30 years ago, every gay man was running to their local record store to buy copies of...

Five Live (George Michael and Queen EP) Anything George Michael released. I knew he was a closeted flaming queen and I personally loved his music and his voice.

June 29, 1993. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend and I were in Paris about to see Depeche Mode on the band's Devotional Tour. Neither one of us own one Barbra Streisand album.

R2 oh man, I forgot about Depeche Mode one of my most favorite bands, too.

This is a difficult question to specify one specific year.

Toni Braxton's is debut album. She was a younger, hipper Anita Baker. Gay boys loved all that drama and melancholy.

Op is living in her own little world or nursing home

I think OP grossly over estimates the Venn diagram intersection of Gay Men, Showtunes, and Streisand.

You'd have to pay this gay man very handsomely to sit through a musical or to even listen to one showtune or Streisand singing.

I remember a guy I was briefly dating had just bought the CD and I came over to his apartment and he very excitedly played me tracks from it while I feigned interest long enough to get his clothes off.

Don’t confuse the children, OP. Thirty years ago every gay man was wondering if the retrovirals worked and would save us.

Quite a few of us had no idea Babs had a new album out….

I'm sorry to say this, but as beautiful as La Streisand's voice is, most of her repertoire is boring enough to be coma-inducing.

The lush, understated orchestral arrangements, the tasteful-yet-dull delivery and the self-indulgent egotism that oozes through every single one of her vocal mannerisms, are the best barbiturate on earth. Which is a pity, because she had the potential to do some truly wonderful things, as Stoney End and her late 70s/early 80s material proves. However, EVERYTHING she released since Emotions and most of her 60s to early/mid-70s output is just insufferably soporific.

In fact, I would say that Guilty is her only essential album, and all her worthwhile material can be found in one or two compilations. The rest is just dull pap for tragic queens and old couples who find anything other than oatmeal and raisins to be over spiced and disquietingly exotic.

[quote] 30 years ago, every gay man was running to their local record store to buy

Ha. No. And I love musical theater.

Nope, I ran out and got this though;

"Haircut" by George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers

Didnt even know who the fuck Barbara Streisand was then, and couldnt stand musical theatre. Still cant

In 1993, my new release collection (courtesy of Columbia House) consisted of Songs of Faith and Devotion, Depeche Mode; Republic, New Order; Very, Pet Shop Boys; Debut, Björk; In Utero, Nirvana; Siamese Dream, Smashing Pumpkins; Modern Life is Rubbish, Blur; Suede, Suede; and many, many others, but nary a Barbra Streisand album.

[quote]I'm sorry to say this, but as beautiful as La Streisand's voice is, most of her repertoire is boring enough to be coma-inducing.

Blasphemy!

But I completely agree. Her voice is a thing of beauty but I think everything post-Guilty has been deadly dull.

No one was running anywhere for that album…except in your feral dreams

I agree with you R13, but I think that Emotions still had some truly excellent numbers. Her duet with Kim Carnes is surprisingly powerful, Left In the Dark is just epic (who would have thought that she would adapt so wonderfully well to Jim Steinman's bombastic style?), the title track and Step In The Right Direction (co-written by John Mellencamp, no less) are unexpectedly playful attempts to keep up with current trends and Heart Don't Change My Mind is one of Diane Warren's first mainstream compositions.

The problem is that soon after that, Barbra decided that pushing herself vocally wasn't worth the effort, and refused to sing anything other than sappy saccharine ballads that all sound alike. However, it's true: 1974 to 1983 is when she released her most memorable material. I mean, she even dared to release a cover of David Bowie's Life On Mars? and venture into rock with Don't Believe What You Read and the completely awesome Cabin Fever! And let's not even talk about her spectacular disco collaborations with Paul Jabara and the glorious Guilty...

Well, I will stop rambling, but it's sad to see how someone who had so much potential decided to waste it all away out of sheer self-indulgence.

R6 that makes you the exception. Most gay men are into the arts.

I guess I’m the lone, stereotypical gay man because I DID, in fact, buy this album. It might not have been the week it was released, but I bought it. About the Sunset Boulevard tracks: I thought her rendition of “As If We Never Said Good-bye” was one of the best ever done.

[quote]30 years ago, every gay man was running to their local record store...

Mincing, prancing, swishing, skipping, yes...

but no running

R17 2M people - mostly gay men - bought this album, but apparently have better taste than hanging out on DL.

The first I heard about this album was when i went into a record store who were playing the Some Enchanted Evening track. I entered as Barbra was in full flight. Had a chuckle that she would choose this song from South Pacific which is a male song and not the female songs.

[quote]Most gay men are into the arts.

No.

I was disappointed by it.

I think it's possible to like Streisand and Depeche Mode, but have to agree by this point Streisand was producing pretty much drek. Go back to the 60s/early 70s and no one could touch her vocals.

