot about Streisand but I sometimes get it a little wrong- forget etc. Suggest you calm down for your own good.

PS,she doesn’t use auto tune. Ever.

[quote]PS,she doesn’t use auto tune. Ever.

Hi Jason!

^Hi, Donald!

R480 My post was far from idiotic, as you well know. Everything I indicated is part of Streisand's history and you're welcome to research it yourself. I've also been a huge supporter of Barbra for years and have spent hundreds if not thousands on her products, be if music, films, books, concerts, etc. What she did wonderfully is unmatched by any modern singer. However, there were also errant choices and offerings. For example, look at the reaction to the current remake of "A Star is Born," and how critics are comparing it so favorably to Streisand's version, which made a fortune, but ranks as one of her weakest films. I would be a disingenuous fan if I would lie to her. just as her song suggests we not do. And as you have a right to your opinion, I have a right to mine. It is not my intention to malign Barbra. She has been a tremendous musical influence on all our lives, and I admire her age generativity and drive to remain productive. But for the last time, there is a wealth of music out there much better suited to her talents and commercial success.

r485, I can assure you I know as much about her as you do. This is an argument based on not fact, but opinion--your opinion of what she did/didn't, should/should not do. As for her "errant choices," apart from your sounding like a tight, disapproving spinster, you're merely only scolding her for using her talents and her time her way, not your way. It's like the tired argument about Brando--why did he waste so much of his incredible talent on doing movies beneath him, while failing to acknowledge he made On The Waterfront, Streetcar, The Godfather, Last Tango--to name just four performances you won't get from another actor in 400 films.

And now, for a little musical diversion: A Sleepin' Bee, with the rarely heard verse.

R485 Your points are well taken, and I agree with everything you've said. Don't argue and don't apologize. These people don't get it.

487, lol. Key to understanding Streisand is her enormous drive to create and do every and anything. Sing, compose, act, direct, produce, write, design, advocate, build, paint... you’d expect that the application of her greatest talent (her voice) would include these efforts and also cover as broad a musical breadth as possible- which is exactly what she has done- good and not good. That she is reimagining her standards and still writing music at this stage of her life is pretty amazing. Maybe she’s got a great film effort (probably as director) left in her. And her philanthropy continues unabated. Her foundation is very real, not a fraud and front like our Presidents shut down foundation. I admire her tremendously- obviously.

Thank you , R489, R488, R486, and R481.

PLEASE tell me this ridiculous purse fighting is over...

Autotuned dreck. There's no defending her terrible singing or taste. One weirdo has over 80 insane posts on this thread, salivating over Barbra's incomparable career. He claims to be under 40 while discussing Lena Horne, Eydie Gorme and Billie Holiday? Barbra was influenced by NO ONE, ha. Add in his additional posts from another IP - agreeing with himself. Plus charlie. All three of Streisand's fans are accounted for.

^HUGE fat troll.

The dreck troll is here again at R492. LOL

Not the dreck troll again!

Everyone under 60 calls Streisand's music dreck. The only troll here is the one who posted hundreds of times on this thread. ^^^

^^^Dreck troll! Dreck troll!^^^

Haha, and then it quickly agrees with itself. See R494 & R495. Dat same poster does the same things on the Lange threads and lately on all those demented supermodels of the past threads. Old man has got to be 75 years old and loony as fuck. It's sad when ancient gays can only shout others down on an anonymous board. Streisand is not known, celebrated or popular. Brent Corrigan has more followers. Their money holes are in similar shape.

Flat raspy ancient bitch couldn't sing a simple song live 7 years ago! She's no longer musical, can't locate a simple beat. She's always been tasteless, but her desperate hubris shows in her strange and lifeless mashup of Imagine and What a Wonderful World. Everyone is spinning in their multiple graves. There have been no worse versions of those two songs. Ever. And some demented soul here doesn't know that Babs is very auto tuned now? Do you know what compressed vocals sound like? She first used them extensively on her prestigious duets album with Jimmy Fallon and Weird Al. Her vocal superiors at this point.

r498, I'm not 495, not r494. What's more, I've never posted on a Lange thread in my life.

r499 seems to think this thread is some kind of popularity contest between the two versions of this silly movie, and requests: "VOTE for Gaga." r499, this isn't in fact an A STAR IS BORN thread, you sad dummy.

^Correction: That should read: I'm r495, not R494.

Nevertheless, the dreck troll will always be the dreck troll.

How drunk is R500?

R498 / R499, you are so fucking sad.

LOL

if a turd was set to music this is what it would sound like.

Donna got top billing

^Summer gave herself top billing on her album, and Streisand gave herself top billing on hers.

^Oh I thought it was because Donna got the disco creds.

R506 And I thought it was a single

Each of them packaged their own single of it.

Louie Armstrong will always own What a Wonderful World. There has never been a better rendition anywhere. Ever. And certainly not this.

[quote]Louie Armstrong will always own What a Wonderful World. There has never been a better rendition anywhere. Ever. And certainly not this.

When Armstrong sings it, he makes you forget that it has the fucking most cloying lyrics ever written.

“For those who are encouraged and inspired by my art, you make what I do worthwhile - - thank you, dearly. For those who tell me to ‘keep my mouth shut,’ here is my response…artists, especially those who have had success, and have won popularity in their work, not only have the right, but the responsibility, to risk the unpopularity of being committed and active. So, until women are treated equally with men, until gays and minorities are not discriminated against and until children have their full rights, artists must continue to speak out. I will be one of them.”

Barbra's words. I think she is a a great woman. Great singer and multi media entertainer, great humanitarian and philanthropist, and brave activist. No one is perfect, including Barbra, but she is a national treasure nevertheless- using her great success and fame to fight the good fight.

David Archuleta's version of Imagine is more inspiring.

Barbra can do wrong. Didn't you know that? She could belch and fart on records, and her minions will call it innovation. And it'll debut at number one on Billboard.

[quote]For those who tell me to ‘keep my mouth shut,’ here is my response…artists, especially those who have had success, and have won popularity in their work, not only have the right, but the responsibility, to risk the unpopularity of being committed and active.

Well, let's see:

You have Rosie O'Donnell saying that martial law should be imposed on the US. You have Roseanne Barr saying that a black woman looks like a character from Planet of the Apes. You have Jane Fonda sitting on enemy tanks. You have Ashley Judd screaming that she is a nasty woman.

I'm sorry, Babs, what were you saying?