Not a huge fan. Never owned any of her music and usually change the station if she comes on the radio which is rare. Don't get what all the fuss is about. Too nasal for me.

I wasn't a big Streisand fan. I bought my mother the People LP for Mothers Day one year, and in college, became a fan of the LPs Funny Girl, Funny Lady, and The Way We Were. I bought Guilty in 1980, then The Broadway Album in 1986.

It was anthematic for me as AIDS came to my attention in 1985, partly because of "Somewhere," but more because of the line "He will not always say...what you would have him say" from "Something Wonderful." My first friend who got sick suffered either from dementia or an inability to make his words match his thoughts. He died in 1986, and I still tear up a little when I hear that song.

I heard the second Broadway album at someone's house, and didn't feel compelled to buy a copy. I wanted to leave that voice, and my earlier memories, in the past.

I recall buying this album within a week or so of its release back in '93. I was a sophomore in High School, almost a Junior, and had gotten very into Broadway and musical theatre over the preceding 2 years. I also was a huge Andrew Lloyd Webber fan and was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to hear songs from Sunset Boulevard which, at the time I bought Barbra's album, I had heard no music from. The two songs she recorded from it seemed really promising, although I much preferred the Patti Lupone versions on the cast album, which I picked up a few months later (I grew up in a rural area and not many record stores carried a lot of show music).

That said, this was an era when ALW was still huge, and Sunset Boulevard was much anticipated by many. That's why he wanted Barbra to record the songs, and I am sure that's also why she wanted to. His interest was in building anticipation and excitement at the show's opening with a legend like Barbra recording songs from it on her new release. I doubt he cares what Patti thought about it and why should he? Barbra likely was excited to include new songs on the album, too, and the popularity of ALW at the time made it a no brainier. This is why I find a lot of Patti's gripes about ALW unreasonable. She isn't selling millions of jazz vocal albums. Barbra is. It's not hard to figure out.

Looking back on this album now, I think the production is very heavy and it's okay, but not great. But Barbra was still in great vocal shape and it's a pleasant listen.

R26 here, *brainier (fuck you autocorrect)

Patti LuPone was PISSED that Streisand got to sing those songs before she did.

The first Broadway Album was amazing. The followup was awful. Just sappy and unremarkable.

Her first album turned me on to Broadway music. I had heard some of the songs over the years when I was younger, but at 22 I received TBA for Christmas, and fell in love with it. After reading her liner notes about each song, I had to go to the library near my house and start borrowing these records of the OBC. (And, I was able to see many revivals of these musicals over the next 35 years). Then there were the ALW musicals she didn't include on TBA - 'Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita", "Cats", Starlight Express" - that I had to listen to as well - so I borrowed those LPs. Because of her, she made me a theater fan.

I couldn't wait to buy BTB 30 years ago. Loved it, but it took getting used to - it was overproduced by David Foster, the choice of songs weren't my favorites, etc. I always skip over the Crawford duet - their voices aren't suitable for each other. However, the two SB songs were a standout. Her recordings have set the bar for me - despite how much I love Luone's cast recording, Close's, Buckley's (yes I have her EP) and many others. Even after seeing Buckley ('96) , Clark ('99), and Close ('17) in the role on stage singing live in person - nothing comes close to Streisand. To this day, TBA and BTB are still on my playlist.

When 'Encore' was released a few years ago, I bought it with less enthusiasm. I was done with her 'duets' and I wasn't thrilled with her choice of songs. I've played that CD only a handful of times.

I disagree with many of you, she did some extraordinary stuff in the 1960s, often with beautiful orchestrations by Peter Matz.

R30 I don't think anyone doubts you on the forum. Many said she peaked with TBA in 1985. What they're saying is she slacked off in the 90s, 200s, 2010s. (I disagree).

[quote]When 'Encore' was released a few years ago, I bought it with less enthusiasm. I was done with her 'duets' and I wasn't thrilled with her choice of songs. I've played that CD only a handful of times.

Her voice was shot by then. I listened to it once and cringed. "At The Ballet" and "Pure Imagination" are particularly butchered on that album.

I liked the original Broadway Album, and bought it, even though I'm not a big fan of musical theater. The local, eclectic radio station I was listening to at the time was playing the hell out of "Somewhere" and "Send In the Clowns", as well as the "Pretty Women/Ladies Who Lunch" medley.

What can I say? I'm a gay Jew of a certain age. Barbra Streisand will never not be a goddess to me.

But as far as buying her music, I'd moved on by 1993.

Her rendition of “Ladies Who Lunch” sucked.

Somewhere—can’t remember where—I read a letter that Sondheim wrote to someone about Streisand.’s second Broadway album, and he did NOT like it. There are even some Sondheim songs on it, right?

The first Broadway Album was like manna from heaven for many of the gays, me included. Now I remember why I started loathing her in the 80s, she was manipulatively cruel to her fans.